If you knew someone was watching your backside at the fast-food counter, would you still order a Big Mac?

In the Netherlands, researchers may be onto something. They’ve set up an entire cafeteria, called the Restaurant of the Future, where monitors track diners’ eating habits, decisions, weight — and yes, whether they’re eating a calorie-laden meal or not.

This, I’ve decided, is precisely what I need. I would be far less likely to take seconds at dinner or mindlessly munch on Hershey Kisses throughout the afternoon if I knew someone was comparing my food choice to my pant size.

That’s the same reason why I think I would excel at a game show such as the “Biggest Loser.” Put a camera in my face and I’m a five-fruits-and-veggies/hold-the-mayo kind of girl. Leave me home alone on a Saturday night and suddenly an entire pan of brownies is at risk of extinction.

At five months pregnant, I listened to one speaker comment on how women are supposed to eat healthier when they are expecting.

“What??” I whispered to my companion. “Who came up with that rule? Don’t pregnant women go through enough without putting broccoli on top?”

Don’t try to tell me I’m in this alone: Fewer than 14 percent of us actually eat the recommended five fruits and vegetables a day, according to Heartstats.org. And a trip past McDonald’s during the lunch hour will tell you that the average American considers french fries a legitimate vegetable.

So perhaps it’s a good thing that Yum! brand restaurants — that’s KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, Pizza Hut and A&W — plans to post calorie information on the indoor menu boards at all of its restaurants across the country. It’s a monumental move in the food service industry, going far beyond simply posting nutritional data online or on a small poster next to the bathroom. Now, diners can actually make a better nutritional choice every time they go to the restaurant — without excessive work to plan ahead before they go.

I’ll be the first to admit it: I’m a little nervous to know how many calories are in a Long John fish plank or a slice of deep dish pizza. Maybe, like those folks in the Netherlands, I’ll be shamed into ordering grilled chicken and salads for the rest of my fast-food life. At the same time, I would be quick to order Original Style chicken instead of Extra Crispy if the calories made it worth my while.

We also might be surprised by a few things: Like KFC’s mashed potatoes have 60 fewer calories than the potato salad. Or that you can save 40 calories just by ordering a hard taco instead of soft-shell. Nerve-racking as it might be to see calories listed next to our favorite comfort foods, this could be an extremely positive step toward promoting health and fitness throughout the U.S. With any lucky, such transparency can become the hallmark for the food service industry, and lead the way toward healthier food options in restaurants everywhere.

That said, perhaps this is the appropriate place for a disclaimer: I’m eating a chocolate chip cookie even as I write this.

And I’m really, really glad there’s a picture of my face — not my lower half — running with this column.

Elizabeth Davies’ column runs Sunday in the Rockford Register Star.