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The Best Appetite Suppressant Would Be Mandatory Calorie Counts On Menus
By Christina | August 4, 2009
Legislation is currently pending that would mandate chain restaurants nationally to clearly post calorie counts and fat content next to every item on the menu. The idea behind this is two-fold. First, the hope is that this will be another way to combat the obesity crisis in this country. If people could see what exactly they are putting into their bodies when they order food at restaurants, then surely they would opt for healthier selections on the menu. The second goal of this legislation is to encourage the restaurants themselves to make their food healthier in the first place as a result of being forced to put an embarrassingly high calorie count next to a menu item.
People often misjudge not only the amount of calories they consume in a day, but they mistakenly believe they are ordering a nutritious menu item at a restaurant when really they ordering entrees that are laden with unwanted calories and fat. For example, Olive Garden’s grilled chicken crostada has 1270 calories and a whopping 75 grams of fat. Wow! People may mistakenly see “grilled” and think that this has to be healthier than something that is fried. On no planet, is that meal anything but a heart attack on a plate. Salads, unfortunately, often fair no better. At Sweet Tomatoes, the 100% whole wheat creamy chipotle vegetarian salad has an unbelievable 700 calories and 50 grams of fat per serving. Ouch. If you had thought that whole wheat and vegetarian connote a heart healthy menu offering. Sadly, you would have been wrong.
Opposition to this legislation obviously comes from people in the restaurant business because they don’t want to lose sales. But, they are shockingly not alone. Many consumers are against this legislation because they feel this would diminish the enjoyment of the dining experience if they had to see what they were really putting into their bodies when they ate out at restaurants. In fact, what is even more troubling than the opposition is that in states where it is already mandatory for chain restaurants to post the calorie counts, sales of food with astonishing amounts of calories and fat have not automatically dropped. People still will order food that is known ahead of time to be massively fattening and unhealthy.
This makes sense when you think of the choices that people continue to make daily that are dangerous to their health and welfare in spite of education to the contrary. Look at smoking for an example. The rates of people smoking have definitely gone down because of education about what a deadly habit it is and because of the legislation to ban smoking from public areas. However, there are still too many people who continue to smoke and teenagers who start smoking for the first time every day. Along those lines when it comes to the battle of the bulge, it is no mystery to anyone that the key to weight loss and longevity is eating a nutritious diet comprised of lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables combined with daily exercise of moderate intensity. Why do so many people then continue to refuse to eat well and exercise regularly?
The bottom line is we cannot stop educating the public because of fear that people will do what they want to do regardless. The truth is that if people know what they are actually putting in their mouths before they order, they at first may ignore all the nutritional information. But, over time this may be the wake up call needed for restaurants to offer healthier food and for people to order differently than they would have before. Bon appetite!
Topics: Nutrition |
