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Advocates
push for restaurant nutrition labels
Nov. 20, 03
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
How
often do you eat out each week? Are you
overweight?
The two are related, and some lawmakers
are recommending steps to help consumers
help themselves.
A bill introduced in Congress this month
– Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL)
– would require restaurant chains
with 20 or more stores to list on printed
menus the amounts of calories, saturated
fat, trans fat, carbohydrate and sodium
in their foods. Fast-food menu boards
would have to post calories. The law
would affect standard selections at such
restaurants as Denny’s,
McDonald’s, Taco Bell, and Kentucky
Fried Chicken.
Surveys have found that two-thirds of
Americans support such a move.
According to the Center for Science in
the Public Interest, which released a
report last month on the link between
obesity and restaurant food, there is
ample evidence to justify the new
requirement:
* Sixty-five percent of adults are
overweight, raising the risk for coronary
artery disease, diabetes, high blood
pressure, and some forms of cancer.
* We spend 46 percent of our food dollars
on eating out, as compared to 26 percent
in 1970.
* Kids who eat out consume twice as many
calories per meal as when they eat at
home. The rate of teen obesity has
tripled since 1970, and 15 percent of
children are overweight.
* Women who eat out regularly consume 300
calories per day more than women who do
so less often. Those extra calories can
add up to a weight gain of more than a
pound a month.
* Restaurant food tends to be
substantially higher in saturated fat and
sodium than food eaten at home. It’s
also lower in dietary fiber and key
vitamins and minerals.
It’s also hard to accurately guess
the nutritional content of restaurant
food in the absence of printed
information. One example cited by CSPI: A
large McDonald’s shake contains
1,010 calories, three times the number of
calories in a cheeseburger. And who would
guess that one slice of carrot cake from
the Cheesecake Factory packs 1,560
calories and 23 grams of saturated fat?
That’s more calories than many
people need in a day and far more
saturated fat than recommended.
The restaurant industry opposes the
proposed legislation. Restaurants were
exempted from the Nutrition Labeling and
Education Act passed in 1990. That law
put nutrition facts on packaged food
labels in grocery stores.
According to the restaurant industry, it
doesn’t make sense to label the
nutritional content of restaurant food
because:
* Lack of exercise is just as much a
reason for obesity as eating too much.
* Small, independent restaurants
wouldn’t be included. Their menus
change frequently.
* It’s not practical. People often
customize their orders, so posted
nutrition information may not apply.
But a two-year pilot program at the Heart
Institute of Spokane in Washington State
offers encouraging news. Customers at
fine restaurants were offered their
choice of the regular one or
“Menu2”, which included
nutrition information. Customers who
ordered from Menu2 chose entrees
containing an average of 50 fewer
calories than entrees on the regular
menu.
While we wait for the lobbyists and
legislators to determine whether MEAL
will prevail, keep these tips in mind:
* Family-style chains and fast-food offer
less flexibility. Much of the food is
pre-prepared. Eat at Mom-and-Pop or
better restaurants instead, and
you’ll be able to get veggies cooked
without butter and fruit salad in place
of fries.
* Order a big salad. Skip the cheese and
meat, and take the dressing on the side.
Go heavy on fresh vegetables, beans, and
fruit. Green salads are filling and can
save hundreds of calories over sandwiches
and entrees.
* Split with a companion. Most restaurant
portions are more than one serving. Share
or take half home.
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