I was traveling through New Port California about six months
ago and stopped at a local chain restaurant BJs. Usually on vacation I enjoy myself and don’t pay
attention to what I’m eating because I work so hard and tell myself to relax
during vacation time. So burgers, nachos, sandwiches, pizzas, steak and pasta which
we all know are high calorie foods, I sit back and enjoy. Except this time I was
craving anything of course besides my usual clean food. When I was glancing
through the menu I noticed the calories on everything, OMG!!! Not only me but
my boyfriends family who is overweight and doesn’t watch what they eat were shocked
to see the amount of calories in a burger, pizza, etc. Of course at the time I was
like darn, but I appreciated it being nutrition student. Only a few states have this requirement, which
I think it should be in every state to help with obesity in the United States. Any American who walks into McDonalds, starbucks,
burger king, any big restaurant chains around the nation will now be able to
see these nutrition facts. They are
required to put calorie information on their menus and drive through signs. So
in other words it’s impossible to make excuses for high calorie food and
consuming a high amount. This could affect the decisions of enough people to
create a public health benefit; this is improving the nation’s nutrition. I’m a
strong advocate to promote anyone to making better decisions, so I’m pleased to
see that some states and hopefully all will be doing this.
California has been labeling for some time now and soon all states will be required to label as a part of President Obama's Health Care Reform. Unfortunately the New York study on labeling did not show positive results. You can go on line and get the numbers but I was really disappointed. Some suggest labeling will have a negative effect for those in poverty. Looking from a poor persons perspective they might look at that same sandwich and think 700 kcal as apposed to 450 and chose the higher cal food, perceiving it as economically the best choice. Those in a higher socioeconomic status are the ones that are most likely to benefit slightly from Presidents Obama health care mandate regarding labeling. It's not just one silver bullet but multiple strategies that will get us off the obesity band wagon.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/ucm217762.htm
California has been labeling for some time now and soon all states will be required to label as a part of President Obama's Health Care Reform. Unfortunately the New York study on labeling did not show positive results. You can go on line and get the numbers but I was really disappointed. Some suggest labeling will have a negative effect for those in poverty. Looking from a poor persons perspective they might look at that same sandwich and think 700 kcal as apposed to 450 and chose the higher cal food, perceiving it as economically the best choice. Those in a higher socioeconomic status are the ones that are most likely to benefit slightly from Presidents Obama health care mandate regarding labeling. It's not just one silver bullet but multiple strategies that will get us off the obesity band wagon.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.fda.gov/food/labelingnutrition/ucm217762.htm
I feel that in the situation you were in it definately helped with the decision making process. It can help those who are educated make better decisions, but as Nancy explained those who may not understand the impact of excess calories might intentionally eat the higher calorie meals to get more for their money. Young teenagers trying to gain weight might mistake higher calories for better success when usually higher calorie foods come with more health risks.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great idea!! I honestly think that if I were to see the amount of calories labeled in front of me, I would definitely not eat certain items on the menu, even on vacation!! I think this is a very good idea and I really think or hope that people would start making better choices based on the amount of calories. It's very hard eating out too. I feel like there is a lot of hidden calories in the food. It all always tastes too good! My best friend actually started ordering the healthiest item on the menu at Panera Bread, where they were required to list the calories.
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