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| Thursday, February 25, 2010 |
| Fast food menus with labels? |
I will gladly admit that my family does make the occasional trip to a fast food restaurant. Although it may seem strange for a dietitian to say, I think it’s important that young children understand the concept of fast food. I don’t want my kids to think of McDonald’s as some fantasy land that they were kept away from throughout childhood. That just makes fast food seem even that more interesting. Instead, I take them there or to a similar place about once a month. However, I do have an advantage. Being a dietitian, I can order for my children and make an educated and informed decision. Since fast food in America is not going away, I think it is imperative that parents educate themselves on the calories, fat, sodium, etc. in these foods.
Childhood overweight and obesity has increased over the past three decades right along with fast food intake. I am not blaming fast food alone for childhood obesity but it isn’t helping. The best thing we can do is to know what is going into our children’s mouths when we order a Happy Meal or a Children’s Meal at a fast food restaurant.
In a new study published online in Pediatrics the amount of calories selected by parents for their child's hypothetical meal at McDonald's restaurants were reduced by an average of 102 calories when the menus clearly showed the calories for each item. This is the first study to show that menus with nutritional information on them may lead to reduced calorie intake, according to the authors. The study found a 20% reduction in calories in each child’s meal. Even that modest calorie reduction can make a difference in childhood overweight and obesity. If a child eats fast food once a week, the calories will add up quickly. Over the course of a year a child may avoid a 10 to 15 pound weight gain by reducing calorie intake by 20% at each fast food meal.
The authors of the study feel it shows that parents do want to make healthy choices for their children. Parents may just need a little help. Menus with labels could help parents feel like they are a little more in control. Most parents know that fast food isn’t the best choice to begin with so giving them the information to make the best choice in fast food restaurants is a great idea.
Next time you go to a fast food restaurant, request a copy of the nutritional information. Many restaurants will have this information available even though it is not visible. Look it over before you order. Currently, many states are considering making it a requirement to list calorie and other nutrition information on menus. You can also go online before you go. Most fast food restaurants make their nutrition information available on their website.
While recently discussing her anti-obesity campaign called Let’s Move, Michelle Obama stated that nearly one-third of American children are now overweight or obese. She also mentioned that obesity could now be an even greater threat to American’s health then smoking. I am glad she is paying attention to the problem of childhood overweight and obesity and I hope she will include fast food labeling in her overall plan to help this increasing problem. It would be a great accomplishment if she could get the large chain fast food restaurants to start labeling their menus and start helping to fix this growing problem in America.
- Jennifer
Related Articles
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Sensei Talks: Healthy Eating on the Go – Lunch & Dinner
Sensei Talks: Healthiest Fast Food Restaurants
Labels: Fast Food, Jennifer
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posted by My Sensei @ Thursday, February 25, 2010   |
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| 3 Comments: |
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I am not a fast food person but I alwasy look at nutritionals. Even when I sit with my hubby at one of these joints, I check them out just for curiousity sake.
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I check out their websites before I go (which is rarely) so we can make a good choice. The only fast food restaurant we go to is Chick-Fil-A! I think your ideas are great!
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I think you're really wise, in not making fast food the devil (and thus the fantasy world) to your children.
I'm a bit ambivalent towards the food labels, however...to more educated people, it's just an eyesore...we dont always eat fast food, so when we do, we just wanna enjoy without having 680 kcal staring into our faces...but I think it definitely benefits the less nutritionally educated people who thinks a Big Mac is 200 kcal.
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I am not a fast food person but I alwasy look at nutritionals. Even when I sit with my hubby at one of these joints, I check them out just for curiousity sake.