Awhile back I remember hearing about a number of upcoming changes that would hopefully help lower obesity in the United States as well as help promote more healthy eating choices over the course of time. One of these changes was an idea that I personally found to be very interesting and something that I believed would affect the public view of their favorite restaurant choices and what foods were most popular. This change was the addition of calories to chain restaurant menus for everything served in the establishment. I have always found this information fascinating and although it may just be my interest I don't understand why anyone wouldn't be interested in how many calories are being taken in during your lunch hour alone.
So many people, especially in the United States, seem to rely on the fast food and restaurant industry for their meals throughout the week. Along with this dependency on fast food and other restaurants, so many citizens in the United States are considered overweight or obese. This status is a factor in developing many other health issues, including heart problems and diabetes. This realization alone should be enough to help convince Americans to try losing weight or at least try to create a healthier lifestyle, but it seems that isn’t the case. America continues to expand their waste-lines and along with that, increasing their chances of other health problems throughout their lives.
There seems to be many “cures” for this obesity epidemic in the United States and other locations throughout the world. Crash diets where you only eat certain foods at certain points of the day and even diets where you “lose five pounds a week until you reach your goal weight” have been popular in the past. Although these may lead to initial weight loss, it seems that these diets usually do not lead to a lifetime of healthy choices. Lifestyle changes are really the only good choices in this fight to reduce obesity, which are very difficult without a little bit of education. This is where many new guidelines are becoming very useful. It seems that healthy food choices are becoming more affordable, and more interestingly, information concerning restaurant nutrition is available at every-ones fingertips. One of these guidelines involves the calorie content of each item in the establishment being featured right on the menu for consumers to use and compare the calorie content of the choices.This information should not be too much of a surprise for most individuals in our country. Most of us know that many fast food choices are not usually the healthiest choice, though we still seem to gravitate toward those establishments when in need of a quick bite to eat. If someone does choose to eat out, now they have the option of seeing and comparing the calorie content of all of the choices and naturally they will choose the lowest calorie item, right? I assumed that when the actual calorie content showed up on the menu, right in front of every-one's eyes, that individuals would shy away from their normal unhealthy selections, though this does not seem to be the case.
A recent study has shown that despite what was assumed of responses in the United States in regards to calorie content of restaurant choices, many individuals are still choosing items that are higher in calorie content. This study was conducted by comparing the choices at fast food restaurants in two locations one month before and one month after the nutritional information had been posted. It seems that each of the restaurants served a similar amount of items at both times the study was conducted and surprisingly this includes those foods that are very high in calories selling more frequently than those lower in calories. I just don’t understand why people would still choose to purchase that 1,000 calorie cheeseburger when they can see that the grilled chicken salad may only be 300 calories. When there is that large of a difference in calories, it should be obvious what your choice should be, unless you are allergic to lettuce of course!
The article that I read did mention that quite a few people did actually notice that the information was posted on the menu, although most did not use it to make their choices. I was very unhappy that this article made a negative comment about the number of those studied that actually did use the information. It made it seem like the 9% of the customers that made choices based off the newly posted information was not impressive. In my opinion, the menu changes are doing their job. That 9% of people that went to those restaurants and made healthier choices were affected by the changes and possible picked items better for them than they normally would have. In my opinion, that is a success. I think in time, that number will grow and more people will be using the calorie, fat, and sodium content posted on the menu to make their selections. Currently, the researchers who conducted this study believe that the reason more choices are not being based on the newly posted nutritional information comes down to customers not understanding how to make the distinction between a good choice and a bad choice. In my mind, this is completely ridiculous. How many people living in a well-educated country do not understand that having an extreme amount of calories in one meal is not something that you should seek out on a regular basis? I think researchers are still making excuses! Overall, we have a long way to go until a healthier lifestyle is commonplace in the lives of many Americans, but I think all of the steps being taken will eventually add up!
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