Kudos To Arnie… But Will It Really Make Any Difference?
In late September, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that will mandate Californian restaurant chains to post nutritional information on both menus and menu boards.
That’s a good thing.
As you and I know, obesity is taking an awful toll on the health of North Americans both young and old. And the financial cost is staggering too; from the tax payer’s point of view, it makes good sense for policies like this to be implemented-not just in Canada and the U.S., but worldwide.
Despite this, I have to ask you…
Will this make any difference?
Do the folks who eat at Mickey-Dee’s regularly really give a hoot about the amount of calories they are consuming? Some, obviously, won’t be affected no matter what anybody does.
And will the numbers really mean anything if they are not presented in context? For instance, if you have no idea how many calories you should be consuming in a day, how much impact will it have to learn that a Big Mac has approximately 540 calories? Is that a lot? A little?
With no point of reference, I suspect most people will shrug their shoulders, and carry on as usual.
You might feel a little differently about ordering a Big Mac, large fries and a cola if you knew that it would take you a minimum of two hours of pretty intense exercise on a treadmill to burn off those calories (this number will vary according to bodyweight and bodyfat percentage, click here for a calorie calculator).
But if you don’t know… then what?
I guess my point is this…
Forcing restaurants to include calorie information on their menus is a good start. But it is only that-a start. Without an public educational program to accompany it, I’m pessimistic about the chances of such labeling making a dramatic difference in the obesity crisis.
What do you think?
Rob on 21 Oct 2008 at 9:34 pm #
Yes it’s a good start. I already have a pretty good idea when I look over a menu of what I”m in for. But I doubt the labeling will affect the decisions made by the majority .
Most people don’t go into such places because they are interested in good nutrition, they just want something fast that fill them and tastes good.
Labels etc can be printed until they become so much wall paper but the real shame is the menu that is offered, there are few choices in fast food outlets.
If customers want something better nutrition wise, they will have to leave the restaurant and those types of consumers aren’t going in there in the first place.
Perhaps such establishments should be fined until they reach a certain % of healthier items on the menus as well.