Health knowledge made personal
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Me: Charcuterie plate for 3 as an appetizer, please. Server (surveying the table) And how many plates should I bring?Me: None. I’ll just eat it off the cutting board.I'm not even so sure that people WANT to know how good or bad something is for them when they are out to eat. Would it be possible to have two types of menus to offer, one for the "conciously eating well" and another for the "choosing not to know" consumers? So that’s my question. How do we still treat ourselves AND stay true to our nutrition goals when we go out for dinner with friends or family, on dates or by ourselves? Would caloric counts or basic nutritional information sway even a Nutritionista who likes her treats, such as I am, or are we bound by our own willpower to make the right choices regardless of whether or not that information is provided for us? Even then, choosing to have a salad at a fast food joint (iceberg lettuce, ranch dressing, one tomato) rarely proves to be the healthier choice, the same goes for opting for a whole wheat muffin at a coffee shop (which often has more calories and fat than a donut!). And then, what about people who eat out every day? What about those people who have a McMuffin and “orange juice” for breakfast, then hit a café for a latte, then have lunch out with coworkers (sit down or take out), then another latte, then grab takeout on the way home? Would they change their minds if the calorie count was right in front of them? I got a little reflective about this whole topic, and wonder if these attempts at "making it easier" for consumers to make healthy choices is just catering to people being too lazy to learn proper nutriton or make their own food, or are they a viable way of helping busy people who don't have time to wade through the often and time-consuming process of learning about real food? Are these attempts encouraging people to learn more about what they put in their bodies, or just becoming a crutch to lean on and if it is not present they will make poor nutritional decisions? And serving size! Don’t even get me started…..okay, get me stared. A friend of mine was telling me about a billboard he saw in the U.S. that showed a two 50oz (yes, FIFTY OUNCE) bottles of coke advertised as “enough for your meal”:  Enough for who's meal? How many people? Why would someone even need ONE 50oz bottle of coke for anything? I just got wind of the new "trenta" size at Starbucks.....31 glorious ounces of coffee? Phew, I was getting tired of bringing my Big Gulp cup there every morning to get my fix. Arrrrgh! This is a whole other blog topic! I'm interested to know what other people think. I know there are tons of studies in the U.S. about how calorie count on menus does not change people's decisions about what they order, but what about you reading this? What do you think? Oh, sorry, gotta run. My Loco Moco's are ready. xoxo devo |
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A few months back I got the opportunity to lead my co-workers in a week of activities focused on cancer prevention through healthy eating and exercise. This was part of a national week that our organization has every year for the staff to get motivated and challenged to live a little bit healthier. I guess you could say it is an opportunity for us to not only “talk the talk” but also to “walk the walk” when it comes to cancer awareness and prevention. We had a combination of seminars, physical activities, informational handouts and a healthy potluck to mix it up and make it fun.
Part of that week’s activities was a talk by health behavior researcher Dr. David Hammond on Nutrition Labeling on Menus, particularly in fast food restaurants, and it really opened my eyes to something I had heard of before but not really taken much consideration of. On his website it states "nutriton labels on food products have become a prominent policy tool for educating consumers and promoting healthy eating habits....however exisiting regulations do not apply to foods served in restaurants or fast-food outlets".
Although it has become more commonplace to see at least a “nutritional information” poster or brochure at fast food places, even they are not the most accessible form of information, as this video (somewhat ridiculously - those brochures are pretty big) shows:
So fine, most people are already somewhat aware that fast food is not the most optimal choice for wholesome and nutritious food. But what about restaurants, particularly the chain restaurants (which serve as what many people feel is the "healthy alternative" to fast food)?
It's easy to think that the majority of what you order while at a "sit down" spot is better for you because it's...what.... "cooked to order"? "Made with love"? Has words like "fresh" and "sauteed" in it? Where are the nutritional facts for these items on the menu? I can only think of one chain restaurant that does this, the Pickle Barrel, and they even have a section of “healthy choices” by Rose Reismen (who by the way does awesome work for Breakfast for Learning ).
Like most people, one of my favorite things to do is go out to eat. I love trying out new restaurants, "discovering" great new places that I can go tell all my friends about and talking at great length about the flavors, textures and presentation of certain dishes. I tend to splurge on the “not so good” choices, especially if it's at somewhere new and exciting where there is options I wouldn't normally have offered to me.
For me, going out for dinner feels like a treat, a celebration, a time to just let it all go and order what you normally wouldn’t have at home:
Server: And for the lady?