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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – With the passage of Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, nutrition labeling on restaurant menus becomes a national platform. Regardless of the shift in power at the November election, it is unlikely that this part of the bill will be changed by the future Congress. Mandating that restaurants and food vendors, with more than 20 locations nationwide, post calorie information is being widely touted by politicians as a successful step in the war on obesity. But legislative efforts to control what people eat are not always successful. And, the impact of this legislation on consumer behavior is yet to be seen. One thing is certain, it firmly establishes the government’s role in what we choose to eat.
Before the passage of the health care reform bill there were already some state and municipal laws in place and numerous others under consideration. The National Restaurant Association endorsed the federal mandate because the national standard would preempt local legislation making nationwide menu standards easier to apply.
The Food and Drug Administration is the regulatory agency charged with jurisdiction over the menu labeling program. They had 1 year to submit rules for calorie posting and nutrition information delivery. This deadline is looming, March 2011. Restaurants will have 6 months after this date to comply. This will not be easy. It takes time to analyze menu items and implement corporate controls chainwide.
Any restaurant with more than 20 outlets operating under the same corporate name must post calories and provide additional nutrition information upon request. Many chains already have this information in place, but others do not. The regulations extend to airlines, movie theaters, convenience stores, supermarket deli counters, and vending machine operators with more than 20 machines.
The biggest question is: What will all these regulations accomplish? In theory, legislators hope it will impact on personal food choices, making them healthier, and that in turn will slow down our rising national rate of obesity. In practice this may not be the case.
Many registered dietitians and researchers have pointed out the shortcomings of simply posting calorie information in the hope of achieving behavioral change. A study showed that New York City’s calorie posting regulations achieved a 6% reduction in calories purchased per meal. If a meal has 500 calories, this would result in 30 calories saved. A study from Seattle showed that an average kid’s meal choice had 830 calories before calorie posting and 835 calories after the law took effect.
What drives a person to select a food is a very complicated process. External cues like smell and visuals can quickly override logic and knowledge when it comes to eating. Taste and price always rank higher than health in studies that examine customer’s selections at restaurants. You may be watching your weight, but the dollar menu can quickly entice you toward other choices. Some evidence shows that customers change their behavior with initial calorie posting but over time return to their regular choices. Until we understand the process of food decisions, providing nutrition information will have little impact.
In many cases the customer simply has no idea how to use the information. Few people know how many calories they need each day. Telling them that a burger has 475 calorie doesn’t relate to the bigger picture of total daily intake. Many people don’t understand that calories are not created equal. Three hundred calories from a soda is not the same as 300 calories from a ham and swiss sandwich on a whole wheat bun. The soda is simply sugar calories. The sandwich offers the same amount of calories along with vitamins, minerals, whole grains and antioxidants.
No one can deny that we eat out more. Close to 50% of every food dollar is spent eating away from home. The snacks and meals we order often have very large portions with more calories, fat and sodium than foods made at home. Consumers need to learn portion moderation and the value of making healthy food choices before they can effectively use calorie information.
One big challenge for restaurants will be the accuracy of the calorie and nutrition information provided. Who oversees the nutrition analysis? How will the analysis be accomplished – through a computer program or by actual food analysis? If the nutrition analysis is done at the corporate level, will it be accurate when prepared and served at a local franchise. If the menu analysis calls for a teaspoon of mayonnaise on a sandwich and the server spreads a tablespoon, the calorie difference is significant. Will a small scoop of ice cream be consistent when hand-scooped in every store? These quality control issues will be difficult to manage regardless of how well the staff is trained.
Restaurant menu labeling requirements may fit the old adage of the cart before the horse. Without education and knowledge it won’t matter what size the font should be or where the restaurant posts the calorie information, if the customer does not know how to use it.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales in excess of 8 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller.
Current titles include:
The Calorie Counter, 5th Ed., 2010
The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3rd Ed., 2010
The Complete Food Counter, 3rd ed., 2009
The Fat Counter, 7th ed., 2009
The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008
The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008
The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd Ed., 2007
For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to the newly revamped website: The Nutrition Experts
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