Posted on 11/03/2003 9:55:27 PM PST by yonif
WATERLOO --- Ever wonder how many grams of fat are in that fettuccini Alfredo at your favorite restaurant? Or how many calories you're sucking down with that apple martini?
The answers to such questions often elude diners who worry eating out is wrecking their diets,
Americans eat a large portion of their meals outside the home, a growing trend in recent decades. Experts say giving consumers information about restaurant meals is essential to helping them make good choices.
The Food and Drug Administration is looking at the idea of encouraging restaurants to print nutrition information on their menus.
Thirty-one percent of American adults, or nearly 59 million people, are considered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control. And restaurants need to help fix the problem, said Alan Rulis, a senior adviser for the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition with the FDA.
"There's no way we can address the obesity issue without addressing restaurants," Rulis said.
So far, the FDA committee is working with the restaurant industry to see if nutrition labels on menus are feasible, but is not looking at making them mandatory, he said.
Lori Fincher, lead dietitian at Allen Hospital in Waterloo, said nutrition information on menus would help people watch what they eat.
"For those that are concerned about their weight and who do want to do something about the obesity factor, sure, I think it would make a difference," Fincher said.
Diners have a hard time estimating portion sizes and avoiding hidden fats when they eat out, Fincher said. A lot of people don't know how to look for key words on menus that signal lower-fat foods.
People also tend to underestimate the calories in restaurant fare, which is often made with unhealthy fats, creams and butter, instead of healthier counterparts.
Putting that information directly on the menu could make those choices easier, Fincher said.
"We all know the things that are high fat, but sometimes until we actually see it in writing ... that's when it's going to make the biggest impact on us," Fincher said.
Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, plans to offer legislation requiring restaurant chains with more than 20 branches to provide calorie counts and other nutrition information to diners. His legislation also would require the nutritional information for food in vending machines to be posted on the outside of the machine.
"The issue is basically allowing people to have the information at their fingertips so that they can make healthy choices," said Harkin spokeswoman Allison Dobson.
Chain restaurants already spend millions of dollars on marketing, Dobson said, and have more resources to meet those type of standards than independent restaurants. Besides, chain fast-food restaurants are typically the bigger culprits when it comes to serving high-fat, non-nutritious foods, she said.
But rules like that just wouldn't be feasible for independent restaurants, said Jennifer Kramer Williams, marketing director for Barmuda Corp. The company owns metro-area restaurants like Bourbon Street and Beck's Pub & Grille.
Giving calorie counts would mean hiring a professional to calculate calories.
Besides, chefs like the flexibility of being able to tweak their recipes over time based on customer feedback, or to offer specials at the spur of the moment, Williams said.
And despite all of the advice to eat healthy, many diners want to enjoy rich food when they are eating out, Williams said.
"You expect something to taste great when you go out to eat. You expect to indulge a little bit usually," she said.
No. And if I was worried, I guess I'd either not go out at all or cut down how often I went out.
Me too. HOWEVER...
Making restaurants publish their nutritional data is none of the government's d*mn business. It's much more important that we snuff out this bad idea before it seriously flares up.
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