Calorie Reality ~Part 2
March 26, 2009
Attention Connecticut residents!
News Flash! Just in the knick of time from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI):
This Friday is the deadline for the Public Health Committee in the Connecticut General Assembly to vote on S.B. 1080, which requires that calorie info be posted on menus and menu boards in fast-food and other Connecticut chain restaurants.
I am the first to admit that nutrition is a pain. But as the CSPI says,:
Menu labeling would allow people to make healthier, more informed decisions for themselves and their families. Few people would ever guess (unless they saw me on WABC this past Saturday for my “Calorie Reality “ segment) that a plain bagel (370 calories) without cream cheese at Dunkin’ Donuts has 120 more calories than a jelly filled donut (250 calories) or that the Chicken Strips Basket (650 calories) at Friendly’s has almost 400 less calories than the Chicken Quesadillas (1,020 calories).
Ten other localities and states around the country have already passed menu labeling policies, including New York City, Philadelphia, and the state of California. Don’t residents of Connecticut also have the right to make informed choices when eating out?
Urge the Public Health Committee to vote in favor of menu labeling!
I urge you to vote in favor of S.B. 1080 which would require that calorie information be posted on the menu and menu boards in fast-food and other chain restaurants in Connecticut. Nutrition labeling on menus and menu boards would give Connecticut residents an important new tool to help us eat well and watch our weight.
The current economic crisis puts people’s health more at risk. People are relying on fast food to feed themselves and their families more during the recession. McDonald’s Chief Executive, Jim Skinner, was quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying, “Today’s market conditions play to our strengths.” Additionally, experts see decreases in gym memberships and athletic leagues as people cut spending. Providing calorie information on menus and menu boards will allow people to choose healthier options as they turn to fast-food and value menus during these tough economic times.
Menu labeling is a low-cost way to support healthy eating and to help address obesity. Most restaurants in Connecticut with 15 or more outlets nationally are already posting nutrition information in New York City, Seattle, and Portland, OR, where menu labeling policies are in effect. Even more have the information available on websites or in other formats. Those restaurants already have calorie information and thus, would not incur any additional costs to analyze their menu items. For those few that do not yet have calorie information, menu analysis software is inexpensive (available for as little as $500) and highly effective.
Menu labeling policies have passed in ten jurisdictions across the country, and have a very positive impact. In a study from New York City, 82% of customers said that menu labeling made a difference in their ordering. In the same study, the majority of people who used the nutrition information chose different items, but did not leave the store. There is no indication that menu labeling has had any nega tive impact on business in New York City. Menu labeling has broad public support; 78% of Americans want nutrition information on the menu at chain restaurants.
Please vote in favor of S.B. 1080 to give residents of Connecticut the information we need and want when eating out. Please let me know how you decide to vote on this public health issue.
Though Americans eat out more than ever before, few restaurants provide nutrition information at the point of ordering. As a result, we often get more calories, fat, and salt than we realize. Without clear, easy-to-use nutrition information at the point of ordering, it’s difficult to make informed choices at restaurants. Few people would guess that a small milkshake has more calories than a Big Mac or that a tuna sandwich from a typical deli contains twice as many calories as the roast beef with mustard.
More than twenty states and localities are considering policies that would require fast-food and other chain restaurants to provide calories and other nutrition information on menus and menu boards—four have already passed policies.
For help implementing a menu labeling policy in your area or for more information, contact: nutritionpolicy@cspinet.org.
More eye-opening info from the CSPI:
Please ask the Obama Administration to address the obesity epidemic by using some of the $650 million set aside for prevention and wellness in the economic stimulus package to strengthen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO). CDC is the nation’s lead prevention agency, yet DNPAO is funded at less than one half of one percent of CDC’s budget.
Please go to the “contact us” section of recovery.gov. Insert a request for CDC obesity funding, such as the model comment below, and add a supporting fact of your own or one from the list of options below:
Please ensure that the prevention and wellness fund from the stimulus package includes a strong investment in obesity prevention by providing $90 million for the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.
To support that request use one of the following or your own supporting fact:
* At the current funding, $42 million, CDC is able to support only 23 states. The remaining states receive no funds from CDC to address a condition that affects two-thirds of American adults, contributes to 112,000 deaths annually, and costs the nation $123 billion in treatment costs.
* Over the last ten years, the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity has begun to build a strong science base, effective programs, and national infrastructure to promote healthy eating and physical activity. The Administration should build on that initial investment rather than reinventing the wheel.
* With high rates of obesity in adults and children, the Administration can’t afford to not have a strong national obesity prevention program in place. Without sufficient investment in prevention, obesity rates are going to continue to wreak havoc on the nation’s health and health care costs.
* Funding CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at $90 million would allow it to support obesity prevention programs in every state.
* Even though all state applications were approved for funding, 13 states lost their obesity funding last year due to inadequate resources.
Nutrition is a pain. But thank you CSPI for reminding us of Calorie Reality.
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