Weigh-in
August 1, 2008
by Susan Lucas
Recently,as of July 19, a New York city law requires chain restaurants to list calories on their menus or risk fines. The restaurant industry is busy filing lawsuits to stop this action. What do you think?
Personally, as a consumer as well as a registered dietitian, I think it’s about time we demanded the truth. With all the confusing nutritional information out there I still believe the number of calories you need to consume a day is understandable and with the amount of calories in each item easily visible it becomes easier to make smart choices. If you consume more calories than you expend you will gain weight, it’s that simple. With about 60 percent of Americans overweight, we need to re-evaluate our choices.
More than 20 other states, cities, and counties are considering similiar moves. Restaurants are fighting to keep this information obscure. They want to hide the facts.
New York City Health Commissioner Frieden estimates that the number of obese people in New York City alone could be cut by 150,000 over the next 5 years which in turn could prevent more than 30,000 cases of diabetes (which happens to be the sixth largest cause if death in the U.S.)
I want to know what I’m eating when I eat out. If any of you are interested in getting a law passed for your area this website can help www.menulabeling.org. Let’s take charge of our own health beginning today!
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