Gorilla in the Kitchen's menu features this reassuring message.
The Yale University study divided diners into three groups.
• One was given menus with the calories listed for the dinner entrees.
• Another group was given menus that cited the calories plus a reference number that showed the recommended daily caloric intake for the average adult: about 2,000.
• A third group had menus with no calories listed.
The study found that the diners who were given the info on the number of calories for the dinner entrees as well as the recommended daily caloric intake for the average adult male (2,000 calories per day) were more likely to keep their caloric intake in check because they had a benchmark for the entire day as well as the meal itself.
For more information about this study, go to "Diners eat fewer calories when menu lists entrees' contents."
Health activists in the U.S. have been working to try to pass laws requiring restaurants to publish this type of information for some time. New York City and Philiadelphia both passed this type of legislation in 2008 and the state of New Jersey is considering similar legislation. It has been even appeared in a version of the Health Care bill currently making its way through the US Senate.
I don't think the government, on any level, should be counseling people on their dietary choices. If a person wants to eat 500 calories a day or 5,000 calories a day is not the government's concern. Those kind of decisions are between the person and their doctor or dietitian.
It costs a lot of money for a restaurant to have each menu item tested for calories, nutrition, etc. which gets passed along to the consumer. There's no such thing as a "free ride". On the other hand, if restaurants choose to provide this information based on true consumer demand, more power to them.
Especially, when other studies have indicated that offering calorie information only motivates those people who are already pre-disposed to pick healthier food items anyway without or without the calorie information. People who want a Half-pounder burger might change to ordering a Quarter-pound burger if the calorie information scares them a little bit, but it won't make them switch from a Quarter-pounder to a Chicken salad with dressing on the side.
They also encourage customers to exercise portion control by offering two different portion options ("human" vs. "gorilla"). Based on blogospheric reviews of GIK, this information is greatly appreciated and their food tastes good, even their desserts.
Here are a couple of foodie blog reviews of GIK's offerings.
It is really expensive to have the analysis done, especially if the menu is large, making this hard on small restaurants. On the other hand, my kids love fast food and they were really interested to see the caloric analysis of their favorite items. They're only 6 and 9 years old, but it made an impact on them. Can you see that I'm conflicted?
ReplyDeleteHere are some of the comments posted from Free Republic on this issue.
ReplyDeletemy life: "Eff no! Eating out is an indulgence. You wanta count calories? learn to cook for yourself.It’s ridiculous."
Cheap Hessian: "I think it should be up to the establishment, but it would be good practice for a restaurant to have the nutritional information available via website or brochure. However, if the government is blindly mandating the placement of nutritional information on menus then that is a situation where there is too much intrusion. I would like the think as individuals we can make our own informed decisions without the help of incompetent bureaucrats with political agendas. Also, people should have the freedom to make decisions like this without government hand holding. ...It depends on the business. It depends on my circumstances. It may or may not be a waste of money. Subway may find more use calculating nutritional information as part of a marketing campaign than a smaller establishment which may find it not necessary and a waste of money. It depends on specific circumstances and that's the whole point of a free market... if enough people demand a product or service, eventually someone will supply it. Any amount of government intrusion will always take away from the maximum possible value in every transaction.
Personally, I find the information useful if I am dieting or generally curious. Does it make any difference in restaurant preference? I guess maybe to a small extent, but in general, I will be in favor of any decision that will help the consumer make a more informed decision. Would not supplying the information hurt business? Probably not... as long as the food tastes great, I don't think customers will care too much about the food information."
More FReeper commentary:
ReplyDeleteBrugmansian: "A worthless study. Many years ago, I did epidemiology grunt work at Yale Med. The methodology used in this study would have been laughed over to the main campus and the sociology department."
stephenjohnbanker: "I learned in my late teens that calories mean nothing. If I have a weight probem and eat 2000 calories of sirloin steak one day, and the next day I eat 2000 calories of pizza, guess which day I will gain weight?"
More FReeper commentary.
ReplyDeleteCheapskate: "with my bad attitude, the NANNY State stickin it's fat nose into my plate will just make me reach for that extra hunk of cheese!!!! "
SuzieQ: "
I like the idea. I may still eat whatever I like, but at least I’ll know the nutrition info about it. I do Weight Watchers, and in order to figure out my ‘points’, I need total calories, total fat grams and total fiber. Sodium would also be nice, but I don’t count that, because I don’t need to do so.
Most folks don’t eat everything at one sitting, anyway, so they’d likely be eating half of the total."
Tasmanian Red: "Sounds like a resturant that I’d avoid. I cook healthy all the time at home.. Low fat, tons of veggies. I go out to eat when I want something special."