One-third of Americans' daily calories come from foods eaten outside of the home, and now the government is calling for the restaurant industry to improve their offerings to help combat obesity, according to a report prepared by the Keystone Center, at the request of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Citing studies that have found a connection between eating out and obesity, the report suggests that restaurants offer:
Menus with more fruits and vegetables
As it stands, Americans ate 300 more calories a day in 2000 than in 1985, and a full 64 percent of Americans are overweight (30 percent of whom are obese). Overweight and obesity costs the nation close to $93 billion a year in medical costs.
Restaurants should market more lower-calories options, and include more of them on menus, the report suggests. Further, letting consumers know how many calories are in entrees could help them make healthier choices.
However, the report also mentions that including the calorie content of entrees for an entire menu could cost anywhere from $11,500 to $46,000, which is not feasible for many restaurants.
And, while restaurants can offer healthier choices, surveys suggest that that doesn't mean people will choose them. In 2005, the top three foods Americans chose to eat out most often were hamburgers, fries and pizza.
This is a surprising and pleasant departure from the typical news generated from the FDA, which in the recent past has been more about supporting multi-national drug corporations than consumer health.
If you review the 134-page report you will find many intelligent recommendations for restaurants and the food industry. This is really good PR for the FDA, as it sure looks like they want to help Americans modify their food.
However, these recommendations remind me of the joint statements issued in 1999 by the American Academy of Pediatricians and the United States Public Health Services that recommended the removal of mercury from all vaccines because they were likely causing brain injuries in infants.
However, to this day, vaccines like hepatitis and influenza are for the most part loaded with mercury. The manufacturers were never forced to remove this poison from the vaccines.
The recommendations from this new FDA report desperately need to be implemented since Americans now consume one-third of their calories away from home. When you combine this with the fact that the number one source of calories in America is from soft drinks and 90 percent of the money Americans spend on food is for processed foods, America is indeed in sad shape.
If it wasn't for our advanced medical technologies to keep us alive far longer than our lifestyles would dictate, the average life expectancy of Americans would probably drop by about 10 years.
However, just like the mercury removal recommendations, there are simply no penalties for the food industry failing to respond to them. So folks please remember this fact, you are on your own when it comes to selecting healthy food to eat.
Don't rely on the government, as they are not going to help you. They want you to think they are helping by issuing great window-dressing statements like this report.
I have long advised my patients that it is no mystery that when noon rolls around and they are at work they will need to eat lunch. So, act like a Scout and be prepared. Do not go to bed at night until you have a clear plan on how you are going to nourish yourself with healthy food the next day.
This way you avoid the crazy rush in the morning and have the resources in place to not have to select from a local fast food restaurant, which can't possibly serve you a nutritious meal.