More health reform: calorie counts coming to a McDonald's near you
Along with individual mandates and health insurance exchanges, health reform includes a provision to get chain restaurants to list their calorie counts by next year.
Tucked within the sweeping legislation to overhaul the nation's health care system, labeling calorie information will become a requirement of chain restaurants and vending machines with more than 20 locations.
New York City already has such a provision and states such as California and Oregon have measures set to take effect next year. Some studies show labeling leads to people to pick healthier options, while others have found that alone, they do little to curb people's eating habits, the WSJ reports.
Folks at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity called the provision "an historic development" according to the NY Times, noting that too often people chow down on fast food without realizing how unhealthy it is for them.
Other supporters say such information can be empowering and help all of us make better eating choices. I'll be honest: it's not that I don't realize that Big Macs contain mega calories. It's just, well, perhaps I don't want to know exactly how much.
How about you?
AP photo
Categories: Diet and exercise, Health care reform
Comments
This sounds something liked caring for the health of the people. I really liked this idea of keeping an eye on the chain restaurants for labeling the calorie information and even that too it will become mandatory. This would also give a type of a warning and an intimation for the chain restaurants who are not doing good and not serving well for the health of their customers.
Posted by: bariatric surgery | March 26, 2010 7:02 AM
Selling Sickness in the Lobby, Fast Food in Hospitals
Peter Cram reported in JAMA that forty per cent of hospitals have fast food in the lobby. While you might consider this an outrage, the hospital probably considers it business as usual. Your hospital banned cigarette smoking long ago, yet still sends the message that fast food is healthy for you.
Fast Food Causes Chronic Disease
Michael Pollen, a journalist and author of "In Defense of Food", and "Food Rules" says in a New York Times Editorial that fast food causes chronic disease, and "there’s lots of money to be made selling fast food, and then treating the diseases that fast food causes. One of the leading products of the American food industry has become patients for the American health care industry".
For More:
http://jeffreydach.com/2010/01/27/selling-sickness-in-the-lobby--fast-food-in-hospitals-by-jeffrey-dach-md.aspx
Posted by: jeffrey dach md | March 26, 2010 8:23 AM
Interesting article. One question. Is McDonald's really the applicable example? It seems they're leading the quick service industry in healthy alternatives.
Posted by: Anonymous | March 27, 2010 11:47 PM