Restaurants May Put Calorie, Fat Info On Menus

[wdlove]

The government is think about requiring resturants to list calories and fat on their menu. MacDonalds is already displaying calorie information. Approximately 65% of Americans are fat.

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/health/2578471/detail.html?treets=bos&tml=bos_health&ts=T&tmi=bos_health_1_12150110272003

 

[Daveman Deluxe]

Sounds reasonable to me, though I suppose it can be hard to analyze a plate of food at a sit down restaurant.

 

[bbarnhart]

I think restaurants should be doing this, but I don't know if there needs to be a law. How would McDonald's display this on he sign above the cashiers? There would also be a large expense for the testing of fat and calorie content. Every time you tweaked an item you would have to have retested.

People just need to get a clue for themselves.

 

[Giaguara]

Well.

Many are fat .. if you go out to eat ... and you see the entree you get will have 45 g of fat (lets say fried mozzarellas, it should be around there), first plate 35 g (salmon.. not deep fried), and the dessert 60 g (big slice of chocolate cake and sauce) ... would you want to know that? Would you go out and eat what you like or be paranoid about it?

If i knew how much fat everything has, i wouldn't probably eat naything in any restaurant. Or a salad, no onions, no meat etc in it, no cheese, only vinegar and lemon as dressing. That's about it.


MAYBE those contents would be ok for federal stuff .. food chaings. macdonalds, arbys etc .. but not for small, family owned places. you cant always 100 % accurately tell if what you cook has 11 or 17 or 22 g of fat, as so much depends on so many things... not all the foods are as processed, standardized as macdonalds so its contents arent 100 5 the same all the time either.

If those contents were mandatory, I'd feel disordered food behaviours be encouraged ..

 

[Dros]

I don't want to know what sit-down places serve up. The reason good places make good food is they do what we would consider insane things like use sticks of butter where we would use tablespoons, or soak it in duck fat, or pile on the lard. The meats are well-marbled with fat instead of the lean stuff you get at supermarkets. Even veggies get tons of butter for a rich taste. However, I'd rather eat out rarely at a nice place than daily at a fast food place. I had a "confit du canard" (duck leg cooked in its own fat slowly) last weekend, and it was great, even if rich enough to kill you if ingested frequently.

And as people have said, a national chain could test recipes, but some bistro with 6 regular dishes and 4 specials that change each night? Very difficult.

 

[Giaguara]

That's actually one reason why I can't find much to eat out. I can't digest overfatty food. My stomach just does not work, and thats painful. Actually even normal chips cause that, so if i have enything more than one ridiculous serving size of chips (like they say in the packages of them, about 4 chips...) my stomach will hurt or i can also spontaneously and unintentionally throw up. aw.

 

[rainman::|:|]

people (on the whole) don't pay attention to the nutritional information that is on some foods, why would restaraunts be different? if i want a steak, or a bisque, or salmon, i eat it, cholesterol be damned

i suppose for dieters and the health-conscious it would be a good thing. my partner just started on a new diet, and this would help...

but yeah, not sure if it should be a law... maybe just a tax break or something...

pnw

 

[wdlove]

Originally posted by paulwhannel
people (on the whole) don't pay attention to the nutritional information that is on some foods, why would restaraunts be different? if i want a steak, or a bisque, or salmon, i eat it, cholesterol be damned

i suppose for dieters and the health-conscious it would be a good thing. my partner just started on a new diet, and this would help...

but yeah, not sure if it should be a law... maybe just a tax break or something...

pnw

The great fear is that they might tax fat. They have gone after tobacco. In my state it's $1.50 per pack. It seems that the target now is fat. They see dollar signs.

 

[Phil Of Mac]

I don't really care about how many calories, personally. I don't want to see it on the freaking menu. But if they want to, they can. This should be an issue of free enterprise.

 

[5300cs]

Originally posted by wdlove
The great fear is that they might tax fat. They have gone after tobacco. In my state it's $1.50 per pack. It seems that the target now is fat. They see dollar signs.

Cigarettes are idiotically expensive in Boston; I'm glad I don't smoke anymore. When I was in high school, a pack of cigarettes was $2.

Back on topic- I, personally, can usually tell if something is really fatty or not, I think a lot of it is common sense. And living in Japan, I am no longer surprised by a figure like 65%. Here, breakfast is fish, or rice and soup. In the US it's bacon & eggs, or sausage with coffee or danishes and all that. If people eat that everyday no WONDER they're fat. People who pig-out on McD's while driving around in their SUVs all day should not have any disollusions (sp?) as to why they're fat.

At the same time though, while I know what's healthy and what's not, I usually go for unhealthy food because it tastes better. So if I see someone who's overweight, I'd hesistate to go over and give 'em a lecture on the food pyramid because that person might have self-control issues, or issues with stress, etc.

I'm very lucky to have an excellent metabolism; I eat all kids of crap and am now at 130lbs (I'm 27, 6' tall.) I'm starting to worry that when I hit 30, all the twinkies, ding-dongs, ho-hos and iced honey buns I ate as a kid are all going to come back.

 

[wdlove]

Enjoy your excellent metabolism while you can 5300cs. With age it will slow. If you enjoy food that what it is all about. I would reccomend that you have your cholesterol checked. Use the results to help prevent problems in the future.