On Demand
Food for Thought
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Diane Brady, senior writer for Business Week and Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition food studies and public health at New York University and the author of What to Eat (North Point Press, 2007), new in paperback, discusses the striking down of a law that required fast-food chains to post calorie counts on their menus.
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I use labels generally to understand what is a serving size. Often people notice the calorie count, but sometimes we forget that the count is per serving.
As a diabetic, I >always< read food labels to make sure there isn't any added sweeteners (or preservatives, or any other kind of junk). My complaint is the way that food companies are able to mislead the public by breaking down its listing of "sugar" content by using different kinds of sweeteners.
I'm a vegetarian so I always read food labels to see what the ingredients are. I don't really care for calorie count, but I do check the dietary fiber contained.
Whenever eating processed foods, I read food labels. But beyond this, why don't people use common sense - when you eat fast food, you are not eating well! People need to take personal accountability for being overweight. Also, perhaps we need more public information...a campaign resembling that against smoking.
The information is out there and it is up to individuals to know what is healthy and what isn't. We've been bombarded with nutritional information now for decades and legislating this matter is truly silly. If there are people who don't know that certain fats and food products are or are not healthy then they must be living in a balloon. The information is out there everywhere; let the lazy do some research. It's time Americans grow up and take initiative and not wait to be lead.
By the way, don't kid yourself, a healthy fast-food restaurant is such any oxymoron.
I'm a type 1 diabetic. As an insulin-dependent person, it is vital that I know the exact number of carbs in the food I eat. Eating out often requires a high level of guessing about the number of carbs in most meals. And guessing incorrectly directely affects my health. I would eat out much more often if I knew the carb counts of the food in some of my favorite restaurants.
Despite 17 years after the ADA, most restaurants don't even make item and price information accessible to blind and low vision people. I had no idea there was nutrition information and dknow I won't have access to it if it itis there. But I don't have it when I purchase from supermarkets either unless I buy from Fresh Direct which I do, but people can't use food stamps with Fresh Direct and most blind people are on the wrong side of the digital divide. There are possible solutions to this. I'd like to see someone address this. We are always left out of the conversation. Am I really "someone"?
(sorry, in my effort to do this quickly, I think I also submitted it to the wrong page)
People might read food labels but I am curious to know how many people notice the serving size and calculate the calories accordingly.
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