Yeah, Jim, Information Is Power
Have you ever been surprised by the nutritional content of something you’ve eaten? When I was on Weight Watchers, that happened to me a lot. For instance, I knew the Starbucks brownie bites weren’t healthy, but they’re so small that I figured eating one or two as a treat couldn’t be that bad. Once I found out they have 130 calories apiece, I stopped being all that tempted to eat them. I also remember that I was shocked at how many calories are in a Jamba Juice (470 in a standard-size Citrus Squeeze).
Not everyone makes the effort to seek out this information, but if they do, at least they aren’t being misled into thinking that something like a Jamba Juice–although marketed as such–is a “healthy” (i.e. low-calorie) snack. A lot of people probably don’t have nutrition information floating around in their brains, and don’t know where to find it, or have no means to access it when asked to make an on-the-spot decision. Nor do they always know what the lowest calorie item on a menu is just by instinct. Here’s a perfect example:
I then went to look at the nutritional information and found that there were 31 grams of fat and 700 calories in the salad and accompanying dressing alone…I should have ordered the Baja Ensalada with Shrimp only 245 calories and 6 grams of fat with the fat free salsa verde.
To try and clear up some of this confusion, New York is now requiring fast food restaurants to make nutritional information available on their menus. And predictably, some restaurants are balking at the new law.
Fast food chains also say they have been unfairly singled [out] because the new rule only applies to restaurants that serve standardized portions and offer nutritional information voluntarily. Michael Jacobson of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a health advocacy group, had a different take: “They are afraid that when people see these eye-popping calorie numbers, they might switch to a smaller size,” he said. “They feel it is gong to hurt sales.”
I’ll come right out and say it: I think requiring restaurants to post nutrition information on their menus is a fantastic idea (and I’ve subscribed to the CSPI’s “Nutrition Action Healthletter” for years). You want to combat obesity? You want people to eat more healthily? Rather than finding different ways to shame people, why not give them information instead?
I wish nutrition information were plastered on everything. It would enable people with busy lifestyles, who eat out a lot, who are maybe under-informed about the nutritional content of their foods, to make better choices. And, okay, fast food restaurants (which do provide nutritional information, although some could be a lot better about it) might not be the best place to start, but it is a start.
Hopefully this gathers momentum, and at some point, all restaurants will be required to provide nutrition information for everything they serve. Of course, then they might just lie about it–apparently one in every 10 nutrition labels is wrong. But we have to start somewhere.
Via CoryGlen.
Posted by mo pie
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I’m having a really hard time with this one just now.
I’ve just decided, finally, after years of self-torture to stop dieting and just eat whatever I feel like and commit to exercising for an hour a day.
I read Gina Kolata’s Rethinking Thin and I’m actually trusting (or trying to at least) the thesis that I’ve probably got a 20-30 pound range that my body is OK with, that appetite will self-regulate within that range, and that regular exercise will keep me healthy and toward the bottom of that range.
So that means I shouldn’t have to worry about calories anymore. *
So why do I need those paranoia inducing labels in my food? I want them for ingredient content, because I don’t want corn syrup in everything and I’d rather support organic businesses.
Ack. So this is more about my general frustration with the whole issue. Yes, labels are good, but I think we’re all looking at the wrong things for the wrong reasons.
Get back to me in a year and see if I’m still whistling that tune. :)
*Note that this isn’t a license to eat crap 24/7, but if the science there is correct, it shouldn’t matter.
the key is not the calories…get off of that…the key is what is in it. eat good food…fruits, veggies, chicken, seafood, rice, etc and exercise and forget about the calories…just don’t overeat.
Aside from people who’d like time off from being nagged about calories, labelling would be quite a burden for restaurants that don’t have standardized menus.
Finding out which energy bars have various sorts of sugar as their first five ingredients is good enough for me.
I agree with David – low calorie count does not equal healthy. For me, the best method is knowing what I’m eating…which is hard if I’m trying to buy something pre-packaged (oh, the reading of ingredients lists!). This approach has pushed me to start growing more of my own food, to start cooking more and eating out less, and to really recognize that a “food product” is not necessarily the same thing as food.
I do think, though, that easily accessible nutrition information (on menus and/or packaging, as applicable) is a good idea, as a stopgap for folks who don’t have time or inclination to grow or cook their meals.
Its not until I started this journey that I really paid attention to calories, etc. It totally blows my mind how high some products were that I ate on a daily basis without thinking twice. You have a great blog! Keep it up!
psssst you ladies have been tagged as my ladies in waiting, stop by and check out the new castle. Lady Rose (I truly admire your blog and you are an inspiration which is why I had to include all three of you in my post.)
David, I don’t understand what you mean by “Just don’t overeat.” What’s your specific criteria for overeating? I’m not trying to be pissy, I’m just curious. Do you mean just eat until you feel full, and if so, how full? Or do you mean actually measure out a certain amount of food, and if so, how do you decide how much food?
I’d love it if nutritional info for foods were available at restaurants. Typically when I eat out I usually go online afterwards to figure out exactly what is digesting in my stomach and I’ve been pretty damn shocked by the amount of calories, carbs and fats some foods contain.
I remember Ruby Tuesday put that info on their menus in 2004 and eventually took it off. I believe they said it was cost prohibitive to have to change the menus everytime they altered a portion size or changed ingredients in a recipe. I have to wonder if if was affecting sales though.
There’s a Kafkaesque hitch to this law that you’re not bringing up. The law only applied to fast food restuarants that were ALREADY offering calorie and nutritional information in their establishments! If you hadn’t given out any info to begin with you were exepmt from the law.
Understandably, fast food restuarants that were making this info available PULLED that info from their restaurants and even their websites. Now they are in full compliance with the law. Didn’t that work out great for us?
Also, as most of us have seen fast food boards, do you really want to know the exact number of calories in a Big Mac while you’re eating it? Did you think it was diet food? I haven’t counted a calorie in 5 years, and I’m a bit slimmer now than when I obessively counted them every day!
I actually looked at the post again and saw that the blurb you quoted did mention the fact that this law was only applied to restaurant’s that were voluntarily posting this information in their establishments.
Um, do realize that your supporting a law that ultimately resulted in LESS information being released to the public about nutritional information?
I take it that the problem is that if a place like McDonalds has a board or a sheet of paper available that tells you things like # of calories in a Big Mac, we, the fat, uneducated, lazy, unhealthy masses can just look away and ignore it. But, if you have it right there on the menu board “BIG MAC: $5.50, 1500 CALORIES, 75 GRAMS OF FAT” (and where the heck are they even going to fit this on those boards?) Well, then us dummies will have no choice but to see the terrible truth – EEK – FAST FOOD IS HIGH IN CALORIES! Hey, maybe we can put warnings on the side of the boxes the food is in ‘EATING THIS WILL MAKE YER ASS FAT!’ Just like cigarettes!
I kind of expected better than this from what I thought was a fat acceptance site.
FYI, by “just like cigarettes” I was referring only to the product warning on the boxes (which I think at this point just sez “Hey dummy, this shit’ll kill ya!”)
A couple of thoughts….
1) I don’t know how much difference it will make to post nutritional numbers, because a lot of people have no idea how many calories they should be eating or how to define “high calorie”, therefore the information is useless to them, because they have no useful context with which to interpret the numbers.
2) I have made a point to contact many of the restaurants I attend to request nutrtional info on their website if it isn’t there, or to commend them on posting the info if it is there. I know my little e-mail won’t make a huge difference, but if everyone who care sends them a little note, perhaps someone will take notice and realize they will lose business if they don’t give us this info!
I am thirding the notion that “low calorie” or “low fat” does not always equal “healthy.” You will get many more fat grams and calories from a handful of nuts or slices of avocado than you will from some Snackwells cookies. But which snack is healthier, more filling, better for your body?
I completely agree with this, and wish that all restaurants were required to post nutritional information.
I agree that it might not be so shocking on things that are dripping with grease like a Big Mac. But what about when you order something that looks healthy, like a salad, but have no idea that the nuts and dressing add 500 calories? Having that displayed right there on the menu will help educate people that they might not be getting what they think they are getting.
And honestly, I don’t see what’s so hard about requiring restaurants to calculate nutritional information. I can do it at home every night using a variety of calculators and sites like calorieking.com, and I eat something different every night. I don’t see why a restaurant, which serves the same food every night, can’t tally up the nutritional info on the food it serves. And really, they don’t have to put it right on the menu, as long as it’s available if someone asks.
I agree that processed foods are very rarely “healthy” in any holistic, meaningful definition of the word. But I do eat convenience food too, and I think having nutritional info available is a way to re-exert some control over our food that convenience food retailers have taken from us.
They have been manipulating our notion of what appropriate servings of soda and fries look like and they have been loading the food with empty calories that comfort us, all to get more money.
I’m not trying to demonize the food itself or people who eat it, or to ignore all the socio-economic issues that surround fast-food. Dispensing the advice “eat fresh fruits and veggies” does not help a huge number of folks access and pay for those foods . I think it is important to remind folks that they can’t trust even “health-food” places like Jamba-Juice to make decisions for them about their food.
Convenience food is so manipulated that it’s hard to apply common sense- it’s built by magical gnomes with chemistry sets rather than cooked. I think it’s important to have the information about how these foods were constructed readily available. I know that the information may play into whatever hysterical judgements people feel like making, as Rose predicts, but it’s information which can be used for good as well as evil, and I prefer to err on the side of informing consumers.
Rose, you make a good point. I guess in my ideal world, nutrition information would be available for everything. Not necessarily in a warning label way (which, I agree, if it’s only on “bad” fast food, it comes across as) but in an informational way. I don’t even need it put on menus; I just need to be able to ask for it and know it’s available.
I think the more information the better. Mainly it would make my life a lot easier from a practical standpoint… I have to give tons of props to places like Beaner’s Coffee and Panera that make the information so easily accessible on their web sites.
I do agree with previous commenters that putting it on the menu board would create clutter and confusion, and how do you decide what “stats” to put up there? Sodium might be more important than calories for someone with high blood pressure, for example. I’d rather see the whole set of nutritional stats as an informational brochure, like some restaurants already do.
There have been times when I have been shocked at the amount of calories in something and have modified my ordering because of it… but I feel like people’s perceptions of how much they are eating or should eat go both ways. Half the time people like CSPI go “There are [I’m making this up] 530 calories in the grande Frappuccino ALONE!” and I think, OK, maybe that’s not the best choice for every day or for a “snack.” But if the issue is supposed to be obesity, and someone has that and only that for breakfast (which I think is how a lot of people consume things like Starbucks foo-foo drinks or pastries–as a meal), is it really contributing to weight gain? Better nutritional choices are out there for sure, but from a pure caloric standpoint, a 500-calorie meal is totally reasonable.
Honestly my unscientific theory is that most women consciously or subconsciously feel like they should be eating way fewer calories than they actually should be (like they think they should never eat more than a 300-calorie Lean Cuisine for lunch), then there’s no way to meet those unrealistic goals and they end up overeating at another meal. I’m afraid nutrition info on the menu would just play into that, like people would feel that they should NEVER order anything with more than 300 calories under any circumstances, when really it depends on how much food they need at that particular moment.
But I do agree that the more information we can get our hands on, the better.
I’m chuckling at Rose’s idea of warning labels like “EATING THIS WILL MAKE YER ASS FAT!” A local burger joint in Seattle, the Red Mill (redmillburgers.com, magnificent and totally, totally bad for you; get the onion rings!) actually uses this strategy in their print ads. One states “If you want a butt the size of the Kalakala (famous old art-deco ferryboat), eat at the Red Mill!” I do…and, yeah, it is.
The Jamba Juice stores I have been in have a book with nutritional information about every smoothie, boost etc they offer. Usually it is prominently placed… so finding out out how many calories are in your smoothie is pretty darn easy. If you didn’t know, you probably never looked. Demonstrating that companies can provide information, it doesn’t mean the public will absorb it.
I like companies who provide nutritional information easily (website, store, menus, napkins ala Subway) also, just pointing out it may not have the effect intended. I have used nutritional information from Chipotle, Jamba Juice, McD, Subway and other fast food places to make better choices when I do eat there.
I love the idea of putting nutrition information right where you can see it – sometimes you guess and you just guess completely wrong. Nutrition at restaurants apparently makes no sense. I always feel better when I have a handle on what I’m actually eating. Ingredients are important to me, too.
False advertising really pisses me off. And I personally think a lot of companies promoting healthier alternatives are doing just that. Sure 400 calories from fruit is better for your body than 400 calories from corn syrup, but it is still 400 calories for a *beverage* when you could eat a good amount of healthy food and stay full longer.
Ingredients are important.
Knowing that you have access to information is important (the last time I ordered a Jamba Juice, I was in a hurry so I didn’t think it through to ask whether or not the information was available, but I certainly didn’t see it displayed on the lit-up board where the varieties available to order were described).
Companies can gently lie and mislead. If you’re ordering a ready-made “health-food” drink (Naked, or Odwalla, for example) and you’re counting calories, you want to read the label very carefully and note that all the nutritional information is for one serving, but the bottle that you’re about to suck down because you’re thirsty and in a hurry contains two servings — or even three.
It may not be rocket science, but our hurry-up lifestyle has certainly not been structured to make it simple. I can’t help but think some conglomerates count on that.
“…forget about the calories…just don’t overeat…”
*head explodes from cognitive dissonance*
i was stimulated by this post, as were some other people, because its so controversial. The fact of the matter, is that we should all be educating ourselves on what we are eating, whatever our shape, whether or not you are trying to lose weight, or whatever. I think the problem is that “fat” is such a loaded term, meaning that if you are a heavier person, you are automatically not only unhealthy, but lazy, etc. So if you can look at a person and see that they are thin, even if they eat a lot or unhealthy and they make up for it with a high metabolism or lots of activity, then there is no reason to criticize them. Thats a bunch of bullshit. It sucks that you can look a person and decide you know everything there is to know about them. That being said, there is a lot of misleading information out there that might be confusing to people. For example, the earlier comment about lean cuisines – they are perfect in caloric intake if you are eating 6-8 meals a day, but not if you are eating three. I feel like everyone should be more critical of things, which is awesome on a site like this, even if it just sparks some discussion.
I like having the nutritional information and ingredients lists available for a number of reasons. First, I’m a vegetarian, and so I want to know if the soup is made with chicken or veggie stock, or if the refried beads are prepared with lard or vegetable oil. Second, I try to avoid high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils, which are prevalent in everydamnthing, it seems. Third, I find it difficult to “guess” at portion sizes, so if I know that something is 800 calories in advance, then I know to split it with my husband, or save half for later, or whatever. And finally, it can be confusing to figure out what things fit into my own dietary needs (not necessarily just the calorie count, but the amount of protein, for example.)
For these reasons, I tend to seek out info on websites before I go to fast food places, so I have my order for Qdoba, or Panera, or Subway in my head before I even get into the line. That way I’m less likely to be tempted by the stuff that I find out later is a gabillion calories of pure, chemically-enhaced sugar.
But I have another pet peeve: Why the hell is it so hard to harder a small sandwich and a small diet soda at a fast food place? Every time, I hear: “But if you go with the value meal, it’s cheaper.” To which I reply: “But I don’t WANT the value meal, I just want the sandwich, thanks anyway.” So they counter with: “But the small soda costs more than the large, I’ll just ring it up as a value meal.” Me: “OK, whatever, but all I want is a small soda, please.” After which they deliver a large soda and sometimes the regular size sandwich, and act like they’re doing me a favor by giving me more. Arrrgh!
Ho cho, thanks for your comment. I think you absolutely nailed it: “It sucks that you can look a person and decide you know everything there is to know about them.”
Oh and also, I’ve never really been upsold at Subway, but they do that at movie theaters too. I always get talked into upgrading my popcorn for “just fifty cents more!” It’s evil!
You know who has an astonishingly complete set of nutrition information? Dairy Queen. A lot of the info was even posted on the wall when I went in there for the first time in a while the other night. The particular flavor of Blizzard I got wasn’t on the poster, so I got on their web site to check when I got home, and there was basically every menu item they have. It was impressive.
Sure, the stuff isn’t good for you. But if you’re going to have a treat, it’s nice that the information is out there. Props to the DQ!
And someday I’m going to skip dinner… OK, maybe it should be lunch and dinner, but whatever… and have their Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle Bowl. It looks awesome.
Regarding how hard it can be to order a small sandwich, the McDonald’s I worked at about 9 years ago had a value meal called the “All-American Meal.” It was a hamburger or cheeseburger, small fries, and small drink. I always thought that was a cool idea (you save a few cents on the meal deal, no pressure to upsize, easy to order). But I’ve never seen it since. We had many customers who were seniors so that may have factored in.
spacedcowgirl, skip the Chocolate Covered Strawberry Waffle bowl. They use their regular strawberry topping (which tastes like jam to me) and the chocolate sauce that they use for dipping cones. The combination isn’t as tasty as it looks or sounds.
Hmm… thanks for the tip. Perhaps I should expend those [mumble mumble] calories on something more worth it.
You learn something new every day on BFD! ;-)
delicately! ;). Thank you for sharing