Fast Food And Health Care Bill
By Tak Landrockt.landrock@krdo.com
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COLORADO SPRINGS – Starting in 2011 fast food menus will have a lot more numbers. Under the Health Care Reform law, any restaurant with more than 20 locations will be required to post calorie counts on menus.”It’s a great idea, especially in light of the obesity and diabetes epidemic we have,” says Rick Shieff, a registered dietician with Memorial Health. “It really addresses information for the consumer to make better choices.”
While many know fast food can be high in calories and fat, many don’t know what exactly they’re eating; for example take Arby’s Market Fresh Roast Turkey and Swiss versus an Arby’s Roast Beef sandwich; many consumers would chose the turkey sandwich, but it has 390 more calories than the roast beef sandwich.
“It’s about portion size, that’s where the deficit is,” says Mr. Shieff. He also tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 salads can also be deceptive. McDonald’s Southwest Grilled Chicken salad with dressing has nearly the same amount of calories as a Quarter Pounder.
Mr. Shieff compares the new law to buying a new HDTV; he says the price tags show detailed information about the electronics you’re about to buy, so why not do it with food. “Why can’t we do that with our nutrition as well; you have all the info to make a good choice, it seems to make good sense to me.”
Wild Wings-n-Things is already ahead of the game and will soon put calorie counts on their menu. “We are going to voluntarily do it, because I feel like it’s coming anyway,” says Mike Morris, owner and creator of the wings restaurant.
He estimates it will initially cost him about $100 per location to get new signs up, a cost he doesn’t plan on passing on to consumers. “We already tried to cut down on fat; zero trans fat; why not advertise it.”
Cities like New York and Los Angeles have been doing this for a number of years. The Food and Drug administration will have to come up with a plan to give guidance to restaurants.
Vending machines are also included in the law. It means a calorie count sheet will be put up on every item you can purchase.
