Restaurants to put calories on menus?
I was watching the news (San Antonio WOAI) and they reported that there are some San Antonians wanting San Antonio restaurants to put calories clearly on menus. San Antonio is one of the fattest cities in the US. To help San Antonio become healthier and hopefully off of the “fattest city” list, people think that having the amount of calories for meals on menus will help San Antonians make better food choices.
I completely disagree. People should know that hamburgers, pizza, chicken fried steak are bad for you. So if you are trying to be healthy, you won’t order these food items. Knowing the amount of calories that are in these foods will not stray you away from ordering it. Why? Because you go to a restaurant for something you are craving. How is it that people are so uneducated about food?
If we want a healthier San Antonio, restaurants need to make smaller portions of food! Why is it that each time I order pasta or an enchilada plate, I never finish it? And if I do, I feel like I can’t walk. Because we serve too much food! When people visit Texas, they are astonished by how large our servings are. It’s true, we are eating a serving that is normally for 2 people.
Restaurants also need to have more healthier food selections. I am noticing a difference in some restaurants but there are some that haven’t budged. If I go to a party at a restaurant (so I did not choose the restaurant), I want to be able to have a healthy food selection. Can I get some veggies? Something not fried? The only green thing I ever see at Mexican restaurants is guacamole. Give me more veggies!
I just think it’s ridiculous to think that putting calories on menus will help San Antonio lose weight. Let’s educate our schools on healthy living, build more recreational parks, open healthier restaurants. It’s a continuous cycle unless we do something about it now.
John
October 12th, 2007 at 1:15 am
By this logic, we should also remove the nutritional information from all packaged food as well.
Angela
October 12th, 2007 at 10:43 am
Good point. I thought about that after I made this post. However, I don’t think they should get rid of the nutrition labels at grocery stores. It is different than going to a restaurant. For example, if you want to a burger joint, you are going to get a hamburger most likely. You have already made that decision before even arriving so seeing the amount of calories in that burger will not change your decision. If you are vegetarian, you will not go unless you know they have veggie burgers. However, if you go to a grocery store, you are making your own food so you it is important to know what is in the food you are making. Calorie intake, to me, is not important. Enriched white bread might have fewer calories than whole grain bread but what is really the healthier choice? It’s unfortunate that the healthier food items in the grocery store are more expensive than the processed foods. That is another issue.
Andrea
October 15th, 2007 at 9:41 am
Angela, I think you hit the nail on the head. The reality is that people in San Antonio (because this is where I live) are truly uneducated about food choices. I have found that people are much more influenced by the strong marketing campaigns, rather than by doing any sort of research on food such as nutrition quality, etc. The reason I say this, is if you drive down any given thoroughfare, you are going to hit a Taco Cabana, a McDonalds, a Jack in the Box, a Bill Millers, a Panchitos, Church’s Chicken, etc. Why? does San Antonio have so many of these junk food establishments, it’s because San Antonians support them! I don’t think people think twice about eating 2 or 3 flour tortilla tacos, much less, think that it is a fattening, unhealthy choice. For our children’s sake, the next generation, I truly believe the root of the issue is EDUCATION. So, I don’t believe that putting the calorie information on a menu is a bad thing. I really believe it may open a few eyes.
Rosenbeans
October 25th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
While I agree that putting caloric info on menus might not deter people who are determined to eat whatever they want when they want, I think this might help to keep the restaurants “honest” about what they put in their food and to let people know what they’re going to consume. It lets people make more informed choices. Many people eat out now routinely, rather than as a treat, so the more info they can get the healthier choices they can make. Of course, sometimes we just don’t want to know, so perhaps they can make menus with the info and without, sort of like menus in the past that had prices on them (for the men) and menus without prices (for the women)…. The waiter could ask you, “Are you counting calories tonight, sir? No? Then here is your menu.” Just a thought!