By David Rebanal
Which McDonald’s item has the most calories: a Big Mac, a large fries or a large milkshake? If you guessed the milkshake, you are correct. In fact, a large milkshake contains more calories (1160) than a Big Mac (540) and large fries (500) combined.
Children are eating out now more than ever — and when they do, they consume almost twice as many calories as they do when they eat at home. Indeed, a recent study conducted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest looked at kids meals at the 25 largest U.S. chain restaurants. The study tested 1,471 different combinations of kids meals and found that 93 percent of the possible choices exceeded 430 calories — an amount that is one-third of the recommended daily calorie intake for children four to eight years old. That is enough to lead to over-consuming calories that day, and further exceeds calorie requirements over the course of a whole week. It’s clear that parents need nutrition information to make informed decisions about the health of our children and families.
The Northwest Health Foundation’s Community Health Priorities initiative commissioned a poll in December 2007 on this topic. The poll surveyed 500 Oregonians to measure the level of support for a policy requiring fast food and restaurant chains to post the number of calories of food items on their menus. Results showed that statewide, 69 percent of respondents support a policy to display nutrition information.
In Multnomah County — where commissioners recently passed a rule that requires big chain restaurants and coffee shops to post calorie information on menus or sign boards — 72 percent support the idea. This new rule applies to restaurants and coffee shops operating in Multnomah County with 15 or more stores nationwide, including McMenamins, Outback Steakhouse and Starbucks.
The move made Portland the fifth major city to pass menu labeling policies, along with Seattle/King County in Washington, San Francisco and Santa Clara County in California, and New York City. A recent study in the American Journal of Public Health found that in New York City, people consumed 52 fewer calories (on average) when fast food restaurants posted calories on the menu boards at the time of purchase.
With childhood obesity at alarming rates — the obesity rate among preschoolers has doubled in the last 30 years and tripled in children ages 6 to 11— we need to address these concerns and help children and parents make better food choices when they eat out. To help you make healthy choices for your kids, keep an eye out for the informative nutrition information scheduled to come to restaurants in January 2009.
David Rebanal is the Community Health Priorities program officer at the Northwest Health Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the health of communities in Oregon and southwest Washington.
Please visit www.communityhealthpriorities.org for more information.
