The hidden cost of eating out.Imagine a restaurant menu without prices. You'd have no idea what you owe until the bill comes. Today's menus keep other costs secret. You have no idea what a meal will do to your waistline and arteries until the medical bills come ... years later. Over the last 20 years, obesity rates have doubled in American adults and tripled in teens. Restaurant food deserves some of the blame. About a third of our calories are now eaten outside the home--nearly double the percentage in 1978. And when people dine out Verb 1. dine out - eat at a restaurant or at somebody else's home eat out eat - eat a meal; take a meal; "We did not eat until 10 P.M. because there were so many phone calls"; "I didn't eat yet, so I gladly accept your invitation" , they typically swallow more calories than when they eat at home. Women who eat out more than five times a week consume nearly 300 more calories per day than women who eat out less often. Children consume almost double the 440 calories they usually eat in a home-cooked meal. That should come as no surprise. Typical restaurant meals--like linguine with clam sauce, Szechuan shrimp, or chicken tacos with beans and rice--provide roughly 1,000 calories. And dishes like fettuccine Alfredo, kung pao chicken Kung Pao chicken (also spelled Kung Po chicken) is a classic dish in Sichuan cuisine, originating in the Sichuan Province of central-western China. The dish is named after Ding Baozhen (1820–1886), a late Qing Dynasty official. , or chicken fajitas fajitas Noun, pl a Mexican dish of soft tortillas wrapped around fried strips of meat or vegetables [Mexican Spanish] can hit 1,600 calories. Shouldn't diners be able to take that into account before they decide what to order? Some members of Congress think so. Last November, Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut introduced the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) bill (H.R. 3444). Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa has introduced a similar bill (S. 2108) in the Senate. Both would require calorie counts on fast-food menu boards and calories, saturated-plus-trans fat, and sodium on table-service restaurant menus. The bills apply only to standard menu items--not custom orders or daily specials--and only to chains with 20 or more outlets. Similar bills are being considered in Maine, New Hampshire New Hampshire, one of the New England states of the NE United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts (S), Vermont, with the Connecticut R. forming the boundary (W), the Canadian province of Quebec (NW), and Maine and a short strip of the Atlantic Ocean (E). , New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C. Two-thirds of Americans want calorie labeling at restaurants, according to a CSPI CSPI Center for Science in the Public Interest CSPI Corporate Service Price Index CSPI Cumulative Schedule Performance Index national poll. Who could disagree? It's one thing to splurge because you want to ... but it's another to splurge without knowing it. There are no easy solutions to America's obesity epidemic. But the government should help by at least giving diners a fighting chance one dependent upon the issue of a struggle. See also: Fighting . SANDWICHES CALORIES PRICE HAMBURGER 280 .89 CHEESEBURGER 330 .99 FILET-O-FISH[R] 470 1.99 CRISPY CHICKEN 550 2.79 QUARTER POUNDER[R] 430 2.29 BIG N' TASTY[R] 540 2.29 BIG MAC[R] 590 2.39 CHICKEN McGRILL[R] 450 2.89 DOUBLE QUARTER POUNDER[R] 760 2.99 Putting calories on fast-food menu boards would help consumers see the true cost of what they order. Michael F. Jacobson Michael F. Jacobson, who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology, co-founded the Center for Science in the Public Interest in 1971, along with two fellow scientists he met while working at the Center for the Study of Responsive Law. , Ph.D. Executive Director Center for Science in the Public Interest |
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