Fast Food junkies! Hear ye!
I just read an interesting article in googlenews today. It's also being talked about in Sanjay Gupta's blog. Amazingly, there is a place on earth, particularly in New York, wherein the City Board is now discussing the requirement of putting respective Calorie contents on Fast Food Menus.
Yes, you read that right. The Nutrition table that you just normally see at the back of the milk cartons, chip bags, jars of sauces and preserves, canned foods, bread etc., will all be included soon in the New Yorker's fast food menus.
How fun is that?!
It is pretty interesting to appreciate the effort if you think about it. Majority of people, sometimes me included, do not give a shit about what's written in the Nutrition Facts. Seriously! If I'm craving for something, a particular flavor of a chip, I would always result to...let's say PIATTOS. I do not give myself even more confusion and pondering moments to decipher and compare nutrition facts from one chip brand to another. Naturally speaking, that is not how humans kind of operate if they are buying food. We normally buy food because of the need, the taste and the price.
But since everything is more accessible, easily processed and made, we are somehow feeling the backlash of our buying or consuming methods. Diseases, obesity (Hear! Hear!), Gastro diseases, heart disease and such, are just results of eating without being conscious or knowledgeable about the HEALTH part. That is why countless of bloggers and nutritionists tend to put up internet sites that list the famous foods (Fast food, famous food brands in different categories) and their respective calories. People are now trying harder to get the message across.
The experts feel that the mere presence of nutrition facts in grocery items or food items is not enough for people to choose wisely. Health advocates have even used primetime talkshows to discuss on these matters. Time and again they are continuously targeting the supposed main culprits or sources of CALORIE overload, which are the FASTFOOD CHAINS.
Fast Food chains are the double faced geniuses and culprits of our century. Everyone has been to fast food chains. We have favorites. People are familiar with the menus. Changing times mean lesser times really, that's why fast food chains work. They offer yummy to goodness food, cheaper and faster. Those are the three main characteristics that are on at the top of our list. But behind those yummy bites of nuggets and burgers...we fail to consider the amount of calorie it consists. Who the freak cares right? I'm hungry. I want a burger, screw me if I don't know the calories!
Well according to research, an average amount of a good burger already consists of 600 calories...imagine BIG MAC. But who eats only a burger for lunch right? It has to have drinks and fries! It's a staple! And the meal sums up to as high as 1,300 calories, already 66% of daily caloric requirement you need. You already have enough energy to supply you for more than 12 hours. But for us, it's just lunch. As long as we don't feel full, we still have space for mid-afternoon snack.
Aside from the transparency of nutrition facts on grocery items. There are other constant efforts to educate people on how to be conscious about calories in food. They use primetime talkshows, blogs that concentrate on displaying caloric amount of famous food brands and fastfood meals and some are independent nutrition sites that provide medical explanations on the calories of food.
One time, I stumbled upon this very informative site, chowbaby.com. The site is dedicated to divulge calories of specific menus of popular fast food chains. The site is very organized and rather complete from McDonald's to Starbucks. That day, I was planning to get a Grande Caramel Macchiatto and found out that is has 320 calories, when I've already had a cheeseburger and fries at McDonald's which accounts for 600 calories. Wow, talk about remembering what my Math teacher used to say. You may not get it right now nor do you appreciate it, but Math is essential to our everyday lives. Yeah,and now I'm doing calorie mathematics in my head. I suggest you Do the math and probably get a hand of what's within the 2000 calorie limit when you crave for your next fast food combo.
It's crazy. I know. It has in a way influenced me that everytime I see food, I imagine the numbers...the calorie amount that goes with it. There's already a calorie angel in my head that keeps on buzzing. Sometimes it's annoying that "reason" over adhering plainly to "human satisfaction" outweighs everything. In the end, you find yourself poking a salad no matter how you deserve a hamburger.
My mother now, due to the plight of my rather obese brother, is already keen to looking at nutrition facts while doing her grocery shopping. Before, she only used to consume 1.5-2 hours getting everything done, comparing net weight over prices of various products, but now she finishes in 3 hours because she's already paying attention to those nutrition facts. It's insane. She told me about what she watched in some morning talkshows about how to properly read nutrition facts.
For example:
Example of a normal NUTRITION FACTS TABLE:
BRAND: CHIPS A. with a net weight of 60 grams
Total Energy/Calorie: 150 per 30 grams
Taking in consideration that you're leaning on purchasing Chips A. Since we are in a hurry or could care less of these nutrition facts, we sometimes depict Chips A to only have 150 calories, when in fact according to the label it's 150 calories per 30 grams. If you consume the whole bag...obviously you multiply 150 by two, since you consumed the whole 60 grams of chips.
It's crazy, right? I can't even believe I'm digesting all of this...a FOOD lover!
Now according to a recent news I've read, backed by Sanjay Gupta's blog, calorie amounts would already by required to be presented in fast food menu, at least in New York. But it's a step towards Global effort. I wouldn't be surprised that the next time you enter McDonald's, not only will you be bombarded by the price and endless choices, in the future you'll have calories to add up to your selection process.
HAMBURGER 35 Pesos / 290 Calories
CHEESEBURGER 42 Pesos / 340 Calories
But in general, I feel happy with the efforts. There is nothing wrong with presenting these facts to you, no matter how obsessive it may seem. It gives you an additional avenue to choose. It empowers people to make the right decisions. At least you'll know the reason why you're adding inches in every imaginable parts of your body.
It's up to the individual on how he/she would react to this. She could either be consumed by it like a psychologically demented supermodel who feeds on crackers and soup, or he or she could enjoy life through food's real glory, given the power of balance and control, which can be achieved by exposure to these sorts of information. It is a fact that as much as we enjoy food, we should be made accountable for every choices we make.
My bottomline here is that given the information and empowerment, our roles still do not change. At the end we are the still the consumers. At the end of that counter, it is our sole right to choose what we need and want. The information is just there to help us, to remind us. No one will condemn us if we get a Big Mac now an then as no one couldn't condemn us for the personal choices that we make. Just as long as we know how to stand by it, to make peace with it, and finally, be happy, empowered individuals as we make it.
Happy Eating!
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