Sweeping Support for Restaurant Nutrition Labeling
Posted on: Wednesday, 18 April 2007, 03:00 CDT
Making healthy choices at your favorite restaurant or fast-food outlet isn't as easy as it seems. A Field Research Corporation poll released today shows that on average only 10 percent of Californians can pick the healthiest item from a short list of common fast foods.
"I have a doctorate in public health, and I failed this quiz," says Dr. Harold Goldstein, executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, who commissioned the poll. "And common sense does not help either. Who would think that a large chocolate shake at McDonald's has more calories than two Big Macs?"
Field Research Corporation polled 523 registered California voters from March 20-31, inviting them to pick the low calorie, low salt, high fat and high calorie item from a list of four menu options from popular restaurant or fast-food chains. Not one individual was able to answer all four questions correctly, less than one percent could answer three out of the four questions, and 68 percent failed all four questions. Scores were equally poor regardless of education levels or income.
Also surprising, according to Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo, was the small number of respondents who said they didn't know the answers. In most polls, he says, about 15 to 20 percent choose this option. Less than 8 percent did so with this poll. "The implication," says DiCamillo, "is that consumers think they are making healthy decisions when in fact they are wrong, dead wrong."
The poll also showed that California voters recognize the need for better information when making food purchases. The vast majority of those surveyed, 84 percent, support requiring fast-food and chain restaurants to post nutritional information such as calorie counts on their menus and menu boards.
The interest in making healthier decisions is probably driven by the state's growing obesity epidemic. In California, more than half of all adults are overweight, putting them at elevated risks of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some cancers. Restaurants and fast-food outlets are a key concern because Americans consume about one-third of their calories at these establishments.
CCPHA is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization leading efforts in California to understand and address the state's growing obesity crisis. A copy of the quiz can be downloaded from their Web site at: www.publichealthadvocacy.org.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A three-column graphic of the quiz and corresponding answers can be downloaded from www.publichealthadvocacy.org/media.
Source: Business Wire
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