First Lady Urges Restaurant Industry to Focus on Health

9/14/2010

When it comes to maintaining a proper diet and healthy lifestyle, many people may be inclined to put such concerns on the back burner when they eat at a restaurant. However, this can be detrimental when considering the high sodium and fat content found in many popular dishes.

In fact, this week First Lady Michelle Obama even addressed the restaurant industry about its progress toward offering some healthier dining options to customers.

"At school, gym classes, recess, they've been eliminated or shortened. Portion sizes in this country have ballooned. In some areas, families are having a tougher time getting regular access to fresh produce. And kids these days are consuming more calories and eating more fat and sugar than ever before," observed Mrs. Obama in her speech.

The first lady noted that about one-third of all meals are now eaten in restaurants in the U.S., and that nearly one in two dollars spent on food in the country now go toward meals outside of the home - a figure that has doubled in the last 50 years.

Mrs. Obama was also clear in her remarks to the industry that she is not asking restaurants to radically alter their menus or to scale back their selections. Instead, she suggested that they can reduce the amount of butter and cream contained in some meals in favor of low-fat milk, or use wheat pasta instead of white. She also suggested that healthy side dishes like apples and carrots can be offered as side dishes on menus to make French fries less of a default item.

By following these steps, Mrs. Obama said that restaurants would not have to sacrifice flavor while still doing "just enough to make a meaningful difference in the amount of calories and fat." And of course, consumers can also take their own similar steps at home to enjoy their favorite foods with minor changes to some ingredients.

Whether eating at home or in a restaurant, it's important to take things like serving sizes, fat and cholesterol into account. Failure to do so may contribute to chronic health conditions like heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure that make it far more difficult to obtain low-cost life and health insurance premiums. Other associated health risks can include certain cancers, strokes and heart attacks.

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