You may have already heard that as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) restaurants with 20+ locations are required to post calorie counts on their menus. What you may not know is PPACA does not only affect fast food restaurants—but chain restaurants with buffets, convince stores, concession stands and even vending machines. Your next trip to Golden Corral may have you second guessing that endless buffet once you’ve had a chance to count the calories on your first plate alone—never mind the second or third.
Like me, you may be wondering if the calories posted will actually be accurate or underestimated. According to an interview with NPR health policy correspondent Patti Neighmon, we can assume the calories counts are correct give or take about 10 calories. While some menus under reported by over 100 calories, they surprisingly found that many restaurant postings actually overestimate calories content.
But will this be enough? Maybe so maybe not, but I think it will get people thinking. While traveling in D.C. this weekend I stopped in a Chipotle that had calorie counts posted. I was happy to see that my bowl (that is typically enough for two meals) was one of the healthier options on the menu but surprised when I realized that the $1.50 order of tortilla chips I was considering were an extra 570 calories. In this case, the calorie posting definitely did its job! My point is, we may not walk in a restaurant, look at the calories posted on the menu and walk right back out, but we may be prompted to make ‘better’ and more informed decisions.
Personally, I am excited for restaurants to start making the change. Although I consider myself pretty educated when it comes to healthy choices, I think I may find some of my random indulgences just not worth it. No matter how much we plan ahead, there will always be times when have to make a decision on the spot. In this case, my visit to Chipotle was unplanned but I was still able to make a smart decision due to their calorie postings. I think these new calorie counts will help lead to the ‘better’ or ‘best’ decision making. Do you think they will help you?
I think this is a huge benefit. I wish Chipotle would show the individual amounts that cause the vast ranges though! I always use an online guide prior to going to a chain. This just makes it easier. One thing I do to prevent over/under estimating is even though a menu item has the calories listed, I still specify HOW I want it cooked (no oil, etc) to prevent a cook from straying from the prescribed recipe and blowing my calorie count without my knowlegde.
ReplyDeleteIt is even better to plan your meal at one of these restaurants using their web site, which does specify the calorie count of each possible add on. We were confident when we ordered at Chipotle that we were not going over our calorie goal. And we enjoyed the food.
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