Expert: Many Underestimate Calories

Health Advocates Want To Force Restaurant Chains To List Calories On Menus

(CBS)  Obesity rates continue to spiral out of control in this country. At the current pace, today's children may be the first generation in American history to live sicker and die younger than their parents.

The obesity epidemic is caused by many factors, but nutritionists say one main reason is how dependent we've become on eating out.

When you cook at home, most ingredients in your cupboard have mandatory FDA nutrition labels. But restaurants are exempt, so when you place your order you can only guesstimate how many calories you'll be putting in your mouth.

Now one of the most powerful health officials in the country wants to change that by forcing chain restaurants like McDonald's and Wendy's to spell out exactly how fattening their food is -- right when you decide what to order.

As correspondent Lesley Stahl reports, the idea is gaining support nationwide, but also faces fierce opposition from the restaurant industry itself.

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It all started last December, when New York City passed a regulation requiring chain restaurants to post the calories of their food right on their menus or menu boards.

"We think it will encourage people to choose lower calorie options because that information will be available to them," explains New York's health commissioner, Thomas Frieden.

Frieden is in charge of regulating New York City's $11 billion restaurant market, and tells Stahl the restaurants "really hate" having to do this. "There's no question about that," he says.

"Now most of the chains have the nutritional information somewhere," Stahl points out.

"Usually on a Web site hidden somewhere," Frieden says. "Or on the package liner or the tray liner, after you've bought the product."

Asked why that isn't enough, Frieden argues, "No one is going to check a Web site, then go to the local burger joint and decide what to buy. People do look at the menu board. The menu board is the most prominent thing within a fast food restaurant."

The regulation would cover mainly big chains, like KFC, Burger King, McDonald's and Starbucks.

Frieden wants people to see as they order that some combo meals, like one from Burger King, pack 2,200 calories -- more calories than many adults need in a day. Some Starbucks drinks are more fattening than Big Macs. And even what seems good for you might be anything but.

"You might think that tuna salad, because it says it's salad, is healthier. But you might see it's many more calories than a roast beef sandwich. And you might prefer the roast beef sandwich, too. You were having the tuna salad because you thought it was healthy," Frieden explains.

Brian Wansink is a nutrition and marketing professor at Cornell University. He uses the mall as a laboratory, observing the food-court crowd like other scientists study rare tribes.

Wansink, who even wrote a book called "Mindless Eating," finds that people always underestimate calories, but they get it especially wrong when they’re eating something they think is healthy.

On one of his recent "observation trips," Wansink concentrated on meals from Subway, which markets itself as the healthy fast-food alternative. He asked people to estimate the calories of an especially caloric combo: a foot-long Subway sandwich with mayo, chips and juice.

"Now for this you estimated that it had about 300 calories," Wansink pointed out to a man. "In reality it has 1,390."

"When people are eating in a restaurant that they think is healthy, people grossly underestimate how much they eat by about 50 percent," Wansink explains.

"So they eat much more than they think they're eating?" Stahl asks.

"By about twice as much," he says. "That mayonnaise you ate probably was not healthy. The extra cookie you ate probably wasn't that healthy. The chips probably weren't that healthy."

"Well, let's say for instance that we would have had the calories listed on the menu when you ordered something like that. Would that influence what you ordered?" Wansink asked a man.

"Absolutely. I don't think I would have gotten it. I mean, 1,350 calories for a Subway," the man replied.

[anisoptera]

This story was unnecessary. Americans love fast food and we do not need someone lobbying for calorie counting. I never check for calories when I go to McDonalds or other fast food restaurants and I know it-their food, is fattening. SO what. I feel it is a waste of time and effort to make an issue out of calories. Forcing fast food chains to put calories on their menus will probably end up costing consumers more money. It just isn''t worth it. WE DON''T CARE ANYWAY!!!

[skinnyminny2]

re: pghlyn...Anyone who needs to spend 2 hours online looking at calories should just get a vegetable salad or stay home. Cheese naturally adds calories. If you''re worried, DON''T EAT IT AT ALL.
I don''t trust most restaurant food and almost always eat only salad with a viniagrette on the side and a glass of water. Doesn''t take hours online to figure it out.

[scottyb1233]

The fast food industry''s spokesman did little service to his members, so I''ll say it for him...When the heck is government (NY City''s Tom Freeden and others) going to stop spending tax payers dollars forcing people to think responsibly? The US is rapidly becoming a mecca of unthinking, uneducated media brain washed idiots.
Americans eat fast food because they are lazy. Americans contribute 25% of the worlds waste and carbon emissions because they are wasteful and excessive (lazy). Americans have lost the basics of health, excercise and making choices for themselves. It''s too bad the industry lost this battle in NYC. What''s next...Washinton DC??? Come on now!!! How can Tom Freeden sleep at night. There are more important battles out there to fight.
Scott Broughton - Portsmouth, NH

[gld11]

I am surprised and disappointed by the focus of your story. You imply that the fast-food industry is somehow secretly harming consumers by failing to post caloric content on the menu board. Why not ask Barneys NY to post a sign: "Warning, this item is expensive, some people over-spend. Are you sure you can afford it?" Furthermore, I was fascinated fact that a McDonald''s commercial ran immediately following your story. Guess it''s ok for CBS to accept their money. Should CBS be required to advise viewers of the impact of advertising costs on the price of consumer goods? Why not? We "uninformed and unthinking" consumers must need more nanny-state assistance. The fast-food industry does not cause obesity. Consumers are not ignorant victims; they choose to eat there.

[displeased]

Two hours looking at calories online? I don''t think people would have that kind of time. Why can''t restaurants simply hang a poster with the nutritional information (Burger King here on campus does it)? It''s cheap and it gives people something to read while waiting in line. Anything is better than nothing.

Also, people who may need this info the most (poorer, uneducated people) may not own a computer or have internet access.

[pghlyn]

Hello

I disagree with one statement that was made in this story. The man that was being interviewed made a statement that made me take noticed. He said he doubts if there is anybody that goes onto a website and look at the calories before they go to a particular eating establishment. Well, I always do.

It could be a fast food place or a chain restaurant. I always go onto line and view their menu to see the calories of the food. I am one who over-estimates.

If something has too many calories, I then ask myself, how many calories can I save if I eat the
sandwich open faced or take off the cheese or subsitute this for that. The I say if I don''t eat this and have this instead...how many calories can I save.

I sometimes spend up to two hour looking at the calories, so to say people don''t do that is definitely wrong.

[earmuffit03]

I hate CBS, this is an insult to our intelligence. I wrote a long post but it was longer than the "1500 character limit." Instead I am just going to say my main point.
1.
I hate CBS, I am 21 and they lost my generation because of idiotic stories about common sense issues (mayo has calories? No way!). I hate CBS I hate CBS I hate CBS.
2.
Subway is a great company and you can use their menu to create countless of healthy options that you can lose weight on... (i hate CBS)
3.
If you want to lose weight, eat a subway sandwich for lunch (minus the caloric extras like chips n mayo), drink more water than you do now, and eat half of what you ate for dinner today. Start that and make it a habit and your golden. Also you do your part to show how much you hate CBS by doing the opposite of their story.

Last Note. I am 21 year old going into medical school whos focused on this subject for years. Trust me, Just take this CBS story as in insult.

[lardgee47-2009]

The reason for some people(vegetarian/vegan groups) wanting all this calorie info posted is to raise the cost of food(the companies are not going to cover the cost for this, it will be passed on to the customers) so that people will not be able to afford to eat it. Just check out the people behind the "posting calories" idea. Chances are they are part of some vegetarian/vegan group who think they know what is best for everyone. If I go to Mickey D''s or KFC I know what I''m eating and I don''t need a big sign, a book, or anything else to tell me what it is.

[grammawhamma]

Tomorrow the health experts will be on TV telling us how to "enjoy" a healthy Thanksgiving dinner. Skip the potatoes and the yams and the stuffing...substitute with a salad. Skip the pumpkin pie and substitute with a spoonful of cranberry sauce. Oh yes, and skip the turkey and substitue with a tofu psuedo turkey breast. Happy Thanksgiving!

[tylerm723]

stollk: see www.nutricate.com

Calories,fat, protein etc. printed right on the receipt Takes into account customization and everything. It''s about educating people rather than shoving it down their throats. Best of both worlds.

[citizentwo]

If 60 Minutes were truly interested in our health, perhaps they could post "nutritional" labels prior to viewing these reports so we can determine their value before consuming them. Had I known this was another fashionable promotion for political correctness that blames the wrong people, I could have engaged in a more worthwhile activity. Simply because an idea is %u201Cgaining support%u201D doesn%u2019t make it worthy of endorsement. Has common sense evaporated in our nation? If I''m fat, it''s MY fault, not the fast food industry. Stop trying to bubble wrap us! We are adults and we understand the consequences of our actions. If we want to choose a Big Mac, we don''t need the CBS eyeball staring at us and making us feel guilty about it. Casually %u201Cinformative%u201D reports like this, in actuality, reinforce super self-consciousness about food which disturbs our well-being and is detrimental to the public health. Whether Lesley (It%u2019s-too-hard-to-look-it-up-on-the-internet) Stahl or so-called food experts consider our choices healthy or unhealthy is irrelevant. For now, it is still OUR choice. And, yes, it is our responsibility to make good ones more than %u201Cbad%u201D ones for our own sake and the public at large. But, for Pete%u2019s sake, could you please just be quiet for once and let us ENJOY our food again without having to scrutinize every molecule?

[ray2632305]

A poster below derided corporations for being concerned with profit and not our clogged arteries.

This may sound crass, but in our system "profits" are the concern of corporations while our arteries are our concern.

Now, before we get all sanctimonious about that reality, let''s be honest and admit that any other approach that one might wish to push might be seem as a solution but is not capitalism.

So, it appears that we may be actually discussing a political issue, not a health issue.

[foodbiz1]

Yet another attempt to make someone else responsible besides the consumer himself... FYI- some of the fast food restaurants have tried healthier options, but the best sellers are the high calorie, larger portion items. They will offer what people want to buy. Key is moderation, which the consumer needs to monitor for himself, not have big brother govt slapping the hands of restauranteurs. Come on, America- stand up and take responsibility for your own buying actions!

[displeased]

There is a luxury tax on non-essential items such as cigs, beer, and gas. Why not tax unhealthy foods such as chips, sodas, and cakes? Then you could use those tax revenues to subsidize healthy choices such as fruits and veggies. That way fruits and veggies would be more affordable and consumption would increase. As far as restaurants, places like McDonald''s could raise the prices of burgers and fries and make fruits and salads cheaper.

[libbycal]

I always wanted to open a lunch shop "libby''s lo-cal lunches" and charge folks in $ what the calories were! However, I''d never make money :-). Seems these fast food companies should program their cash registers to display and print the caloric value along with the $.. Then they''d get attention!!!

[stollk]

Has anyone thought about posting the calorie content on the cash register receipt? As your order is entered the calories can easily be programmed and calculated with each item entered.

Another idea is to have an electronic station in the eatery where a customer can enter an order and see the calories. If they do not like the calorie count they can edit their order until they get the count they like!

[emilymhanson]

Why doesn''t someone come up with a fast food place with HEALTHY menu items for people who want convenience and health? Like soy burgers instead of meat ones? Ground turkey options instead of beef for the non-vegetarian folks? Sides of fresh veggies and fruit and whole grain rice? One can get protein in ways that do not *have* to include grease and red meat. I think the time is right for a chain that is actually healthy to come into the marketplace.

[displeased]

Give me a break! We are adults! We can make our own decisions. Posted by harkakaren

That''s true, adults can make their own decisions. The problem is, adults typically make bad decisions. When health insurance rates climb or when tax dollars have to start chipping in to cover fat ***/es healthcare, then the adult''s bad decisions become everybody''s problem.

[nottellin1]

Give me a break! We are adults! We can make our own decisions.


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Posted by harkakaren at 11:32 PM : Nov 18, 2007
+ report abuse

Well said, too bad the big gov babysitters do not agree. You notice I did not say the socialist Dems.

[nottellin1]

There should be a fat tax. Just like there''''s one for cars driving on roads, we need one for people walking on sidewalks. I''''m tired of cracked sidewalks. Also, state emissions check, for people.


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Posted by pavs84 at 08:29 PM : Nov 18, 2007

Now this is a really great isea and a tax that IU personaly wont have to pay. Unless, uh oh, how do we define FAT? Or too fat for that matter?