Why Restaurants Should Add Nutritional Information to Their

Why Restaurants Should Add Nutritional Information to Their Menus? Winifred Beckles Dr. Raymond Thron Environmental Health (PUBH - 8165 - 3) Walden University January 31, 2010

Learning Outcomes • To establish adding nutritional information to restaurant menus is a public health issue • Nutritional information to restaurant menus is used best if placed at the point of sale • Adding nutritional information to restaurant menus is a strategy to reduce obesity rates in the United States • Consumers will be able to make informed decisions about food choices

Public Health • Public Health is defined as the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals. (Schneider, 2006)

Public Health • • Vision: Healthy People in Healthy Communities Mission: Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America 2010) (HHS,

FOOD Food is essential for us to live and grow.

United States Department of Agriculture One of the roles of the. USDA is to provide Americans: • Nutrition policy coordination • Nutrition education • Dietary guidance For more information on the dietary guidelines for Americans: Dietary Guidelines 2005 http: //www. cnpp. usda. gov/Publications/Dietary. Guidelines/2005 DGPolicy. Document. pdf

United States Department of Agriculture The USDA also recommends eating less and exercising to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Consequences of Overeating Some of the consequences of not maintaining a healthy weight and eating a healthy diet are: • • • Type 2 diabetes - http: //www. diabetes. org Cardiovascular disease- http: //www. americanheart. org Overweight or obese-National epidemic-Two thirds of Americans

Away From Home Eating The average expenditure for away from home eating is $2, 698 and the restaurant share of the food dollar is 49% (Restaurant, 2010). For more restaurant statistics: http: //www. restaurant. org/research/facts

Nutritional Information on Restaurant Menus Benefits: • Wiser and informed choices • Aid to individuals with certain health conditions • Reduce obesity

Point of Purchase Options for restaurants: • • Internet Separate Menu Posted in restaurants Best option: Point of purchase

Nutritional Labeling and Education Act of 1990 • Predecessor for restaurant menu nutrition labeling • Valuable information for U. S. grocery shoppers

Menu Nutrition Labeling What does research tell us? Health Impact Assessment-Los Angeles County, California With modest changes in consumer behavior, menu labeling would have a positive impact on obesity.

Menu Nutrition Labeling What does research tell us? Observational study-New York City, New York

Menu Nutrition Labeling What does research say? Consumer Selections –Study dinner

Menu Nutrition Labeling Public Health Issue? ? Basic Public Health Characteristics Health promotion and prevention of diseases Epidemiology Studies the patterns of disease occurrence in human populations and the factors that influence these patterns. A collaborative effort will be needed with partners in health promotion.

Key Goals • Mandate all restaurants with at least ten menu items to list nutritional information in the restaurant preferably at point of purchase • Collaborate with other organizations dedicated to health promotion to reduce obesity and chronic diseases linked to obesity and a sedentary lifestyle

Additional Sources • Labeling Education and Nutrition (LEAN) Act of 2009 http: //www. govtrack. us • National Institute of Health-http: //www. nih. gov • United States Department of Agriculture-http: //www. mypyramid. gov • White House-First Lady Michelle Obama takes on childhood obesity http: //www. whitehouse. gov/photos-and-video/first-lady-takeschildhood-obesity

References American Diabetes Association (2010). Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from http: //www. diabetes. org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/ Centers for Disease Prevention and Control Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from http: //www. cdc. gov/obesity/causes/economics. html Food and Drug Administration (2010). Retrieved on January 10, 2010 from http: //www. fda. gov/Food/Labeling. Nutrition/default. htm Georgia Division of Public Health website. Retrieved on January 28, 2010 from http: //health. state. ga. us/visionmission. asp Kuo, T. , Jarosz, C. J. , Simon, P. , Fielding, J. E. (2009). Menu Labeling as a Potential Strategy for Combating the Obesity Epidemic: A Health Impact Assessment. American Journal of Public Health; Sep 2009, Vol. 99 Issue 9, p 1680 -1686, 7 p Merriam-Webster website (2010). Retrieved on January 20, 2010 from http: //www. merriam-webster. com/dictionary/nourishment

References Roberto, C. A. , Agnew, H. , Brownell, K. D. (2009). An Observational Study of Consumers' Accessing of Nutrition Information in Chain Restaurants. American Journal of Public Health, May 2009, Vol. 99 Issue 5, p 820 -821, 2 p Roberto, C. A. , Larsen, P. D. , Agnew, H. , Baik, J. , Brownell, K. D. (2010). Evaluating the Impact of Menu Labeling on Food Choices and Intake. American Journal of Public Health, Feb 2010; 100: 312 – 318 National Institute of Health (2010). Weight control information network. Retrieved on January 23, 2010 from http: //win. niddk. nih. gov/statistics/#preval National Restaurant Association (2010). Retrieved on January 17, 2010 from http: //www. restaurant. org/research/facts Nielsen Company (2010) Retrieved on January 20, 2010 from http: //enus. nielsen. com/etc/medialib/nielsen_dotcom/en_us/documents/pdf/press_releases/2008/july. Par. 99500. File. pdf Schneider, M. J. (2006) Introduction to public health (2 nd edition). Sunbury, MA. Jones and Bartlett

References United States Department of Agriculture(2010). Retrieved on January 10, 2010 from http: //www. mypyramid. gov/guidelines/index. html United States Department of Agriculture(2010). Retrieved on January 10, 2010 from http: //www. cnpp. usda. gov/Publications/Dietary. Guidelines/2005 DGPolicy. Document. pdf U. S. Department of Health and Human Services website. Retrieved on January 28, 2010 from http: //www. hhs. gov/ophs/index. html