The hidden cost of eating out

Nutrition Action Healthletter, April, 2004 by Michael F. Jacobson

Imagine a restaurant menu without prices. You'd have no idea what you owe until the bill comes.

Today's menus keep other costs secret. You have no idea what a meal will do to your waistline and arteries until the medical bills come ... years later.

Over the last 20 years, obesity rates have doubled in American adults and tripled in teens. Restaurant food deserves some of the blame.

About a third of our calories are now eaten outside the home--nearly double the percentage in 1978. And when people dine out, they typically swallow more calories than when they eat at home. Women who eat out more than five times a week consume nearly 300 more calories per day than women who eat out less often. Children consume almost double the 440 calories they usually eat in a home-cooked meal.

That should come as no surprise. Typical restaurant meals--like linguine with clam sauce, Szechuan shrimp, or chicken tacos with beans and rice--provide roughly 1,000 calories. And dishes like fettuccine Alfredo, kung pao chicken, or chicken fajitas can hit 1,600 calories. Shouldn't diners be able to take that into account before they decide what to order?

Some members of Congress think so. Last November, Democratic Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut introduced the Menu Education and Labeling (MEAL) bill (H.R. 3444). Democrat Tom Harkin of Iowa has introduced a similar bill (S. 2108) in the Senate. Both would require calorie counts on fast-food menu boards and calories, saturated-plus-trans fat, and sodium on table-service restaurant menus.

The bills apply only to standard menu items--not custom orders or daily specials--and only to chains with 20 or more outlets. Similar bills are being considered in Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.

Two-thirds of Americans want calorie labeling at restaurants, according to a CSPI national poll. Who could disagree? It's one thing to splurge because you want to ... but it's another to splurge without knowing it.

There are no easy solutions to America's obesity epidemic. But the government should help by at least giving diners a fighting chance.

SANDWICHES                  CALORIES   PRICE

HAMBURGER                     280       .89
CHEESEBURGER                  330       .99
FILET-O-FISH[R]               470      1.99
CRISPY CHICKEN                550      2.79
QUARTER POUNDER[R]            430      2.29
BIG N' TASTY[R]               540      2.29
BIG MAC[R]                    590      2.39
CHICKEN McGRILL[R]            450      2.89
DOUBLE QUARTER POUNDER[R]     760      2.99

Putting calories on fast-food menu boards would help
consumers see the true cost of what they order.

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.

Executive Director

Center for Science in the Public Interest