2008 Woodie Awards
You are what you eat - but what are you eating?
Alexander Tingey
Issue date: 9/28/06 Section: Health
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If you've visited McDonald's in recent months, chances are you noticed something different about their packaging. In accordance with the FDA, and following a myriad of law suits, the fast food giant began printing nutrition information on their packaging.
According to Informed Eating, an online newsletter, "the labels on food packages will not be read until after purchase and upon closer inspection is a thinly veiled attempt at deflecting government intervention that could have even greater impact. How effective is seeing the calories on the wrapper of a cheeseburger you've already purchased?"
Far ahead of both Wendy's and Burger King, McDonald's has stepped across the line of unusually unhealthy food and is the only one of the three major chains to offer such readily available information. Of course, all three offer nutrition information on their respective websites, and the information is also available from independent test facilities.
One may begin to question this move from McDonald's in light of a recent study published by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. The report which was released this week was intended to survey the average American's label reading skills. Some of the results from this independent study were surprising.
In total 200 participants entered into the survey, 70 percent of which had at least a ninth grade reading level, and nearly a third had some college education. However, when asked to calculate the number of calories in half a bagel when given the caloric content of a whole bagel, only 60 percent of those surveyed came up with the right answer.
Bottom line: people don't always know what they're eating. In another effort to simplify the health-conscious society in which we are immersed, the FDA changed the faithful Food Pyramid, which was introduced nearly two decades ago, in light of a more personalized approach. The new system of classification takes into account one's activity level, body size, gender and age as part of a comprehensive approach to nutritional health. No longer is eleven pieces of bread the standard serving for all of America; rather, the new pyramid factors in all the above.
According to Informed Eating, an online newsletter, "the labels on food packages will not be read until after purchase and upon closer inspection is a thinly veiled attempt at deflecting government intervention that could have even greater impact. How effective is seeing the calories on the wrapper of a cheeseburger you've already purchased?"
Far ahead of both Wendy's and Burger King, McDonald's has stepped across the line of unusually unhealthy food and is the only one of the three major chains to offer such readily available information. Of course, all three offer nutrition information on their respective websites, and the information is also available from independent test facilities.
One may begin to question this move from McDonald's in light of a recent study published by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine. The report which was released this week was intended to survey the average American's label reading skills. Some of the results from this independent study were surprising.
In total 200 participants entered into the survey, 70 percent of which had at least a ninth grade reading level, and nearly a third had some college education. However, when asked to calculate the number of calories in half a bagel when given the caloric content of a whole bagel, only 60 percent of those surveyed came up with the right answer.
Bottom line: people don't always know what they're eating. In another effort to simplify the health-conscious society in which we are immersed, the FDA changed the faithful Food Pyramid, which was introduced nearly two decades ago, in light of a more personalized approach. The new system of classification takes into account one's activity level, body size, gender and age as part of a comprehensive approach to nutritional health. No longer is eleven pieces of bread the standard serving for all of America; rather, the new pyramid factors in all the above.
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