Should restaurants include nutritional info on menus?
Over the weekend, I went out for brunch and got a side of food for thought with my eggs.
I visited a restaurant in Clontarf called Bay with my mam. I had eaten here several times before so wasn’t surprised to see calories were listed beside each item on the menu, but as I watched my mam read over the menu, I could see she was surprised by how many calories were in some of the options. After noticing there were 1125 kCal in her usual choice, eggs benedict, she opted for the “healthy option breakfast” instead.
This got us thinking and talking. Nutritional information might give us brunch guilt when we’re out trying to enjoy ourselves, but maybe we need this reminder to help us make an informed and healthful decision about meals and snacks. As a personal trainer, I know a lot about nutrition and what food complements my training so I generally never count calories. I eat out for breakfast and lunch nearly every day, but because I am aware of what is healthy, I don’t feel I need to see calories on a menu.
I’m guessing it’s a pain for restaurants to include nutritional information on menus, but is it the best thing for us and our kids? Or should it be left to the individual to educate themselves and their children or seek advice on how to eat correctly?
Obesity-related illnesses have been on the rise now for some time. We are suffering a nationwide health emergency due to the increasing number of people being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and other diseases related to obesity. I read recently that today's children will have shorter average life spans than their parents, and the main reason for this is because so many suffer from obesity. I’m not a parent yet but the idea of having so much responsibility to educate children in every way possible, emotionally, physically and mentally scares me.
There are so many gyms, healthy restaurants, and fitness/ health TV shows around, yet bad health is still a big issue, partly because unhealthy options are so widely available and often much cheaper than healthy alternatives. What do you think, should menus include nutritional information or is that ruining our experiences? Are we too lax or too uptight about these things?
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What do you think, should menus include nutritional information or is that ruining our experiences? Are we too lax or too uptight about these things?
On that note, here are some of my regular healthy eateries if you want to check them out.
Until next time…
Fiona