The Daily Gamecock

Issue date: 2/19/08 Section: The Mix

Media Credit: Rick Nease, MCT Campus To make healthy fast-food choices, you don't necessarily have to give up fries, but you should skip the Super Size.

In January of this year, the New York City Board of Health voted unanimously to require restaurant chains in the Big Apple to post the calorie content of the foods and beverages that they serve in a visible place on the menus and menu-boards. Starting in March of this year, all restaurant chains with more than 15 sites will have to comply with the new law.

This idea has been tossed around for a long time, but it has generally been opposed by the restaurant industry, which claims that such information will just make menus look cluttered.

Health advocates, on the other hand, strongly feel that providing consumers with this data may make a dent in the onslaught of overweight and obese people in the United States. This is in part because the vast majority of people (including health professionals) who eat at restaurants vastly underestimate how calorie-dense the food actually is. And polls have suggested that two-thirds of Americans would like to have such info available on their menus.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy organization, has long advocated for this and has lobbied Congress to pass national legislation that would require restaurants to list not only the calorie content of foods and beverages, but also the amount of saturated fat, trans-fats, carbs and sodium.

We can all get hoodwinked when it comes to calories. For example, sometimes we'll go for the poultry or salad item on a menu because we think it will have fewer calories and less fat than the meat. But think again. A tuna salad sandwich with mayonnaise may contain almost twice as many calories (average 720) as a roast beef sandwich with mustard (average 460 calories).

The chicken fillet sandwich at Wendy's weighs in at 492 calories, while the quarter-pounder single has 610.

And while we're at it, do you really want to eat one sandwich during one part of your day that is so laden with calories? Considering that the average person in the United States needs about 2,000 calories per day, if you add fries, soda and a dessert to that quarter-pounder, you've just met your calorie needs for the entire day, all in one fast food meal!

Another example: You may think that carrot cake is good for you because it contains - you know - carrots. But did you know that one serving of carrot cake at the Cheesecake Factory has 1,010 calories? Might as well call that your lunch and dinner, all rolled up into one chunk of fat.

And don't forget the beverages: a double-gulp serving of soda (64 oz.) has 600 calories, a venti-sized peppermint hot chocolate at Starbucks weighs in at 460 calories and a large McDonald's shake packs in 1,110 calories. Starting to get the picture?

We're not telling you to eliminate all of these foods from your diet; turning them into forbidden fruit only makes them more appealing. We're just saying that we strongly support the legislation.

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