Boston -- In December, New York City passed a law to phase out the use of trans fat in restaurants. Other cities, including Boston and Chicago, might follow suit. According to Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, Gershoff professor of nutrition science and policy at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, the ban is a step in the right direction, but restaurateurs need to replace partially hydrogenated fat with unsaturated fat. If they choose saturated fat it would diminish the health benefits of this new initiative. Another new regulation that requires some restaurants to provide calorie information as prominently as price might be even more important, notes Lichtenstein.
"There is no biological need for trans fat and intake is associated with adverse health outcomes. However, the media attention on the trans fat announcement to the exclusion of the calorie labeling is unfortunate. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has proposed that the calorie content of food items be displayed as prominently as the price, at the point of purchase," says Lichtenstein, also director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts.
"That means," Lichtenstein continues, "that if you are wavering between placing an order for a small versus a medium order of French fries, both the price and the number of calories per serving will be displayed. People will become more aware of the caloric cost of the foods they order, and the next step on a public health level would be to educate the consumer on the amount of calories their body needs per day. This way, they will be able to put the numbers they see on the board or menu into perspective. Because the amount of food and beverages we eat that is prepared outside the home is so large, even if this regulation just covers a fraction of food service establishme
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Contact: Siobhan Gallagher
617-636-6586
Tufts University
22-Dec-2006