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Follow on Google News | Labeling of Menu Items a Wasted EffortNAAFA, BEDA and BingeBehavior.com believe that forcing chain restaurants to include caloric value of every dish and drink on their menus is a wasted effort and could be counterproductive.
By: NAAFA The 2010 Affordable Care Act tasked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with initiate regulations that require food establishments that sell prepared foods and have 20 or more locations to post calorie counts for all food and beverage items they sell. The FDA announced on November 25, 2014 that they will give these businesses one year to comply with the mandates. It is the stand of these organizations that what may be an attempt to inform the public through the use of menu labeling will add to the stigma of larger body size, shaming people into making choices based on these labels and turning the public into the “food police.” Additionally, showing “calorie counts” does not show nutritional value of food. According to the USDA, past experience with “Nutrition Facts” labeling on products sold in grocery stores showed an increase in awareness of potentially negative nutritional content but found no evidence that label use was associated with reduced intake of calories, saturated fat, or cholesterol. A 2011 study looking at food consumption for children and their parents concluded that, “A restaurant menu-labeling regulation increased parents' nutrition information awareness but did not decrease calories purchased for either children or parents.”[ii] A 2014 study showed that, even when restaurants have organized their menus to provide customers with the calorie information it was found that, “When choosing from a calorie-organized menu, consumers are more likely to filter out low-calorie options in the early non-compensatory screening stages of the decision process and, consequently, are less likely to choose low-calorie options.”[iii] One 2012 study went so far as to add recommended calorie intakes per day or per meal to the calorie information on restaurant menus. The results showed that the calorie benchmarks had no impact and, in fact, appeared to promote a slight increase in calorie intake.[iv] NAAFA, BEDA and BingeBehavior.com suggest that the FDA focus their efforts on compelling food manufacturers to cut back on the salt, sugar and preservatives that are in all processed foods and contribute greatly to the growing health concerns today. ### The Binge Eating Disorder Association (BEDA) is the national organization focused on providing leadership in the recognition, prevention, and treatment of Binge Eating Disorder (BED). BEDA is committed to helping those affected by BED through exploration and support of best practices in treatment and recovery that honor the individual’s needs and circumstances. For more information visit BEDA’s website at www.bedaonline.com. BingeBehavior.com is a website designed to support people with binge eating disorder (BED), Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BRFBs), and who battle weight bias and weight stigma. The purpose of BingeBehavior.com is to alleviate stigma and shame through information, resource identification and advocacy. The work of BingeBehavior.com is two-fold: to aggregate information supporting people with BED/BFRBs AND to advocate to prevent weight bias and weight stigma and related size discrimination. Founded in 1969, NAAFA is a non-profit human rights organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for fat people. NAAFA works to eliminate discrimination based on body size and provide fat people with the tools for self-empowerment through public education, advocacy, and member support. On the web: http://www.naafa.org Will Calorie Labeling in Restaurants Make a Difference?; Morrison, Mancino and Variam; http://www.ers.usda.gov/ [ii] The Impact of Menu Labeling on Fast-Food Purchases for Children and Parents; Tandon, P., et.al.; October, 2011 [iii] Options Reduces the Benefits of Providing Dish-Specific Calorie Information; [iv] Supplementing Menu Labeling With Calorie Recommendations to Test for Facilitation Effects; Downs, J. et.al.; December, 2012 End
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