It may be hard enough for Brookline residents and restaurant patrons to look at the high prices listed next to their entrees, but if University of Massachusetts-Boston senior Andrew Ghobrial has his way, diners will also have to cringe at their meals’ calorie counts. Ghobrial wants to force restaurants to list how many calories are in every menu item, a proposal that is both costly and useless in its goal of fighting obesity.
From a purely financial standpoint, this is a bad idea for both restaurants and consumers. Determining the calorie content of a meal is an expensive process, and given that this country is in a recession, now is not the time to be forcing restaurants to pay more. These costs will only be passed on to the customer.
Brookline is no stranger to food fights. It was nearly two years ago that Brookline banned trans fats from being used at restaurants. This ruling was justified: trans fats do nothing besides clog arteries and increase the risk of heart disease. But unlike trans fats, calories should not be portrayed as ‘the bad guys,’ and are being unfairly targeted in this proposal.
Calorie counts do not tell the whole story of how nutritious a meal is. A dish could be low in calories, but still high in sodium content or harmful saturated fats. At some point, personal responsibility and common sense have to kick in. Unless someone is going out and having super-sized meals several times a week, he should not have to worry about a caloric splurge every once in a while.’
In a well-off area such as Brookline, it is tempting for the government to step in and regulate the nutritional content of restaurant items or tax sugary drinks and snacks in the name of fighting the nation’s obesity problem. But on many levels, obesity is a class issue. According to the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention, a 2007 study found that the 10 most obese states included five of the poorest states. The healthy, organic foods that those in government may want citizens to eat are much more expensive than junk foods. Focusing on nutrition just is not easy when on a tight budget.
If lawmakers are serious about trying to change the eating habits of the masses, they must focus on initiatives that improve health care and ensure as many people as possible have the means to eat healthy foods. Including calorie counts on menus is only a short-term fix to an epidemic that requires a long-term solution.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
