Eating healthy meals is important if you wish to live a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people have ditched fast food meals for healthier options because of the grease and empty calories it offers. For those who have made a pact to eat wiser, calorie postings on restaurant menu boards are very important since these have a massive impact on their food choices.

Eating healthy meals is important if you wish to live a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people have ditched fast food meals for healthier options because of the grease and empty calories it offers. For those who have made a pact to eat wiser, calorie postings on restaurant menu boards are very important since these have a massive impact on their food choices.

A calorie posting is very useful since you get to have an idea if a certain food can fit on your allotted calories for the day especially if you are always on the go. Without it, you would not be able to know if you have already taken in more than you should. Some people feel that they still have not committed gluttony since they do not feel like they have overeaten while in fact, they already consumed more than 3,000 calories in one meal.

For example, try to check the amount of calories foods you usually order contain. Having to familiarize yourself with the numbers will allow you to recognize that what you have been ordering and eating is not as healthy as you thought it was.

Chicken salad with egg – 380 calories
2 piece pancakes – 520 calories
Big Mac – 530 calories
Medium Fries – 380 calories
1 piece fried chicken – 320 calories

Gourmet cupcake – 300 to 600 calories
1 slice of chocolate cake – 293 calories
1 slice off pizza – 325 calories

The obesity epidemic of the country is continuously increasing just like the waistlines of a lot of Americans. A couple of decades ago, you could not find any state that had an obesity rate of 15%. Now, there are thirty eight states that have obesity rates above twenty-five percent. The United States national obesity rate is now at 37.5% and it is very alarming.

Since most Americans live a very busy lifestyle and have a little time to prepare meals at home, it makes them prone to dining out or having food delivered.

In fact, due to the increasing obesity rates, almost four years ago, President Barrack Obama passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or more popularly known as Obamacare. This act includes the need to place calorie counts on menus so that the epidemic that the whole nation is suffering won’t go out of control. With the hope that somehow, the numbers will decrease, calorie counts on menus would make people who love to dine out more informed about their choices and make them go for better and healthier options.

The United States Food and Drug Administration announced that there should be calorie counts on all menus found in retail food establishments, fast food chains, restaurants and even vending machines that have at least 20 branches. Unfortunately, restaurants and fast food chains have not fully participated even if the act has been there for more than three years already. Since the act itself is still under discussion, you cannot expect all food establishments to have their calorie counts posted as some still have not complied. A lot of people are still arguing whether it is really worth the cost. Let us take a look at the advantages and disadvantages this act has to offer so we can have a better picture of how it will help the obesity epidemic.

 Pros

– Diners will have a huge chance to eat healthier meals since they will be armed with the information that will enable them to know if their choices are unhealthy.
– It will allow people to keep track of their daily caloric needs and help them balance food intake so they will not resort to overeating.
– Chronic diseases that are related to obesity such as hypertension, non-insulin dependent diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and cancer may be prevented.
– It will widen the nutrition education’s scope since it requires calorie counts to be displayed in additional locations.

Cons

– It may cost restaurants and food establishments a lot of time and money since they need to have everything on their menu analyzed by a nutritional expert. Also, they would need to print out new food books, displays, and menus.
– There is fear that foods containing higher calories will have a drop in sales.
– The absence of clear difference between empty and beneficial calories.

Knowing how to order healthier meals is as important as the display of calories on the menu book. No matter how much effort food companies put in complying with Obamacare, at the end of the day, it will still be your call.

You get to choose what you wish to order and eat so even if it says 2300 or 5000 calories per serving, you would still choose it over a healthy entree that only contains 200 calories if you do not practice self-control.