New Health Care Bill

Recently there has been much talk in the media about the new health care bill that the Obama administration has pushed through legislation. While there are accusations about “death panels” and socialist medical care, one seemingly small part of the bill could have a giant impact on the way most Americans eat.

It is stated in many different studies that approximately half of the food Americans eat comes from outside of the home, most of which can be attributed to fast food restaurants. The majority of these chains are notoriously irresponsible when it comes to what they are feeding the public, and most consumers do not realize the amount of calories they are devouring in just one meal. Everyone has some idea that burgers, fries and soda are not among healthiest of meal choices, though it is not widely understood that this one meal can account for almost 1500 calories! Not only is the caloric value itself disturbing, but content of the calories is perhaps even more detrimental, with 40-50 percent coming from fat, especially saturated fat. Keep in mind that for an average person, about 2000 calories a day should be eaten to maintain a fairly healthy lifestyle. From these 2000 calories about 50 percent should come from carbohydrates, 30 percent form protein, and the remaining 20 percent should be coming form fat, hopefully with very little saturated fat. If any more specific questions arise to the content of meals throughout the day the trainers at the HIT center in Mesa are ready and willing to help solve any indiscrepancies you might have. Despite the heavy hit such fast food meals can put on one’s daily calorie and fat consumption, only a very small percentage of consumers are aware of the nutrition content of the items they are eating. A part of the new health care bill requires restaurants with more than twenty locations to post the calorie content of each item next to the item on the menu that people order from directly, including drive-thru signage. Most companies are complaining that this will cost them extra money to re-work their menus, but most are afraid of what their customers will think when the cold, hard statistics of what they are putting in their bodies are blatantly printed in black and white. These businesses fear the impact such information will have on sales, and many may be forced to redevelop the way they prepare their food in order to make some of the calories more appropriate for informed consumption. Many customers choose fast food for the convenience, but this “convenience” can very well translate into a huge in-“convenience” with the proper consumer education.

Another section of this bill that is intriguing is the fact that like fast-food and other restaurants, vending machine franchisers will have to post the calorie content next to each item being sold, in order for people to see what they are really choosing before they buy. Many of the bill’s criticizers believe that these measures will not help curb the appetite for high-calorie food items, as the majority of these vending machine products are already clearly labeled. However, there is certainly an argument to be made for the consumers’ willingness to munch through a food product they have already purchased, despite their realization of its content upon retrieval. Hopefully with the bill’s advocacy for consumer awareness, Americans will be more inclined to make healthy food choices, or at least choices that will be less detrimental to their diets and waistlines.

The only way America will become healthier is if everyone stops pleading ignorance, and becomes conscious of there own actions. The nation’s new health care legislation is a giant step for empowering consumers with the knowledge necessary to make conscious, healthful food choices.  Although the posting of nutritional information will not entirely curb our appetites for these types of nutritionally-deficient foods, hopefully it will shine some light on the harm we have been doing to our bodies for decades. Even more importantly, the bill has the potential to result in a complete overhaul of many of the most unhealthy menu items of large food corporations.  It seems the only way to persuade large companies to change is to hurt their bottom line, and hopefully the impact of this bill on consumer attitudes will be enough to persuade our nation’s food providers to create healthier options, while alerting the public that it is time to look elsewhere for their meals, even at the expense of “convenience.”

Jacob R

Here is a link to the bill, including the section of interest, section 4205 (about halfway through):

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h3590enr.txt.pdf

Additionally, here is a website that helps clearly summarize the bill for the general public:

http://www.kelleydrye.com/resource_center/client_advisories/0549