Follow @TIMEHealth
it doesn 't take much to understand why healthier menu options like salads and apple slices are not selling as well as burgers, fries and double Downs at fast food joints. "If I wanted something healthy, I would not even stop at McDonald's," Jonathan Ryfiak, a 24 year old trapeze instructor in New York, told AP reporter Affairs Christina Rexrode.
Ryfiak "watching his diet at home, but the comfort controls foods like chicken nuggets and fries when he hits a fast food," Rexrode reported.
So most people. that's why we're going to fast-food joints first. Although we plan to order the healthier option, once we cross the threshold of the restaurant, which can resist the smell of floating egg and cheese, fried chicken and freshly grilled, juicy meat "food choices are often made on impulse, not intellect," Rexrode noted - which helps explain why two-thirds of adults in the States STATES are overweight or obese
LIST:. Health-Washing :? Is 'healthy' Fast Food for Real
According to a survey by food research firm Technomic of 47% of Americans say they want healthier restaurant options, but only about 23% actually order them. The reasons, as listed AP:
- Eating is a treat for people reward themselves accordingly
- People do not believe "healthy" menu options are actually healthy (in fact, did you know that fruits and Maple Oatmeal McDonald contains more sugar than a Snickers bar?)
- health products cost much more than the burger and fries
- peer pressure
peer pressure? Rexrode reported:
Jason Sierra, who was eating a Whopper hamburger and fries at a Burger King in New York recently, said he's cut back on unhealthy foods because his rate cholesterol and blood pressure were getting too high. But when his office buddies for lunch, he opts for "man food" like pizza to fit in.
"One day I tried to order a salad," said Sierra, 40 , who works in tech support. "And I caught hell for that.
fast food restaurants have had the same problem: they are trying to offer healthier options in response to customer interest, to be slammed down. "The burger chain Wendy Co. led the way in the mid-1980s with a short-term effort to sell tomato halves filled with cottage cheese and pineapple chunks on lettuce leaves," Rexrode reported. No wonder these sounds unappetizing creations are not selling.
PLUS When a salad is not a salad? Why Dieters are easily confused by labels
But back to the point of Ryfiak, if you want to eat something healthy, do not stop or Wendy McDonald. Eat at home. It is, you can cook healthy food in your own kitchen for a fraction of the cost of a fast food meal supposedly cheap. Almost every American has the funds to do so. Check it out :. The New York Times Mark Bittman did the math for you
The problem of course is that this solution requires the actual cooking a chore that many people, regardless of income , say they do not have time for. Bittman did the math and countered this point too.
If you go to McDonald at all, one can not really blame you for fries instead of apple slices. But the real problem regarding obesity in the United States is not that people choose bad fast food menu items; it is that they go to fast food restaurants first. To avoid temptation, people should make it a habit to cook dinner at home instead. - A change that requires major political and cultural action
MORE: If you thought that oats could not be bad for you, Guess Again
As Bittman said: "the campaign is smart not to get McDonald's to better serve the food, but to get people to see cooking as a joy rather than a burden, or at least as part of normal life . "
Meredith Melnick is a reporter at TIME . Find her on Twitter at @MeredithCM. You can also continue the discussion on TIME Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.
0 Komentar