High Calories

 

In case you all did not know, in New York, many restaurants put the number of calories next to each item in their menu. This is probably an effort in order to persuade people to control their diet well as well as to let them know which type of food is healthier for them. Of course, this is a really great measure that will probably make sure people stay healthy.

Famous Fast-Food chain McDonalds has started to make its meals more healthy less calorie dominant, in an effort to make its calorie count on the menu lower. To achieve this, it had decreased the amount of fries given, and also started to add fruits to its famous Happy Meal. This actually helps a lot of people as this decreases their calorie intake.

However, there are a few downsides to this: Only a fifth of consumers actually take note of the calorie count, while the rest just simply ignore them. Worst of all, consumers that take note only seem to eat 100 calories less, out of a recommended 2540 calorie intake. It seems that the average American consumes nearly 3,500 calories a day, according the United Nations NAO, far exceeding the recommended calorie amount. Also, there are some restaurants whose actual calorie count of its dishes may be off to the point where it exceeds 1000 calories of the stated calorie count. The restaurants explained that the food prepared by each worker differs. However, I do not think that is an excuse. I am sure that there is no way that the food that each worker prepares can differ so much; of course some calorie difference will be expected, but 1000 calories is really pushing it.

Why is it that so many Americans refuse to reduce their calorie count?  Perhaps many of them are not aware of the serious consequences of taking in too much calories. Many of them probably know that there are negative consequences of taking in too much calories, but do not understand the extent of the consequences. As a result, 34% of Americans are obese, while another 34% of them are overweight (This does not even include the already obese americans). Thus, this leaves less than a third of Americans being physically fit.

I am sure that in order to solve all these problems, much better policies need to be implemented. New campaigns should be introduced while existing ones should step up on the process, before this already very serious problem gets worse and worse.