Thank you for taking the time to submit your answers on our August poll on our Clinical microsite, Do you support legislation that would require restaurants and schools to include calorie values on their menus? The results indicated that 89% of our audience voted "YES."
Being a Registered Dietitian, I personally support legislation on requiring restaurants and schools to post the calorie values on their menus. The statistics are everywhere for everyone to see and hear, so big and so "eye opening".Today the average American will eat out 4.2 times a week and that does not include take out meals! Seeing this number made me think back to when I was a child growing up, going out to eat was a "special treat" for a family occasion (such as birthdays and anniversaries). Over the past several decades we have seen waist size, Body Mass Index, and weight increase drastically in both men and woman.
How ironic, while I am typing my thoughts on why caloric values should be included on menus, The Doctors show came on and today's topic is the "obesity epidemic," interesting statistics…2/3 of Americans are obese, majority do not know their actual weight, 40% will order appetizers prior to their main meal, many perceived items such as "salad" healthy not taking into account that after coating it with your favorite dressing that salad is now over 1500 calories! The list goes on. It is time to become educated on what we eat and understand the content of the food. Knowing what you eat will have an impact on obesity and other medical conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, or even food allergies.
I feel so proud to work for Sodexo, the largest private employer for dietitians. Sodexo is the first food service provider to sign on to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's School Beverage and Competitive Food Guidelines. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, seeks to significantly reduce childhood obesity in the United States by 2015. Sodexo takes on childhood obesity in schools, you can read more about this here. This is such a proactive step forward, our children are our future of tomorrow and when the childhood obesity statistics reveal the stunning fact that almost 60% of children in America are obese children and the rate of overweight children in America is increasing rapidly. Listing the calorie value on menus at schools and restaurants is only a small step forward to help fight against obesity by increasing awareness.
Bina Vachhani started with Sodexo eleven years ago as an entry-level dietitian in the Houston Medical Center. Through mentorship and successive promotions Bina has been able to be in various roles within the Health Care division ranging from a Dietitian, Clinical Nutrition Manager to Director of Food & Nutrition Services/Environmental Services & Linen. Currently, Bina is a Senior Clinical Recruiter for Talent Acquisition Group. This role provides various avenues of networking, sourcing and engaging with numerous affinity groups to recruit the “best qualified” candidates to join our world of Sodexo! Bina has a B.S. in Human Food & Nutrition from the University of Houston and is Registered Licensed Dietitian in the State of Texas. She invites you to take the latest poll on our Clinical microsite here and connect with her on Twitter.
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