The Government Regulation Epidemic
Everybody thinks slapping down laws and regulations all over the place is the expressway to good health and general utopia. Um...no.
You know those menu labeling laws, requiring restaurants to list calories, etc.? They were supposed to help people choose healthier foods, or so the health experts argued, Shari Roan reports in the LA Times:
The early results of mandatory menu-labeling laws, however, suggest that the well-intended laws may not have a huge impact on consumer eating habits.The latest evaluation of the laws, published Friday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, explored ordering patterns at a fast-food chain in King County, Wash., where a labeling law went into effect two years ago. Thirteen months after the law went into effect, food purchases at the Taco Time restaurants in King County were identical to those at Taco Time restaurants where menu boards did not list nutritional information.
(Italics are mine.)
via @DrEades
The reason that it doesn't make a difference:
Those that are eating fast food are grabbing and going. They also know it is not good for them, but don't have a choice. Or they don't care.
Those that are going to a nice sit down restaurant once a week/month are looking for a treat, and don't/won't consider calories as a showstopper.
The progressives consider the American people as stupid. So they need to do the central planning and tell you what you need to know.
Jim P. at January 15, 2011 5:33 AM
When they pay for my meal they can choose what I eat.
MarkD at January 15, 2011 5:55 AM
Not a surprise. The headlines about menu labeling followed actual labeling by McDonald's by at least five years in Florida and SC.
Just as with everything else, fast food in moderation will not kill you. The Egg McMuffin (which I now sadly realize is off the menu right now, it's too late in the day) will keep you going for quite a while if you're active.
If you're not, and you eat a lot for no real reason, well, you're going to blow up and die fat.
That's the enemy here: entertainment eating. Nannies have tutted us out of enjoying everything else...
Radwaste at January 15, 2011 7:52 AM
Yeah, it stuns me that anyone is surprised by this. You know what I think? I think the people who push for this type of thing know all along that it isn't going to make any difference. So why do they do it? Because it rationalizes their authoritarian impulses: "These people are obviously too stupid to do what's good for them; therefore we are justified in passing draconian laws to put them on a leash."
Cousin Dave at January 15, 2011 8:16 AM
Of course, as people who read here regularly know: If you want to eat fast food and stay slim, eat the In-N-Out burger "protein style," and skip the fries, coke, and shake. Or, if you're at McDonalads, have a bacon/cheese Angus burger, no bun -- and no fries, no pie, no coke, no shake.
Amy Alkon at January 15, 2011 8:53 AM
Meanwhile, the government allows the absolutely ludicrous claim that I just saw on a commercial on CNN that Honey-Nut Cheerios are "heart healthy." What crap.
Amy Alkon at January 15, 2011 9:14 AM
I enjoy reading the "don't eat this, eat that" articles. It's amazing how some meals contain over a days worth of calories, and some supposedly healthy foods (salads, soups) contain several days worth of sodium.
So Amy- do you really carry 4 days worth of salami in your purse????? How much is that?
Eric at January 15, 2011 9:15 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/01/15/the_government_4.html#comment-1822673">comment from EricIt's amazing how some meals contain over a days worth of calories, and some supposedly healthy foods (salads, soups) contain several days worth of sodium.
And you're afraid of sodium why? Because the government tells you to be afraid of it? Me? I read Gary Taubes piece on sodium in science years ago, and I eat salt all over everything. I'm exceptionally healthy.
So Amy- do you really carry 4 days worth of salami in your purse????? How much is that?
Where would you get that idea? I eat dry Italian sausage and carry a little baggie of it in my purse in case I get hungry -- one little baggie, one day's worth, which isn't much, since it has fat in it, so it fills you up. I'm extremely healthy, thanks to eating very low-carb (only carbs that come in cheese, green beans, etc.)
Amy Alkon
at January 15, 2011 9:40 AM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/01/15/the_government_4.html#comment-1822674">comment from Amy AlkonHere, Taubes, on the "science" that led people to stop salting their food:
http://www.junkscience.com/news3/taubes.html
Amy Alkon
at January 15, 2011 9:41 AM
My Doctor told me to cut down on carbs and sodium, though my blood pressure is in the normal range.
It says on your Wikipedia page that you keep 4 days worth of salami in your purse in case anyone serves you pasta!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amy_Alkon
Eric at January 15, 2011 2:39 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/01/15/the_government_4.html#comment-1822829">comment from EricEric, it's not true -- it was probably put there by the tiny losermob I write about in Chapter 9 of my book. I don't look at my Wikipedia page -- if somebody can go in there and correct that, I'd appreciate that.
I have a refrigerator in my house -- why I would let salami languish in my purse for four days, I have no idea. I eat dry Italian sausage, by the way, or saucisson if I can get it. It's very good, and keeps all day, and doesn't smell.
The losers were talking about a newspaper conference I went to in Toronto. I try to be considerate of organizers, so I don't ask for special meals (I don't eat carbs), and I brought four small dry sausages from Trader Joe's and stored them in a small refrigerator in my room.
What's amazing to me is that grown adults (on their last post) spent their Saturday night talking about how I choose to eat. These are adult bullies and only people who feel completely small need to go after others like they do -- and anoymously, as a glad-handing mob. The fiercest Amy hater is a 50-something unsucessful actor in New York who has a self-published book on Amazon (under an assumed name), and mentions on his linked-in profile his high school accomplishments (do you even remember where you went to high school without stretching a little?). A psychologist I'm friends with pointed out that bullies like this guy are immature, narcissistic losers who go after people they perceive to have undeservedly gotten the success the bully thinks he deserves. The difference is usually that the person with the success has worked very hard for it.
Amy Alkon
at January 15, 2011 3:42 PM
I thought it was too eccentric to be true! :-)
Eric at January 15, 2011 4:48 PM
I actually think that keeping a four-day supply of salami on hand is an excellent idea. You know, in case of zombie invasion.
Cousin Dave at January 15, 2011 9:26 PM
Amy Alkon
http://www.advicegoddess.com/archives/2011/01/15/the_government_4.html#comment-1823003">comment from Cousin DaveI have probably a 10-day supply, but it's in my refrigerator, as are eggs, cheese, lettuce, bacon, and other food items.
Amy Alkon
at January 16, 2011 12:06 AM
Agree with cousin dave, it satisfies their authoritarian impulses. "Look, Ma, i made a huge corporation jump when i yelled at it! I am powerful and validated!"
Most of the fringe leadership at CSPI don't want the public to be healthy. They want the public dead, and miserable until that can be arranged.
vermindust at January 16, 2011 8:16 AM
This report gives the advocates for the nanny state to impose mandatory vegetarian menus in fast food restaurants and banning of meat and saturated fat.
DrTamesis at January 16, 2011 8:40 AM
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