Included in the recently signed healthcare reform bill is a new measure requiring restaurant chains to post calorie information on menus and drive-through signs, effective as soon as 2011. The measure is an attempt to stem the obesity epidemic in the U.S., spurred by the belief that Americans will make more informed and healthier choices if calorie information is provided at the time they are selecting food items. The national policy is modeled after a similar calorie requirement passed in early 2008 to help combat obesity in New York.

Currently, 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million are obese, and nine million are severely obese. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found nearly one-third of U.S. children age two and older are overweight or obese. Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults.

So will this national requirement actually make an impact on obesity rates?

Some say that labeling calorie information may not necessarily encourage Americans to eat right. Perhaps the real issue is a lack of education about eating healthy and staying fit. In fact, many criticize First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to fight child obesity because most school-aged children are already overweight and obese. Instead, they argue that the national program should actually start earlier by targeting pregnant woman, infants and pre-schoolers.

Should we learn from other countries?

France has designed a system that encourages healthier foods by teaching children how to eat right. For example, schools in France serve children a healthy multi-course lunch. Children and parents are provided a lunch menu for each school day for a two-month period and no meal is repeated during each period. Every meal includes a hors d’oeuvre, salad, main course, cheese plate and dessert. In addition to the lunch menus, schools send parents a list of healthy suggestions for dinner.

The opposite occurs in U.S. schools where meals are usually low-cost, high in sugars and, overall, unhealthy. I’d be interested in your thoughts on how we can get children to eat more healthy foods? Is our nation teaching children to be unhealthy eaters from the start? How can the U.S. convince parents and children that it is worth the price in the long-run to pay more for healthier food rather than go to fast-food restaurants?

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