Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Is New York City Law the Way to End Obesity?
A couple of weeks ago, an editorial was published in the New York Times about the outcome of Standford University study on the way that New York City’s “Calories-on-Menu” law has had on people’s buying habits since the law came into effect in 2008. To sum the study up, researchers were granted access to receipts from Starbucks encompassing every transaction which occurred between January 1, 2008 (just before the law was put in place in NYC) through to February 28, 2009. They compared the receipts from New York City to transactions from Philadelphia and Boston (cities where the calories are not posted) to see if knowing the calorie counts made any difference in what people ordered. The findings showed that before the law went into effect, the average calorie count of orders in New York, Philadelphia and Boston were very similar. After the law however, the findings showed that the average calorie count for orders in New York dropped by 6% (or a 15 calorie reduction), while Philadelphia and Boston were both unaffected. If you’re interested, the editorial is posted here.
After reading this editorial though, I decided to dive into the subject a little bit further, and I began to wonder if simply posting calories on a menu is enough to affect people’s overall health the way in which the law was intended? Is cutting calories the answer to beating the obesity epidemic in NYC (or all over the world
for that matter), or is this law just a public relations tactic?
For starters, the editorial mentions briefly that similar studies conducted using fast food chains in low-income neighbourhoods in New York showed no significant change in people’s eating habits after calorie counts were posted. What it doesn’t mention however, is that although New Yorkers cut an average of 6% of their calories over the entire 13-month period of the study, it also showed that during what some experts call “eating season” (between Halloween and the Super Bowl), the average calories per order in New York was still equal to that of Philadelphia and Boston. What this suggests to me is that nutritional education, more so than posting calorie content alone is the real answer to fighting weight gain, because what we put into our bodies is just as important as how much.
The problem with counting calories is that the final number doesn’t tell the whole story. For example, Meal A has 410 calories and Meal B has 428. Simple math will tell you that the difference of 18 calories per meal over the course of a year will contribute to approximately a two-pound weight gain. Based on that information, most people would tell you that Meal A is obviously healthier because it has fewer calories. What’s the problem with that? Meal A is a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, and Meal B is a standard serving of chicken breast, broccoli, and brown rice. One is going to give you a healthy balance of protein, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals; the other is going to give you an expanding waistline. I don’t think I need to tell you which is which.
So the next time you are faced with a calorie conundrum while dining out (or cooking at home for that matter) consider the overall benefits of what you are putting into your body and not just the caloric count. If you want help planning your meals ahead of time, there are some great (and free) websites like Calorie Count and Fit Day that will tell you the nutritional breakdown of almost any food you can imagine.
For more news and updates on the blog, join our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Starting February Off...
SAF Model Gorretti Francisco has been doing some great things as of late with Cygen Labs, including being featured on our website as well as some of our upcoming ads for the new year. Below is a journal entry written by Gorretti as part of her Winter 2009-2010 Training Journal on the Girls of SAF website. The original journal is posted here but you can read it in it's entirety below. If you are interested in following Gorretti's journal, you can register on the Girls of SAF website or you can follow it right here on our blog.
Written by Gorretti Francisco
Here we go onto yet another month; it really reinforces that time goes by so fast. February 2 was my 30th birthday. Many of us women, once we turn 29, seem to stay at 29 for a few years before accepting the reality. But I am really excited and proud to say I am 30. To me it’s a new beginning and a start to a new phase of my life. I have a new career, a new place, and a renewed sense of myself, or as Patti LaBelle might sing, I’ve got a new attitude.
During the off season, I had a great opportunity to shoot for Cygen laboratories in mid-December. I was a bit nervous as I was in off-season shape, but I was still very happy and excited for the opportunity. I got to shoot with bodybuilder Stephen Edwards where we did some fun shots together as well as some individual pictures. It turned out to be a very fun photo shoot. I am looking forward to seeing how the ads will turn out! You can check out the whole Cygen product line at http://www.cygenlabs.com.
Part of my fitness goals this year is to become more familiar with the fitness industry. One way I have decided to achieve this is to take the opportunity to attend iconic fitness events. Two of the events I want to attend this year are the Arnold Classic and the Olympia Weekend. I have already started to make plans to attend the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It is being held March 4-7. I am looking forward to seeing the expo and being motivated by the incredible physiques that will be on display.
Training is continuing along. I must admit I had a tough time getting back on the strict, clean eating plan. I was overindulging on raw almonds and walnuts so, as a result, I was having too much fat on some days. I am embarrassed to say it but when it comes to nuts I have no will power, so the only solution is to not have them at home. Even though nuts are full of good fats, having too much is not a good thing when it comes to clean eating.
Believe you can and you're half way there.
-- Theodore Roosevelt
(The picture above right is one of the pictures from the Cygen shoot.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)