Emily Karr Kaitin
Intro to Academic Writing
Lowenthal
January 26, 2014 Counting Calories My friend Shiloh and I walked down the third floor steps of the library, smiling with excitement to finally gain a break from all our homework and reward ourselves with a snack. Our eyes widened as we looked at our options, ranging from the practically calorie-free celery cups to some delectable, but calorie-rich, cinnamon buns. In an attempt to choose something healthy yet satisfying, we picked up some hummus and pretzel cups. But as we got in line to check out, a bright sign struck us – “New! Breakfast sandwiches on buttery biscuits!” – and we were sold. Ten minutes later we were back on the third floor of the library, sitting in food comas and feeling full of regret. We asked ourselves what caused us to lose control of our desire for healthy eating, and steered us towards the blatantly unhealthy choice? The answer was obvious—the thought of eating something delicious! The smell of buttery biscuits wafted into our noses and made the decision for us.
By simply seeing our food options in front of us everyday, we areand being forced to use our own judgment to decide what is a healthy choice and what we are goingwant to order off a menu everyday,eat. But what if we lack thehad some useful information available to us as well, solid evidence necessary that would help to deter us from making a poor eating choice. ? What if the breakfast sandwich had a big large “650 calories” plastered right next to its price? Would I have chosen the “120 calorie” hummus cup instead? AbsolutelyMost likely, yes. Knowing that my “snack” alone consisted of more calories than one of my entire regular meals, I would have steered me away and encouraged me to makeclear of the buttery delight and made a healthier choice. Every day millions of Americans order their food off of a menu, and every day more Americans grow moreare diagnosed as being obese. Weight is gained when a person consumes more calories than they burn. By placing a simple calorie content next to food items on menus, it would give Americans the solidbeneficial evidence they need to help them make smart healthy eating decisions when ordering off of menus.
Over As I flew home to Massachusetts for Thanksgiving break this past November, I had a two-hour layover in theat JFK Airport in New York City airport on the way home from school. I entered the food court area tired and hungry, craving something to get me through the annoyance unpleasantness of traveling. I remembered how much I loved New York style pizza and walked over to the Pizza pizza counter to see how much a slice would cost. Next to the “$2.99” was “700 calories” recorded written right next to it. Although I knew pizza was definitely not a healthy meal, I had no idea that it was so many calories. My astonishment outweighed my craving, and I wandered the food court until I found a meal with a lower displayed calorie content, displayed next to its price.
In New York, Philidelphia, California, and many other places, restaurant chains of fifteen or more sites, must publish next to each food item they sell the calorie content of thatnext to the item names. Seeing the calorie content of a single piece slice of pizza saved me almost 400 calories in a single meal. I bet that ifIf seeing calorie contents for just one meal had such a large effect on me, if these contents were always displayed at all restaurants and cafeterias around the country, it would have an extremely beneficial effect on all many Americans.
Although adding calorie contents of food items on menus seems to be a simple idea to decrease obesity in the United States, many wouldsome might oppose the idea. Companies selling high calorie foods would be put at an extreme disadvantage. For example, iIf every time a customer looks at a McDonald’s menu, and a big fat “1000 calories!” is there to remind them of what’s inside of their Big Mac cheeseburger, they would be more than