Over the weekend Congress (barely) passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act, or H.R. 3962. And while much media attention went to the abortion clauses that were put in / taken out, there were also several food and nutrition related provisions added to the new legislation.

Section 2572 [NUTRITION LABELING OF STANDARD MENU ITEMS AT CHAIN RESTAURANTS AND OF ARTICLES OF FOOD SOLD FROM VENDING MACHINES] will require 2 things:

1. Any operator of 20 or more vending machines will now be required to label the calorie count for each of the items on sale:

the vending machine operator shall provide a sign in close proximity to each article of food or the selection button that includes a clear and conspicuous statement disclosing the number of calories contained in the article

This is great, because it will help people snack a bit more mindfully. Especially important is the labeling of soft drinks and juices. Consumers pick up a vitamin water and are sometimes surprised when they’re told it contains 8 teaspoons of sugar and 130 calories!

2. Restaurant chains with national presence of 20 or more locales will now have to post calorie information as well. The information has to appear on menus as well as on the menu board and drive in menu board where applicable.

There have been calorie labeling efforts in several cities and states across the country in the past 2 years, but now they’ll all come under a single roof.

While calories are a great start, they certainly don’t tell the whole story of a product, so the bill further states that upon request, customers shall also be informed about level of nutrients such as  fat, sodium, and cholesterol.

That’s nice in theory, but you can just imagine a scene where Fred is standing in line at a busy BK, trying to decide whether to go for a cheeseburger or whopper, and asking the Jack the cashier for the saturated fat content of each. While Jack is scratching his head and calling the shift manager who vaguely remembers some brochure buried in the stock room, the line behind Fred gets longer and more restless….

The National Restaurant Association supports the new menu requirement, and with good reason. Better have one single rule, than have each state or municipality come up with its own requirements, as California did.

We would have liked to see more sweeping legislation connected to food and nutrition in this bill. After all, much of our health problems are directly related to poor eating habits. But this will have to wait for another time.

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Worrying numbers from a government conference in Washington DC this week:

Obese Americans — those who are 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight — cost the country an estimated $147 billion in weight-related medical bills in 2008, double what it was a decade ago, a new study shows.

Overall, an obese patient has $4,871 in medical bills a year compared with $3,442 for a patient at a healthy weight.

Read USA Today Article…

The Center for Disease Control and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are sharing  alarming findings with elected and appointed public policy makers as well as federal, state and local public health leaders in a 3 day conference dedicated to obesity prevention.

What you need to know:

The percentage of obese adults in the US grew from 15% in 1980 to 34% in 2006 (more than double).

About 34% of adults — more than 72 million — in the USA were obese in 2006, up from 23% in 1994, according to government data. Two-thirds of people in this county are overweight or obese. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, several types of cancer and other diseases.

Clearly, something is broken with the system that feeds us.

What does this have to do with President Obama’s health care reform, all over the news these days?

The reform is an important overhaul no doubt. With  costs soaring, and health care becoming a luxury instead of a basic right for many Americans, there are many corrections required.

One of the ways to improve health care is through prevention. For example, preventing obesity.

This means stepping up to the collective plate and taking some radical steps:

For one, aligning the price of junk food with its real cost. Not the cost at the cash register, but the cost 20 years down the line at the hospital. (If you are thinking Soda Tax, this is just one option. Another is eliminating silly subsidies for corn that have flooded the market with high fructose corn syrup, and extra fat livestock).

Another measure is substantially restricting junk food advertising to children.

Lastly, the government can mandate clear, easy to understand food labels. Today’s labels are confusing. They allow manufacturers to obfuscate the true nutritional quality of a processed food item through flimsy health claims and marketing hype.

What to do at the supermarket:

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the government to help you. While you can certainly have your voice heard by writing to your state and federal representatives, a much more effective tool is to vote with your pocketbook.

Vote at the supermarket by choosing unprocessed foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy and meat, and whole grains.

Vote by limiting your spending on junk foods.

Vote by cutting your spending on soft drinks to zero.

You’ll not only improve your health almost immediately, you’ll save yourself $1400 per year in health care costs down the road.

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