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New York City’s own Mayor Di Blasio wants to label high sodium items on fast food chain menus.
He wouldn’t be the first to advocate labeling content of foods – NYC’s former Mayor Bloomberg is responsible for the caloric labeling on restaurant chain menus, Some New Yorkers who already hate the labeling of calories say ” it ruins my enjoyment of the food”.
Sure, it’s a big downer to see that large popcorn I want at the movies is 1500 calories. I still get it when I really want it, and I limit how often I indulge. That’s called moderation!
It’s naive to think that your diet and choices affect only YOU. Each of our choices affect the rest of us, as insurance premiums go up and our country has a harder time providing healthcare to people with all of the chronic diseases resulting from obesity. We all know that more Americans are getting obese as they eat our Standard American Diet. SAD indeed.
The current recommendation on daily sodium limit is about 2,300 milligrams. A ton of fast food chain items have way more than that – in a single item!! Placing a little salt shaker symbol next to items like this educates people. Then they can make educated decisions.
Many consumers just don’t understand how much salt is way too much! Most of us don’t know just how harmful a high salt diet can be in the long run. A high sodium intake is strongly linked to a greater risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. These are chronic diseases leading to stroke and cardiac death.
Besides, limiting the warning to items that contain more than the whole day’s recommendation of salt is quite conservative I think! Once NYC health expert estimated that almost 10%of menu items would qualify for the warning symbol.
New York is the first city in the country to suggest a high sodium warning. Now NYC’s calorie printouts on menus, around since 2008 courtesy of former Mayor Bloomberg, are going national! Yes, the rest of the country is getting on board with educating people.
These symbols next to high sodium foods EDUCATE people, may of whom have no idea how much salt they eat. I know many New Yorkers who still believe they eat a low salt diet simply because they don’t reach for a salt shaker on their prepared meals.
Including a salt shaker symbol next to extremely salty items would make unhealthier choices more obvious!
People still have freedom to make their own choices, but since those choices do affect the rest of us, shouldn’t we at least try to make people more aware?
