With the proportion of processed food consumed away from home increased to nearly one half through the recent years[2], education on how to prepare nutritious meals at home is not enough to help people eating healthy. If we take a look into food bought at restaurants and homemade meals, we can see that people consume significantly more calories when they eat out. Overconsumption of fat and sugar as well as underconsumption of iron, calcium and vitamins is seen when people eat at restaurant[3]. It is thus not surprising, when researchers found that eating out is associated with childhood obesity across the United States[4]. Part of the reason could be people are less aware of the ingredients, portion size and nutrition when the food is not prepared by themselves, or their healthy options are limited by the menu. Either way, it is necessary to involve the restaurants if we were to improve overall nutrition.
The food portion we see in the restaurants is increasingly larger over the years. With portions getting larger, the appetite of the customers grows, too. While some people realizing the growing portion size and trying not to finish their plates, the restaurants are responsible for offering flexible sizes and options that include vegetables and fruits to the customers. The researchers of Choose Health LA have made a lot of effort in educating and communicating with the restaurants. The first step was how to make the message of smaller size and healthier option heard by the restaurants. Next is how to make it a win-win choice for both the restaurants and the society. In other words, the policy makers and researchers need to think through how this project can make the community around those restaurants healthier without hurting the profit of the restaurants as indicated by Pareto efficiency. Only in this way will the restaurants be willing to participate in the program and be committed even after the campaign finishes. A successful approach used by the administrators of Choose Health LA program was to advertise the participating restaurants on local news and social media, which was an efficient way to market those restaurants and make the restaurants feel that their efforts were being recognized. When we are trying to implement a public health program, it is important to make it align with the market rules, appealing to stakeholders and cost-effective. Sometimes, it might be beneficial to calculate the return on investment value of the possible public health projects in order to select the most rewarding one.
- Food-Away-from-Home. 2016; Available from: http://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-choices-health/food-consumption-demand/food-away-from-home.aspx.
- McGuire, S., Todd J.E., Mancino L., Lin B-H. The impact of food away from home on adult diet quality. ERR-90, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Econ. Res. Serv., February 2010. Adv Nutr, 2011. 2(5): p. 442-3.
- Boumtje, P.I., et al., Dietary habits, demographics, and the development of overweight and obesity among children in the United States. Food Policy, 2005. 30(2): p. 115-128.