OK, pop quiz time: Which selection at McDonald’s has more calories, salt and fat: Two Big Macs or a large chocolate shake?
If you answered two Big Macs, join Dr. Harold Goldstein. He got the answer wrong too and he is executive director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy or CCPHA.
"I have a doctorate in public health, and I failed this quiz," said Goldstein to the Reuters news service. "Common sense does not help ... who would think that a large chocolate shake at McDonald's has more calories than two Big Macs?"
Apparently, not a lot of us. The California public health organization commissioned a new poll that posed the Big Macs-shake question to more than 500 respondents, along with three other questions about items on menus at Chili’s, Macaroni Grill and Denny’s franchises. Not a single person answered all four questions correctly, and two-thirds of participants didn’t get a single one right.
Not one. And this is among people living in California, which is considered a more health-conscious state than most.
Here’s the Denny’s question: Which meal has the least number of calories, salt and fat:
- Ham and cheddar omelet
- chicken-fried steak and eggs
- three slices of French toast with syrup and margarine
- three pancakes with syrup and margarine
So much for being "good" with the margarine. Chicken-fried steak and eggs had the fewest number of calories, salt and fat among the four breakfast options.
Less than one percent answered three of the four questions correctly. That’s four people out of 500-plus.
Dr. Kleiner commented, “While [chicken-fried steak and eggs] is NOT a healthy choice compared to homemade cereal and eggs, this study is a great demonstration of what happens to foods in a restaurant kitchen. Without a nutrition facts label, there's no telling what's in the food.
Restaurant chains like Denny’s and McDonald’s have voluntarily posted nutritional breakdowns of menu choices on their Web sites in recent years. But food activists such as Michael Jacobson at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (http://www.cspinet.org/) contends that consumers need to most see that information when it’s time to order.
"Many people would make different choices if the restaurants listed the calories, salt and fat," says Jacobson. "And then the restaurants would make adjustments."
Jacobson’s point is: hey, splurges are OK. Just recognize them, which, by the evidence of the California poll, is not as apparent as it might seem.
One number for which those California respondents scored high: Eighty-four percent said they would welcome laws that require restaurant chains to post nutritional information on menus or menu boards.
In the Good Mood Diet, Dr. Kleiner and I were intent on presenting an eating plan that "traveled well." Here are some of Dr. Kleiner’s tips for dining out and staying in the Good Mood range:
- Don’t start on the breadbasket until other food comes to the table.
- Share appetizers and order your salad with dressing on the side.
- Ask for meat and fish sauces on the side.
- When ordering pasta, choose the red sauce.
- Split desserts for the table.
- Think combinations of meat/fish, veggies and grains.
Dr. Kleiner also has Good Mood choices to fit into a hectic, fast-food sort of day. She likes Subway the most.
"Choose a six-inch sub or wrap," she says. "To increase protein, ask for a double serving of meat, especially if you are working out regularly. Skip the mayonnaise, but do have the olive oil and load up on the veggies."
For her part, Kleiner skips the sodas (me too). But she sees the baked potato chips as the occasional splurge item.
"I pack nuts or fruit from home to supplement a Subway sandwich on the run," said Kleiner, "but the baked chips can be on the special treat list."
Bob Condor