Only 9 percent of 237 menus collected statewide had labels designating
heart-healthy selections. Low-fat or non-fat milk and fruit showed up on
just one-third of the menus, while a quarter of the menus listed low-fat
or fat-free salad dressings and only 8 percent offered heart-healthy desserts.
Things look a little better when it comes to vegetables and portion sizes,
according to Debra Krummel, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., of West Virginia University
School of Medicine and colleagues. Two-thirds of the restaurants offered
vegetable or light entrees and half offered half-sized portions.
“The results demonstrate a need for change in the restaurant environment
in distinguishing healthy food items on the menu and offering healthy food
choices,” Krummel says.
“Because eating out has become the norm in our society, more choices
should be offered to those who are health conscious,” she adds.
The researchers pored over menus from casual dining places like cafes,
fine dining establishments, ethnic restaurants and fast-food places. They
looked for the usual suspects in a heart-healthy diet: Low-fat dairy products,
fruits and vegetables prepared without added fat and grilled or steamed
meats.
Casual restaurants like cafes and diners were the best at offering healthy
fare, the researchers found. Ethnic restaurants were more likely than other
restaurants to include nutrition information on their menus.
Only one restaurant in the survey displayed information
from the USDA dietary guidelines, and none of the restaurant menus included
information
about the food pyramid or the federal government’s “5-A-Day” program
to encourage more fruit and vegetable snacking.
The survey included menus from restaurants in Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg,
Beckley, Wheeling, Weirton, Martinsburg, Parkersburg, Huntington and Charleston.
The study was supported by the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health
State Cardiovascular Program with funds from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
