Your Food In Miles

If you’ve visited a fast food restaurant of popular chain (with more than 20 restaurants nationwide) recently, you’ve probably noticed that along with the mouthwatering description of the item, menus now are including calorie information on their menus. The aim of this law is to help individuals make better food selections, but for some the information is just a number with not point of reference as to its impact on health.

But, what if instead of 640 calories next to Arby’s Reuben, it were to say, “3 hours of brisk walking?” Would you still order that item, or would it at least make it more difficult to decide?

According to a recent study conducted by researchers at Texas Christian University, replacing caloric intake with “exercise labels” can possibly lead to healthier food selections by consumers.

"We need a more effective strategy to encourage people to order and consume fewer calories from restaurant menus," says Dr. Meena Shah, Texas Christian University (TCU).

"Brisk walking is something nearly everyone can relate to, which is why we displayed on the menu the minutes of brisk walking needed to burn food calories," says Ashlei James, TCU.

With this method, instead of 550 calories for a McDonald’s Big Mac, you’d learn it takes an hour of cycling at a moderate pace of about 13 miles per hour to burn the calories consumed, or that consuming a Super Sonic Double Cheeseburger with Mayo (1160 calories) would require three hours of low-impact aerobics.

Restaurants may not be adopting this method anytime soon, since researchers must find a way to account for the different in calories burned can from person to person, but we would like to know: Would you pay attention to what you’re eating if you knew exactly how much exercise you would have to do to work it off? Leave your answer in the comment box below.

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