In a fast paced world where novelty drives our appetites, the typical American spends a lot of time and money eating out. Staying home for a home cooked meal takes time and can seem mundane. Going out for the latest new dish from restaurants offering endless variety draws us as does the need to get a meal done and move on to the next task. Besides the cost of the restaurant and tip, we pay a price for this restaurant food in terms of health.
With studies indicating that the average American gets 1 out of every 5 calories from restaurant offerings, the quality of this nutrition source obviously impacts our present and future health. Using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) Tufts University researchers examined the self-reported dietary intake against an American Heart Association 2020 diet score.
The study estimated that 70% of the restaurant meals were of poor dietary quality. Even at full-service restaurants, half were rated poor nutritionally. Sadly, less than 1% were considered ideal in quality. They reported other statistics which continued the string of bad news for our health.
With their opinion that “Our food is the number one cause of poor health in the country, representing a tremendous opportunity to reduce diet-related illness and associated healthcare spending,”, it is surprising that so little time is spent in regular medical training on nutrition. Even more surprising that conventional medicine is so unwilling to acknowledge that “Food is Medicine” as functional MD’s like myself keep trying to teach our patients. I would add that if we raised the nutrition bar even higher than the American Heart Association (AHA) diet score to match what functional medicine would recommend, the statistics would be even more depressing.
The next time you look to go out for a meal, consider the impact it may have on your health or your children’s health. The long-term costs may be greater than the immediate cost of cooking that home prepared meal. At least you may choose a healthier restaurant or a healthier option at your regular restaurants. Eating one nutritious meal at a time lays the foundation for a healthier more abundant life.
Original Article:
Junxiu Liu, Colin D Rehm, Renata Micha, Dariush Mozaffarian. Quality of Meals Consumed by US Adults at Full-Service and Fast-Food Restaurants, 2003–2016: Persistent Low Quality and Widening Disparities. The Journal of Nutrition, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/jn/nxz299
Thanks to Science Daily:
Tufts University, Health Sciences Campus. “On the menu: Study says dining out is a recipe for unhealthy eating for most Americans: 14-year trend shows worsening disparities in meal quality for some groups.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 January 2020. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200129091401.htm>.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
