In her role as First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama has taken on eliminating childhood obesity as her mission. She is campaigning for healthier school lunches, enlisting the cooperation of parents and school districts.
I like many of her initiatives, they make sense. Both of my children attended public schools, so I know first hand that lunches are sorely lacking in nutritional benefits. Still there is disapproval from certain factions toward her proposals.
Apparently she is now taking on the restaurant industry, and that has caused more furor.
What I know of her latest proposal – to encourage restaurants to offer more nutritional menu items and reduce portion sizes – has been on the periphery. I’ve seen reaction online, but I haven’t read or heard any news reports quoting Mrs. Obama, so I went to the source… her recent remarks to the National Restaurant Association meeting back in Sept. 2010.
The bulk of her speech focused on children, improving school lunches and now getting restaurants to offer healthier menu options.
This sentence, I believe, is the gist of the most recent outcry…
“And, finally, we’re working with mayors and other local officials to make our cities and towns healthier and to highlight restaurants that agree to serve smaller portions* and promote more nutritious options.”
* (emphasis is mine)
That is what has my mother aggravated enough to ask me to help her find a mailing address for the First Lady. Her intention is to send a respectful, but reproachful letter.
My mom is not political, but she is frugal.
As Mrs. Obama is asking the NRA to help improve menu options for children, she may also inadvertently create a problem for another segment of the dining population, and one that has voting privileges – the elderly.
While the diets of our senior citizens could also benefit from some of the changes Mrs. Obama is encouraging – lower fat, more vegetable and fruit offerings, and cutting down on added sugar and salt – there is a consequence that wasn’t addressed.
When my mom and her husband dine out, which is not very often, they typically split an entrée. Both because they can’t eat a full dinner by themselves, but also as a way to save money.
Her issue with an appeal from the White House to reduce meal portions that this will have a negative impact on older consumers. If meals are smaller, splitting them will no longer be feasible. They’ll either have to purchase two meals, which could be cost prohibitive, or stop dining out altogether.
And, she’s none too happy about either option.
Do you think restaurants should change their menu offerings or reduce portion sizes as a way to combat childhood obesity? Is this a good idea for all consumers or should these changes be limited to only the children’s portion of the menu? Is it too much micro-managing?
These are two contact options I found on the White House website. I would love to read my mom’s letter to Mrs. Obama.
Online message:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Standard mail:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
(Please include e-mail address)
Thin spiral notebook 
My parents often frequent restaurants that offer senior discounts. I think the point the First Lady is trying to make is that people tend to overeat when they go to restaurants, not realizing that the portion size is much bigger than they actually need. No one is going to be able to please everyone all of the time, but I’m sure there’s a workable solution here.
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I made the mistake of checking the nutritional info on one of my favorite restaurant meals. I think the calorie content was 2400. I haven’t eaten a full serving since. That is what needs to be readily available, that kind of information. With that, people can make informed decisions without the government stepping in and making it for them. If that is what Mrs. Obama is proposing then, I’d be all for it.
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I agree with your mom. My grandparents shared meals and my parents now do too. Also to take it a step further at what point do we have to be responsible for ourselves as adults and not pig out at restraunts daily, then their would be no need for this proposal. How can we teach our children self-control if we are all controlled. See me personally, when I go out to eat, I want grease, big portions (big piggy size portions, that i can eat tomorrow), calories, deseret, an excess of wine, etc. because I don’t eat out all the time. To me eating out is a luxury and I don’t want my luxury to be downsized and 1/2 caloried!
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That’s a good point. If these proposal are made mandatory, will there be any sort of explanation to the public that makes it clear that smaller portions are healthier or will it just take affect and that’s the end of it? If that’s the case, what’s the point? If there is a concerted effort to educate the public, what will the cost of that be to the taxpayer?
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Everything is a cost to the Tax Payer that’s the problem! They will charge us for the paper to write the proposal on and the ink too!
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I completely agree with you that the feds should stay out of portion regulation. That said, I believe that in many cases, restaurants have made portions as large as they can so they can charge lots more per meal. I’d love to see more places adopt “half” AND “full” portions, so we truly have a choice, not only in how much we want to eat at that table, but whether we want to be held hostage to paying their huge prices for an oversized meal we may not want that day. Does that make sense?
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I’d like to see more restaurants offer half portions too, but I think you’re right in that many times management wants to maximized portions so they can justify cost. I am asking for ‘take-home’ containers all the time… but then I have to fight the menfolk for it the next day.
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I want to see you post that letter of your mom’s.
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So do I!
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This is one of what I believe to be the biggest problems with government today; someone does a study and decides the best way to solve problem a is with solution b. Then government then jumps in and tries to regulate something without understanding the repercussions that fan out from the regulation. This is the perfect example (even tough I am well-aware that Michelle Obama is not in the government). Encouraging healthy choices is one thing, regulating them is entirely something else.
The scariest words to me, when in a discussion about a problem or issue, are “there needs to be a law…”
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As long as proposals for restaurants to reduce portion sizes stays voluntary, without any penalties, then that’s fine. But the moment the federal, state or local government comes in and makes it mandatory, that’s a problem. That decision should be solely for business owners and customers to make.
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I personally don’t want the government sticking their nose into my diet. I am a living, breathing, thinking human being who is perfectly capable to make my own choices about what I will eat.
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I’m with you. I’m an adult and can make good or bad choices as I see fit.
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I hadn’t thought about that angle, but it’s a good point. John and I used to go to a certain restaurant every time we went to St Augustine. It was quite expensive, but we split a seafood platter every time. The last time we went, they had taken that platter off of the menu. We haven’t been back since, and that was years ago.
I think it’s our own responsibility, as adults paying for meals, to make our own choices and downsize ourselves accordingly. I’m all for changing school lunches, but leave the restaurants out of it.
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Exactly! School lunches are different, since many of the students have no other choice. But, for me, I can make decisions for my own family and myself.
I wonder to, if restaurants do reduce portions based on this proposal, will they also reduce the price proportionally?
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Personally, I think that the portion sizes should be smaller at a restaurant as it is. Whether or not the government should regulate it, though, is a whole ‘nother matter. I have found myself, when we eat out (which is 1/week), slicing my entire plate in half, and taking half home for lunch or Curty to eat throughout the week and that seems to work. Cost isn’t so much of an issue for us but I could definitely see why it would worry your parents!
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There are a few restaurants I frequent which offer 1/2 servings, or lunch portions, throughout the day, and I’ll get that instead of a full entree. I wish more places did that, but I still think that it should be left to each individual business, and not regulated or endorsed by the government.
When my mom asked for my help, I told her I had never considered that this proposal could have a negative effect on anyone, but I don’t live on a fixed income like so many of our seniors do.
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” … and to highlight restaurants that agree to serve smaller portions and promote more nutritious options”
So she’s just wanting to highlight and promote restaurants agreeing to serve smaller portions? Sounds pretty harmless IF I’m reading this right.
I’m guessing depending on business, etc. many restaurants won’t even get on board. Maybe tell your mom to send a letter to her favorite eating places as well. As nice as it would be to be promoted by the government as a healthier alternative I’m sure it’s not worth losing long time clients.
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What concerns me about that is the federal government promoting any business over another, whether it’s highlighting one restaurant as ‘healthier’ than another or a big box store as more consumer-friendly, or whatever criteria it might be. I don’t think that is necessarily the role of our government.
If restaurant owners decide to offer smaller portions, more nutritious side items or some other move toward what is considered healthier options, that’s great. And I haven’t read anything to indicate this initiative would be a government mandate, so as long as it’s voluntary, I’m fine with the proposed menu changes.
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We don’t eat out much but when we do we downsize ourselves, on our own. Dining out is a luxury. I don’t need the government regulating portions. Isn’t that what the prohibition was kinda of?
Michelle is doing a great job educating people. I think she should leave it at that.
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I hardly ever eat a full entree when we go out to eat. But that is my choice, like how you choose to downsize on your own too.
Where we live, there are so many students in public schools who qualify for reduced or free lunches. Often school meals are the only one they have all day. Improving school lunches, making them more nutritious, makes sense.
But restaurant dining is a choice. Aside from requiring food served be safe to eat, I don’t believe our government should be in the business of determining portion sizes or whether I eat fried or grilled food. I agree, education here is want’s appropriate.
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