Restaurant Food: Generally Bad For You
That finding comes from a new study that looked at what more than 35,000 American adults have been eating at full service and fast food restaurants. The researchers from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University found that about 50 percent of meals at full-service restaurants (those with wait staff) were of poor nutritional quality. The investigators reported that at fast food restaurants (including pizza parlors) 70 percent of foods consumed were of poor dietary quality (a slight improvement from 75 percent in 2003-2004). At full-service restaurants about 50 percent of the food was deemed of “intermediate” quality, while less than 0.1 percent of restaurant meals were judged of ideal quality. According to study leader Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., dean of the Friedman School, “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.”
Source:
Dariush Mozaffarian et al, “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, January 29, 2020, doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz299
More news from this week’s bulletin:
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- Zinc Lozenges For Common Colds
- A recipe to try: Steamed Asian Pears With Honey
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