When you go to a restaurant, do you order a healthy meal even if it costs more? Most Americans don’t. A new study shows price and taste are more important when eating out than nutrition.
Researchers from Temple University found Americans are also less knowledgeable about healthy menu items, and more likely to think healthy foods taste bland than they were three years ago. Results are from a survey 12,666 people in the U.S. took between 2004 and 2006.
According to the report, Americans said they ate out about five times a week in 2006. Fast-food restaurants were the most popular places to eat breakfast and lunch; fast-food and casual dining were the most popular for dinner. The top reasons for ordering value/combo meals at fast-food restaurants were ease, convenience and cost.
Researchers found eating out can have serious consequences. The body mass index (BMI) of those who ate three to six fast-food meals per week was much greater than the BMI of those who said they never had fast-food meals or had one to two fast-food meals per week.
Results also show about half of respondents strongly agreed that they would be more likely to order healthy items if they were offered as part of a value/combo meal, and 41 percent would like to see actual nutritional information printed on menus.
On a scale of one to seven, respondents rated the following as the most appealing incentives for making healthier meal choices: better-tasting health foods, lower prices for healthy foods, more convenient availability of healthy foods and greater availability of healthy foods.
Recently, restaurants have added more and better-tasting healthy choices. Researchers say restaurant chains should be commended for their efforts, but they need to keep trying to make healthy food attractive to both the palate and pocket.
The study was presented at the North American Association for the Study of Obesity’s Annual Scientific Meeting.
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