UNDER THE MICROSCOPE
Senate Bill 2675 has been filed by Senator Lito Lapid which will mandate food service establishments to disclose caloric and nutritional information in their menus. According to the explanatory notes, “Nutrient content information provided at the time of food selection in food service establishments would enable consumers to make more informed and healthier food choices.”
The proposed law only covers bigger establishments like fast food chains and big restaurants but excludes Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). It does not prevent them from complying with the standards.
Obviously, it is a well-intentioned proposal but the question is: Will it really address the issues of obesity and improper nutrition?
I’ve discussed some of the issues regarding obesity (Obesity Real Talk, July 4, 2023). Without tackling these issues, the problem will likely remain and only get worse.
Excess caloric intake without corresponding physical activity is aggravated by poverty. When people have low purchasing power, they will go for the most filling, calorie-dense foods with poor nutritional content like polished rice and cup noodles. Many of us eat two cups of rice or more at very meal. It is no wonder we are the number one importer of rice in the world.
The poor are not likely to patronize fast food chains and big restaurants and so, will not benefit from the provisions of the bill. They will also not likely bother to read the nutrition data that will sound foreign to them anyway if they eat at these restaurants. They would rather go to the carinderias and sidewalk food vendors for their meals. It is doubtful if the MSMEs will bother to put up the data for their food offerings, as this will only be an added chore and expense without contributing to their bottom line.
For the well-off and economically independent, food prices are not an issue. But they heavily patronize restaurants with buffets which encourage overeating. It is doubtful if they will bother reading nutrition data at these establishments. They will ignore the content and try to get as much value for their money by binge eating. The Korean craze of “mukbang” or binge eating is also to blame for increasing the obesity rate.
Anyway, the point is that nutrition is a multifaceted topic that needs to be explored in all its aspects. How many of us count calories when we eat? Only the obsessive-compulsives probably will read nutrition data in foods, whether packaged or in food establishments. The rest will probably just not bother at all.
Do we know our basal metabolic rate (BMR)? It is the number of calories you burn as your body performs basic life-sustaining functions, such as breathing, circulating blood, absorbing nutrients, eliminating wastes and others. Let’s say your BMR is 1,500 calories. Eating 1,500 calories worth of food and not being physically active, will maintain your weight. If your food intake exceeds 1,500 calories under the same conditions, you will gain weight. Conversely, you will lose weight if your caloric intake is less than your BMR.
If we’re not counting calories, how will we know our BMR? Fortunately, modern electronic weighing scales tell us not only weight but BMR, percent body fat, body mass index, bone mass and many more biological parameters. All we have to do is take note of these figures and decide how to proceed.
Or we can just weigh ourselves weekly and note the changes. If we’re gaining weight, then we must have eaten far more calories than we expended. The solution is to eat less and/or exercise more.
Obviously, choosing the right foods to eat less of is necessary. We should avoid foods rich in sugar and other carbohydrates. If more of us eat less rice, we will also be reducing the amount of rice being imported, saving us precious foreign exchange.
Exercising more is a better option and has many beneficial effects on our bodies. Aerobic exercises promote healthy hearts and blood circulation which in turn benefits our internal organs, especially the brain, forestalling age-related mental dysfunction. Strength training such as weight lifting helps maintain muscle which is important for older persons who are prone to sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass). It likewise prevents the onset of osteopenia (bone loss), often a cause of fractures in the elderly in whom the one-year mortality in those who suffered hip fractures is about 21 percent. Strengthening bone health in the elderly is therefore of paramount importance. We don’t have to lift heavy weights to get these benefits. What is more important is that we exercise regularly and stay active during our waking hours.
So, do we really need to know how many calories we eat, or what nutrients we ingest? Maybe, but eating wisely and moderately and exercising more trumps them all.