Introduction
It is not a secret that modern trends dictate a particular lifestyle, according to which many people begin to monitor their health, follow a diet, and exercise actively. In this case, the meaning of proper nutrition is often associated with calorie counting — one of the most common practices designed to normalize the gastrointestinal tract and reduce weight. Nonetheless, one should confirm that calories are conventions, and digestion is too complicated a process to get accurate figures. Furthermore, calculating calories is a complex process, and it is challenging to expect many consumers to use the information attached to some dishes. Counting calories in restaurant menus does not guarantee making customers’ choices safer and healthier.
Yelowitz: Con Stance
Primarily, based on empirical knowledge and perception of certain phenomena, most people will choose to favor their favorite, but not healthy, food in terms of facts provided about the nutritional value of dishes on a restaurant menu. According to Yelowitz, such prescriptions have practically no noticeable effect, but if there is a decrease in a person’s weight, it is only in the short term (Maynard 27). As practice shows, individuals perceive data about labeling the calorie content of meals with a sense of shame; they want to forget it as soon as possible. Such designations spoil impressions of a restaurant and make guests who care about their figure frantically count how much they ate. As a result, a person ceases to enjoy what is happening and is overcome by anxiety.
In most cases, people on a diet reassess the calorie content of dishes or calculate the nutritional value of unhealthy food. Accordingly, actual information can be a pleasant surprise for them, after which they will start ordering more fatty food. In addition, consumption may increase or at least not decrease if people are not able to handle quantitative data. An assumption should be made for calorie counting to change customer behavior: clients can evaluate details appropriately and understand precisely what each number represents. Any information will be meaningless if no one knows the calorie range for a particular meal.
In addition, most restaurant dishes differ from home ones due to the use of several ingredients; in such conditions, preserving the original taste of products is challenging because specific changes occur without warning customers. If guests order the same dish they cook at home, it does not mean they will have the same calorie content. Producers are constantly creating and changing their products, but they do not consider a “silent” form of composition change. Obviously, this phenomenon eradicates a reliable, accurate, and objective calorie-counting procedure, and a client becomes a “hostage” of an unhealthy choice. Consequently, if a restaurant owner indicates in a menu the price of a dish and its calorie content, this seriously affects the choice a guest will make.
Wootan: Pro Stance
However, Wootan claims that placing calories in the menu helps people make a more meaningful choice, having previously weighed all the pros and cons (Maynard 27). For instance, some people interrogate servers, trying to find out the proper composition of dinner to avoid exceeding the number of calories per meal. Not long ago, restaurants picked up this trend and began to indicate the number of calories in their dishes on their menu. Thus, this moment makes the situation easier for all “losing weight,” but it also affects the choice of all other clients.
By the way, despite the growing popularity of low-calorie dishes and products, it is crucial to remember their quality and usefulness. Calories are not the only thing that is particularly important for realizing a healthy lifestyle (Friedman 1). Healthy eating out does not involve counting calories, but considering the nutrition itself; it is necessary to know individual limits and plan what will be eaten during the day (Friedman 1).
Low-calorie yogurt can make one slimmer but not always healthier. Therefore, it is worth remembering that it is not about counting calories but about a balanced diet, which is the basis of a healthy lifestyle. On the contrary, counting calories can lead to weight gain. For instance, a chocolate bar and a vegetable salad may have the same calories, but the benefits of these two products for the body are incomparable. Accordingly, it is better to pay attention not to the calorie content but to the composition of the food, particularly what nutrients it contains.
Conclusion
In summary, the calorie-counting procedure in a restaurant is not the best way to convert customers to proper nutrition. In most cases, a healthy lifestyle involves not so much the number of calories consumed but the quality of the dishes and their ingredients. Often, information about calories scares visitors and does not guarantee that they will undoubtedly choose a portion of healthier food for their bodies. Moreover, even choosing a dish that a person eats at home risks having the wrong idea about the calories consumed.
Works Cited
Friedman, Lauren F. “Calorie Counts on Menus Lead to Healthier Choices, Research Shows.” Consumer Reports, Inc. 2018. Web.
Maynard, Micheline. “Fast-Food Shakeout.” CG Researcher, vol. 29, no. 7, 2019, pp. 1-28. Web.
Ambacher, Richard. Semantics: Arriving at Meaning. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, Iowa, 1993.
Fischer, David. “The New Magic Machines.” U.S. News & World Report, vol.120, no. 11, p. 60-64. 1996.