Fast food for thought Three out of four teeners eat fast food more than once a week-egged on by advertising
By Dong de los Reyes, Contributing Editor
A battalion of vermin whipped up the epitome of down-to-basics cuisine, dished out a frugal portion to a grouchy gourmet whose dark mien lit up after savoring a tidbit of vegetables and herbs baked in extra-virgin olive oil-wave after wave of fond memories sweep tongue and thought. Less could be more: 'twas filling and fulfilling fare. And that was the highlight of the 2007 animated film Ratatouille that asserts anybody can cook-but it takes genuine talent to turn up filling and fulfilling fare. Gourmets can pine for filling and fulfilling fare. Gourmands aren't that sentimental. Grace-which can imply and implicate any faith that frowns on gluttony-need not be said. They can be as epicurean as locusts, fasten mandibles to carry out mop-up operations on whatever a table holds-burp… was that spread with gravy and sauces on it… the… tablecloth? Fast-food joints don't care a hoot if customers pig out-and a recent study points up that fast-food habitués do. Manipulations in food presentation to detract from eating binges are either ignored or disregarded. Also, fast-food patronage is high: about 75 percent of adolescents eat fast food more than once a week, "representing a dramatic increase since the 1970s and increasing frequency of fast food meals have paralleled the increasing prevalence of obesity," notes the 2007 study "Altering Portion Sizes and Eating Rate to Attenuate Gorging during a Fast Food Meal: Effects on Energy Intake" published in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It adds: "It could be argued that the very business model of the fast-food industry promotes gorging. Advertising campaigns frequently emphasize the extra value of enormous portion sizes offered for an apparently minimal in cost over smaller orders. Free beverage refills in some establishments exemplify this strategy. "Moreover, the industry was founded on the premise of quick service, as conveyed by the term 'fast food,' and relies on rapid customer turnover to secure profits." The grant-backed study was carried out to support the Harvard Clinical Nutrition Research Center and the General Clinical Research Center at Children's Hospital Boston. Among the grant providers was the Bethesda-based National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Earlier feeding studies have shown fast- food meals promote energy intake, including such excesses as: o enormous portion sizes; o rapid eating rate; o low levels of dietary fiber; o high palatability; o high energy density; o high fat content; o high glycemic load; and o high sugar content in liquid form. Of these, enormous portion sizes and rapid eating rate are not nutritional factors inherent to fast food, points out the study. The study team led by Dr. Cara Ebbeling cites that "portioning menu items and slowing the eating rate did not decrease energy intake during a fast-food meal." "Our findings suggest that excess energy intake during an extra-large fast-food meal is not attributable simply to distorted visual cues regarding consumption of foods or beverage or inadequate time for development of satiety signals. Rather, inherent characteristics related to the nutritional composition of conventional fast food likely promote excess energy intake," the study avers. The study had 20 enrollees 13 to 17 years of age who admitted to splurging on fast food more than once a week. Written informed consent and assent were obtained from both parents and subjects. As incentive, each enrollee was offered US$150 in gift certificate with an additional US$25 given at each of four visits plus US$50 at the completion of data gathering. On each of four test visits, enrollees were plied with the equivalent of what researchers tabbed as "standardized fast-food protocol," i.e. bought from a popular fast-food outlet and served in the setting of a food court-10 pieces of fried chicken nuggets (160 grams) with a six-piece (100 grams) refill; 172-gram large serving of French fries plus 65-gram refill; a 20-ounce bottle of cola and a so-called bottomless refill; four 32-gram packets of ketchup, and two 60-gram packets of sweet-and-sour sauce. Explain the researchers: "By using this standardized protocol, we provided more of the items that each subject enjoyed most and would be likely to order in large portions when given the option." Such demonstration of hearty appetite among the overweight isn't restricted to fast- food meals though. "However, eating foods with low energy density (such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and minimally processed grain products), even to physical limits would not promote excess energy intake to the same extent as consuming conventional fast food," assert the researchers. Researchers point out the recent study differs from previous studies on food portion sizes: "We evaluated portioning (i.e. dividing an extra-large meal into smaller fractions without altering absolute amounts of foods and beverages) as opposed to portion control, or serving smaller absolute amounts." Apparently, such a new tack didn't make any difference on the propensity for gourmandizing. Hearty eaters aren't exactly gourmets. They just dug in and chewed. And they probably never bothered to take a second look or paid two-bit fussing about aesthetic presentation of morsels heaped before them. "If visual cues enhance awareness of consumption and thereby curb energy intake, then simple measures involving portioning and packaging of fast food might prove useful, from a public health perspective, in preventing and treating adolescent obesity," researchers note. Also, they remark: "If visual cues do not enhance awareness, then fundamental improvements in nutritional factors inherent to fast food, a prospect that has been historically challenging, would seem to be warranted in efforts aimed at combating the obesity epidemic." Low attention span and attention-deficit hyperactive disorder won't exactly work on "visual cues." Sensitivity to "visual cues" may be inherent in some cultures. Say, in oriental cookery. Every item of viand is laid on the table in frugal portions-a lacquer ware bowl of rice or noodles, a ladling of soup in a fist-size stoneware, two or three slices of broiled fish arrayed on a wee tray garnished with herbs. Isn't that spartan austerity? Nah, every item is set out as a delicate work of art to soothe the eye and touch the palate with two-bit tenderness. Comestible becomes food for thought. Food is also deemed as an index of culture and upbringing, and as that recent animated film asserts, anybody can cook-but it takes genuine talent to turn up filling and fulfilling fare. M |
