TORONTO - In a bid to fight the rising obesity epidemic, the Ontario Medical Association is calling on restaurant chains and school cafeterias to post calorie counts on the menu along with their prices.
By revealing the caloric content of foods on offer, both adults and children would be better equipped to make healthier choices, the doctors group said Tuesday.
"Ontario's doctors are not telling people what they can and can't eat, but when you do eat out, you should know how many calories you are consuming," said OMA president Dr. Ken Arnold.
The OMA is urging the Ontario government to enact legislation on the listing of calories. As well, the group wants a widely disseminated education program -- not only in schools, but even in promotional ads on public transit, for instance -- to tell consumers what constitutes a healthy daily caloric intake.
"We know that most people consume more calories than they are aware of," Arnold told a news conference. "But even for those who know the importance of calorie intake, this information is currently hard to find."
Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director at the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, said women should consume about 1,600 to 1,800 calories per day, while men should limit daily intake to about 2,000 to 2,400 calories to maintain a healthy weight. A child's intake would be based on age and weight.
"We know that the currency of weight is indeed calories, it's not fat or carbohydrates or so forth," Freedhoff said. "With calories it's important to consider them when making dietary choices, just like we consider prices when making monetary choices."
He said many people would be surprised to learn that a tuna melt can contain double to triple the number of calories that some hamburgers contain -- and knowing that is important when ordering food at a restaurant, school cafeteria or even preparing meals at home.
"Knowing that the fancy coffee you're ordering for a snack in the morning has more calories than many fast-food burgers would be useful," Freedhoff said. "It will not necessarily mean that people will not consume the high-calorie items, but they'll at least know what they're getting themselves into."
Providing calorie content in school cafeterias is a key component of the OMA proposal since one in four Canadian children are considered overweight or obese, and three-quarters of obese kids grow up to become obese adults.
"We know that a lot of our eating habits as adults are derived in our childhood years," Freedhoff said. "And it's really important ... for children to start understanding more about calories and the impact of energy on weight."
Arnold said he is not aware of other provinces or territories calling for the posting of calories for fast-food items by restaurant chains and in schools, although a Canada-wide system would be ideal.
In New York City, restaurant chains with more than 15 locations nationally are required by law to list calories on menus and menu boards, he said. A similar law has been passed in California and a bill before the U.S. Congress would make such calorie content mandatory across the country.
Education Minister Kathleen Wynne said the government is working with Refreshments Canada and dietitians to look at nutritional guidelines for school cafeterias.
"I'm not going to go so far as to say that there will be a calorie counter in every piece of food, but we're certainly having that conversation about nutritional guidelines for all of our high schools and middle schools," she said.
Margarett Best, minister of health promotion, said "anything that is affecting the health of Ontarians in a positive way, certainly, is something that we look at."
NDP health critic France Gelinas, who has tabled a private member's bill on the issue, welcomed the OMA's call for calorie labelling.
The Sudbury member's bill, to be debated Thursday, would require food-service premises with annual revenues beyond $5 million to disclose calories in foods and drinks and to limit trans fat in menu items.
"Obesity, especially in children, poses a serious threat to the health of Ontarians and costs our province billions of dollars in health care costs," she said. "We know that when consumers are provided with caloric information, healthier choices are made."
But Wynne also said she wants young people to listen to their own bodies and eat the healthy food that they need at a particular time of the day.
"One of the things that I worry about, as a female, is that we don't want to put kids in a situation where they are constantly worrying about weight or worrying about counting calories."
The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association released a statement Tuesday saying that 33 food service companies representing more than 60 per cent of chain restaurant revenues have signed on to its program to provide nutrition, allergen and ingredient information in a consistent format.
The information includes fat, carbohydrates and calories, the statement said.
"It's important to note that a restaurant is a very different environment than a strictly controlled food manufacturing plant," it said.
"Reliable nutrition information can only be provided for menu items that are prepared using standardized ingredients. At most restaurants, ingredients change on a regular basis, supplier substitutions are common, and food is frequently made to order."
