The CDC wants local health departments to help restaurants reduce their sodium content, but one study shows the majority of Americans believe individuals and parents are the real root of the obesity problem.
The average American eats out at a fast food or dine-in restaurant five times a week.
平均而言,快餐包含1,848 milligrams of sodium per 1,000 calories. At McDonald’s, for example, aQuarter Pounder with Cheese Value Meal有中型可乐含有1,275毫克的钠，或大多数饮食指南推荐的每日盐摄入量的一半以上。在多餐餐厅，平均餐点可以产生高达2,090毫克的钠。
美国疾病控制与预防中心（CDC）主任汤姆·弗里登（Tom Frieden）希望卫生部门与餐馆合作，以减少美国人用餐时摄入的钠含量，以缩小腰围并减少腰部高血压。
“The bottom line is that it’s both possible and life-saving to reduce sodium, and this can be done by reducing, replacing, and reformulating,” he said Thursday in a statement to the media. “When restaurants rethink how they prepare food and the ingredients they choose to use, healthier options become routine for customers.”
But according to one study released this week, most Americans believe that food-related epidemics like obesity are the fault of individuals, not restaurants or the government.
Arecent initiativein Philadelphia aimed to lower the sodium levels in popular Chinese take-out dishes, with guidelines and cooking classes that encouraged restaurants to try non-sodium flavorings like chilies and garlic. After nine months, samples of two popular dishes from 20 of the 206 participating restaurants were down 20 percent in sodium levels.
“The story in Philadelphia shows what can be done,” Frieden said.
虽然疾病预防控制中心只能鼓励变革而不是强制性，但它希望看到更多的本地和州卫生部门与餐馆一起工作，以检查其菜肴的钠含量，后营养信息，并向食品服务人员解释低 - 低 -钠菜。
弗里登说：“这并不是要放弃您喜欢的食物，而是提供较低的钠选择味。”
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强制执行这些做法通常会引发激烈的辩论。
A 2010 proposal to ban all salt in New York City restaurants caused an uproar, especially from chefs and foodies. The bill failed, but a ban on extra-large sodas—another source of excess sugar and salt in the American diet—passed, but was later overturned by the courts.
Critics of such initiatives bemoan the government playing the role of “nanny state” and emphasize personal responsibility, while proponents argue that these steps are necessary to curb health epidemics, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, three conditions in which diet plays a large role.
A recent survey from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign says that creating and enforcing public policies to encourage healthier food choices “may not be as effective as policy makers would like.”
An estimated
尽管有几个因素导致肥胖症，包括运动水平，遗传学和食物选择，但人们通常会很快指出自己认为负责的人。
The vast majority of Americans believe the finger should be pointed directly at the person in the mirror, according to a University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign study released this week in the journal食欲.
研究人员要求774名应归咎于肥胖症的人：个人，父母，农民，食品制造商，杂货店，餐馆或政府？
有94％的受访者说，他们认为个人主要是要么是肥胖的增加，要么是某种责任，父母以91％的比分排名第二。农民和杂货店有效地摆脱了困境。
“Based on our study results, the more likely conclusion is that consumers’ beliefs about who is to blame for obesity don’t necessarily align with the beliefs of policy makers and public health advocates,” lead researcher Brenna Ellison said in a statement. “In the United States, we’re known for being an individualistic society, so it’s not exceptionally surprising that we would put this responsibility for obesity on ourselves.”