Eatocracy Post - Michelle Obama: restaurants and the family food chain

September 13, 2010

"First Lady Michelle Obama addressed the National Restaurant Association on the role that restaurant meals play in the health of American children.

Key stats include:

• One-third of all meals today are eaten in restaurants.
• One in three children in this country is overweight or obese. Health consequences include hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and even cancer.
• Research has shown that kids consume more saturated fat and less fiber and calcium when they eat out. And the meals they eat at restaurants have twice as many calories as the ones they eat at home.
• One local survey found that 90 percent of those menus includes mac and cheese; 80 percent includes chicken fingers; 60 includes burgers or cheeseburgers.
• Some options weigh in at over 1,000 calories, and that’s close to the recommended amount that a child should have for the entire day...."

See video clip of Michelle's speech below, or click here to read full transcript.