Article

Fast casuals tackle obesity issues

Smaller portion sizes, healthier beverages part of industry push.

February 25, 2008

Attempting to create solutions for what has turned into a worldwide epidemic, restaurants are trying to tackle the obesity issue one bite at a time.

Restaurants have turned to the offering of smaller portion sizes as one way to combat the issue.

"I used to think that it was a particular food, say pizza, that — if eaten in large amounts — would create a weight problem," said Ronni Litz Julien, a nutritionist and registered dietitian. "Now, I have figured out, that the more choices available to us, whether it is the unhealthy or healthier foods, they can add weight if overeaten."

Portion control is a much bigger problem than ever before, she says, and as a remedy restaurants should reduce portions by as much as 50 percent.

"If restaurants would take the first step, and cut their portion sizes in half, we would be in much better shape," Julien said.

Quiznos also has always offered its sub sandwiches in three sizes: small, regular and large. To offer smaller portions at a smaller price point, the chain launched four $2 Sammies in November 2007. A few months later, two 200-calorie Sammies were introduced to further satiate the demand for healthy options.

"It drove new customer traffic and it opened the door for a new Quiznos customer to come in," said Zach Calkins, vice president of culinary development. "It offered a lot of variety for someone to come in and get the smaller portion."

Much of the Sammies' popularity comes from putting the portion decision in the hands of the consumer.

"The consumers can decide if they want to come in and graze on one Sammie, or actually have a nice meal with two of them and a side salad or a bottle of water or one of the other drinks that we've done nutritionally that would pair up," Calkins said. "The consumer can kind of guide themselves with what they're looking for."

Menu labeling

Quiznos has posted its nutritional information online and on sneeze guards in restaurants since November 2007, and customers are thankful to have a tool for making decisions.

"I can read about it and I can make a personal decision on what I want to do now that I'm in Quiznos," Calkins said. "Am I going to go get my prime rib cheesesteak? Or I might just have a couple of those 200-calorie Sammies and call it a day."

Subway is another chain looking at the obesity issue from a menu and nutritional standpoint.

Ten years ago, Jared Fogle became famous for losing 245 pounds in a year by cutting calories — eating two low-fat Subway sandwiches a day — and increasing his exercise. He has kept that weight off and has continued to inspire others over the years. In fact, in 2004, Subway tracked letters received from customers over the previous five-year period and estimated that a combined 400,000 pounds had been lost.

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While surely exercise was a factor, diet played an integral part in the weight lost. Subway offers eight sandwiches with less than 6 grams of fat and, in recent years, has added several healthier side items: sliced apples, all-natural yogurt, raisins and baked chips.

Additionally, Subway has complied with New York City's menu-labeling legislation, even though the measure, supposed to go in effect July 1, 2007, was tabled. A revitalized measure was passed in January 2008 and will take effect in March.

"Every restaurant chain's got to do what's right for them, but we figured it was just an extension of what we already provide," said Subway spokesman Kevin Kane. "We found a way to do it where it wasn't cluttered and it would provide the information to the consumers. The customer feedback we're getting is people are glad the information's there; they're glad it's easy for them to find."

High-fructose corn syrup: a weighty issue

One contributor to the obesity issue is high-fructose corn syrup.

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is used as a sugar replacement in many processed foods and beverages. It is cheaper because of the abundance of corn in the United States, and creates products with a longer shelf life. Introduced into many foods and beverages in the 1970s and '80s — including Coca-Cola and Pepsi products in 1984 — the prevalence of the liquid sweetener has been tied to the spike in obesity.

Some say that HFCS is linked to obesity simply by contributing to the amount of empty calories consumed. Others suggest that HFCS actually may cause weight gain because it doesn't affect appetite. While the sucrose found in cane and beet sugars produces chemicals that alert the brain when the stomach is full, fructose does not. (Read also, Letter to the Editor: Corn Refiners Assoc. defends use of sweetener.)

"With all the recent research, just knowing that (HFCS) is an inexpensive concentrated form of sugar leads us to believe that it can be a source of weight gain," Julien said.

Since HFCS is found in many sweetened beverages, restaurants have started to offer other beverages including unsweetened iced tea, unsweetened coffee, diet beverages, fruit juices and low-fat milk.

Mad Greens Inspired Eats has been testing Nestle's Sjora beverage, made with 10 percent milk and 5 percent juice, in its Denver-area restaurants. The beverage comes in two flavors — pineapple and mango peach — and helps round out the concept as a healthy eatery, said Mad Greens co-founder Dan Long.

Nestle is offering the beverage as a $1.50 fountain drink.

"At a restaurant like Mad Greens, up to half the people purchasing food choose to take tap water because there isn't a beverage choice for them," Nestle spokeswoman Kathy Lenkov said in the Rocky Mountain News. "This is a way to capture those customers."