By Jon Stemmle
Today, with quite a bit of media fanfare, McDonald’s announced that starting next week it would begin posting the calorie counts for all items on its menu boards, both inside the restaurant and at drive-thrus. Pundits have been weighing in throughout the day, some praising the move and others asking why it took so long and why now? Maybe it’s my upbringing in New Jersey, but I was a bit skeptical myself. After all, this is a multi-national, Fortune 500 corporation which is not doing this for solely altruistic reasons. My first thought was to follow the money.
Greg Watson, senior vice president of menu innovations (there’s a title!) for McDonald’s, said in the USA Today story about this topic that “It’s the right thing to do. It’s what a leader would do.” That’s all well and good, but the USA Today story goes on to mention that, “President Obama’s health care reform includes a proposed regulation still under review by the Food and Drug Administration that would require many chain restaurants to post calories on menus and menu boards.” Now that’s a little better, but is there more to it than that? Is McDonald’s really acting to lead the way on a possible reform that could make them do this anyway? Seems a little far-fetched that McDonald’s would act so quickly on just a possible outcome which wouldn’t even take effect until sometime after the presidential election is over and either Obama or Romney take the helm.
So having read several versions of this story in the major U.S. newspapers, here’s my take:
McDonald’s sees the landscape of the way Americans are looking at food, especially those who still have disposable income. These folks (of whom I would be considered a part) are willing to spend a little more for healthier fare and will even drive a bit more to get it. For me, if I’m stuck in an airport or happen to be running errands and find myself hungry, I typically either try and hold out until I get back home or I look for the food option that won’t make me regret it when I wake up the next morning. Let’s just say McDonald’s and it’s fast food brethren don’t see me walk through the door very often.
Unsurprisingly, McDonald’s is preparing to launch new menu items, including an egg white breakfast sandwich served on a whole wheat English muffin. Exactly the kind of option I could see myself eating for breakfast if I’m on the road or out and about. Now this leads me to my second point, which is that McDonald’s has done it’s research and seen the trends and putting up the calorie counts WON’T AFFECT IT’S BUSINESS!
Do you really think that the average McDonald’s customer doesn’t know that eating 20 McNuggets probably isn’t the greatest move for a balanced diet? Or a Big Mac, large fries and large coke doesn’t add up to about their calories for the day? Of course they do. And I’m not picking on McDonald’s. This is true of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wendy’s, Burger King, KFC and the rest. They know that the average American (or anyone in it’s worldwide empire) knows that this is not health food and they don’t care. If you are craving McDonald’s fries, you’re going to eat them. If you are dying for that 6 piece of chicken from KFC, you’re reaching for the bucket.
In the HCRC, we’ve worked on several projects trying to change people’s behaviors from smoking cessation with Tobacco Free Missouri to getting healthy foods into schools with Missouri Farm to School. We’ve done plenty of research and evaluation, surveys, focus groups and interviews. We’ve found that, by and large, people know what things are bad for them and what is good for them and their health. Sometimes it’s addiction that keep them going back for more, whether it’s nicotine or fatty foods. Sometimes they just don’t care and do what makes them feel good (which often leads back to the addiction point). Those of us who are working in public health know that until you find the right message and right messenger you can’t hope to impact your audience to change.
Case in point, look at tobacco. Those graphic images and ads have done wonders and increased calls to quitlines by 400%. What worked better than that? Increasing the tobacco tax, which resulted in youth/teen smoking being reduced by 10% or more. Leading with the health message and following that up with the economic argument is the sweet spot for change. From my experience, McDonald’s and all the other places can post all the info they want, from calories to cholesterol, and the profit margins of these companies won’t change. Only when consumers demanded healthier foods and the profit margins dropped, did many of the fast food and sit down chains begin to offer more healthy options – like the proposed egg white breakfast sandwich.
So, dear reader, keep your eyes open the next time you step into McDonald’s (and it’s expected other fast food places) for a list of how many calories that 20 piece McNuggets or the Happy Meal contain. While you’re reading the new menu board, take a look at those around you. Does the drive thru line have less cars than usual? Are people asking for small fries instead of large with the combo meals? Until the customers demand change through their purchasing habits and take heed of the educational messages about nutrition, counting calories won’t change the score when it comes to obesity in America.