In disappointing news for dietitians worldwide, McDonald’s fast food restaurants in New Zealand have signed a deal with the multinational weight loss company Weight Watchers to promote some of its meals as ideal for dieters. Some of the meals will now be marked with the Weight Watchers logo, as well as the logo placed on its menu boards and tray mats. Weight Watchers will also promote McDonald’s to dieters. This follows the move three years ago when McDonald’s put the Heart Foundation’s tick on seven meals, including burgers and nuggets. The three meals to have the Weight Watchers endorsement are nuggets (1560 kilojoules), a Filet-O-Fish (1390kJ) and a sweet chilli seared chicken wrap (1640kJ), all served with salad.
This is said to be as part of a push by McDonalds to change its image, but cynics like myself say that it is part of a push by McDonalds to make more money. And why wouldn’t they, that is what they are expected to do. Unfortunately too many people will be conned by the endorsement by Weight Watchers, and enter their stores and end up buying other things on the menu. Even if a mum goes in and buys one of the healthier choices, and feels great about her Weight Watchers meal, she will likely still buy the kids burgers and fries. Don’t be fooled people. Fast food can be part of your diet, just in moderation. And if you are treating yourself, why not buy what you are going to enjoy the most, which may not necessarily have the tick from Weight Watchers.
Tags: fast food·McDonalds·weight watchers·weightloss
I am a big believer in introducing a junk food tax to make those who eat unhealthy food subsidize their own health care, to encourage the public to eat healthily and cut obesity rates. And it is great to see that Taiwan is planning to be the first government to introduce such a tax on junk food. They are looking at introducing this special tax on food that is deemed unhealthy, such as sugary drinks, candy, cakes, fast food and alcohol. The Bill is expected to be submitted to the Parliament for approval next year and could take effect sometime in 2011. Let’s hope this starts a worldwide trend, as hitting people in the hip pocket seems an effective way to make people change their behavior.
Tags: fat tax·obesity
Nathan Deeks, an Australian Champion race walker, appeared in a full page color advertisement for the fast food restaurant McDonalds, saying that he eats ‘Maccas’ after his events, including at the Olympic Games. I know that he was probably only trying to earn a few sponsorship bucks in return from all the effort he puts into his training, but as a sporting role model it was such a disgusting thing to promote eating undoubtedly unhealthy food. I don’t mind that he had the occasional fast food snack, but it is not right for an athlete representing Australia to say it so publicly. It does not say much about the dietitians at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) if one of their athletes comes out of there with this attitude that this is OK to do. A few days later, a very similar looking ad was published (obviously on purpose), with an ex- Australian Olympian and NBA star Luc Longley, promoting healthy eating, saying that he never considered eating junk food before or after competing. The ad was a welcome response to the McDonalds one, which needed to be done, but I don’t think enough ho-ha was made of it. The government spends millions of dollars trying to address the problem of childhood obesity, including trying to get more people active and into sports, and also millions are spent on the AIS getting athletes including Nathan Deeks properly prepared for the Olympic Games. I don’t think he has done his long time supporter (AIS) any good and hopefully he got into trouble, all for a small financial reward.
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Tags: athletics·fast food·nutrition·olympics
Does fast food make you fast? Usian Bolt (which has to be one of the greatest names for a sprinter – like he was born to run fast) was quoted as saying he eats McDonalds nuggets before his events, as if it was some kind of wonder pill. Similarly, Australian race walker Jarred Tallent (winner of silver in the 50 km walk) was also in the local press revealing that he fuelled himself on pizza on the eve of his race and coke during the final stages of his race. Pizza is his favorite food and he finally gave in after two weeks at the food hall night before race. After his 20 km race he threw up during the final stages and afterwards, and after his pizza binge, he was afraid it would happen again. Where are the sports dietitians advising these athletes? Why would they risk one of the most important events in their sporting careers? They were obviously good enough to still win their races despite having junk food, but please don’t brag about it as if it helped you. There is too much fast food eaten in this world already, we don’t want our elite athletes promoting it too.
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Nathan Deeks, Australian Champion race walker appeared in a full page color advertisement for the fast food restaurant McDonalds, saying that he eats ‘Maccas’ after his events, including the Olympics. I know that he was probably only trying to earn a few bucks in return from all the effort he puts into to training, but as a sporting role model it was such a disgusting thing to promote eating undoubtedly unhealthy food. I don’t mind that he had the occasional fast food snack, but it is not right for an athlete representing Australia to say it so publicly. It does not say much about the dietitians at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) if one of their athletes comes out of there with this attitude that this is OK to do. A few days later, a very similar looking ad was published (obviously on purpose), with an ex- Australian Olympian and NBA star Luc Longley, promoting healthy eating, saying that he never considered eating junk food before or after competing. The ad was a welcome response to the McDonalds one, which needed to be done, but I don’t think enough ho-ha was made of it. The government spends millions of dollars trying to address the problem of childhood obesity, including trying to get more people active and into sports, and also millions are spent on the AIS getting athletes including Nathan Deeks properly prepared for the Olympic Games. I don’t think he has done his long time supporter (AIS) any good and hopefully he got into trouble, all for a small financial reward.
Related Pages: Summer Olympic Games
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Is Ian Thorpe fat? In a country where we have a real obesity problem, there are people calling one of the world’s greatest swimmers fat because he may have put on a couple of pounds. If he is out of shape, he has shown by his determination and previous workrate that he could easily get himself back to top form. It is most likely that he was just photographed in a non-flattering pose eating junk food. And there is nothing wrong with an elite sports person having some junk food every now and then. As part of a balanced diet there is room for all types of food. As a swimmer he would burn copious amounts of calories before most of us are even out of bed, and so he would need to eat a large quantity of food to provide his energy needs. Let’s wait for the next major championship where he puts himself against the world’s best before we criticise him any more.
Related Pages: swimming, Ian Thorpe profile, sports nutrition
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