BC's 'Informed Dining' Program Unsatisfying, Say Critics

A $1.9-million provincial government campaign to reduce obesity and prevent chronic disease in B.C. may be ineffective, according to two academic studies cited by one of Canada's leading nutritional watchdogs. But the government says the conclusions drawn by those studies actually support that campaign.

The B.C. Ministry of Health, partnering with industry organizations like the British Columbia Restaurant and Food Service Association, launched the Informed Dining campaign in Aug. 2011. The program sees participating establishments provide nutritional information to consumers who ask for it.

But a 2009 Yale University study conducted at eight fast food restaurants in the United States found only 0.1 per cent of customers read the nutritional information featured in pamphlets or on posters at those dining establishments. As a result, it recommended that information be placed on menu boards -- something New York State already requires by law.

In addition, a 2007 Cornell University study found patrons order higher-calorie drinks, desserts and side dishes at restaurants that advertise themselves as having healthier choices.

According to Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, medical director at the Bariatric Medical Institute in Ottawa, these studies confirm British Columbia's Informed Dining program is useless -- except for steering people to restaurants.

"One of the main drivers of chronic obesity and disease is over-reliance on foods we don't cook ourselves," said Freedhoff. "To suggest this is a good plan is inane, and I would have hoped the public health departments would recognize that."

Encourage dining differently: Freedhoff

A health ministry spokesperson had a different view. In an email, the spokesperson said, "We feel that the conclusions drawn by those studies support the goals of Informed Dining."

Specifically, the spokesperson stated the Yale University research "that while some restaurants do make nutrition info available, people would be more apt to make use of it if it was more prominently displayed."

The spokesperson also cited research showing worldwide public support for greater transparency around the content of restaurant food, as well as the benefits of such disclosure.

Nevertheless, Freedhoff said the government should instead be "encouraging the transformation of raw ingredients at home, otherwise known as cooking." He also suggested creating free or low-cost cooking programs and encouraging more home economics teaching in the school system as alternative solutions to Informed Dining.

A 2010 study conducted on behalf of the Teachers of Home Economics Specialist Association raised concerns about the state of that teaching in British Columbia.

Freedhoff says discouraging eating-out will improve British Columbians' health "not just in terms of things like weight management and disease prevention, but in terms of psychosocial development in children and developing healthy relationships with food, which we know eating-in actually does do."