What’s the Exercise Cost of Your Favorite Food?
How much exercise will you need to burn off a chocolate chip cookie? How about a cannoli? New research examines how useful it would be to know how much exercise is needed to burn off the calories from various unhealthy treats. The research, done by Meena Shah at Texas Christian University, suggests that if restaurants provide the exercise cost of a dish in addition to the calories of the dish, then consumers might make healthier choices. A large cannoli, for example, has approximately 460 calories. It would take almost two hours of vigorous exercise for a 130-pound woman to burn off these calories. Displaying the amount of time to burn off the cannoli on the menu is an example of exercise cost.
The exercise cost helps put meal options into context. Without it, people tend to underestimate the amount of exercise time it takes to work off a certain amount of calories. Additionally, the calories burned indicator on various exercise machines is often inaccurate, thereby also being underestimated. People also underestimate the time for which they are active. Even if you worked out for two hours, you might spend the rest of your waking hours sedentary. In that respect, the calories you burned while exercising do not give you a free pass to indulge all day long. While any kind of exercise is beneficial, when it comes to weight loss, exercise combined with healthy meal choices will likely increase the chance of success.
Though exercise cost information may help combat the obesity epidemic, it does so only on a calorie level. It does not consider the nutrition aspect, that is, whether the calories are nutrient dense or not. However, it would still be more beneficial if people were educated on how to make healthier, more nutrient dense choices rather than the go-to calorie count method. While the research on displaying the exercise cost on menus is still relatively incomplete, it is safe to assume that it will help some people, while others may just ignore it.
Your turn to take action: What is the exercise cost of your unhealthy indulgence? Will you do anything differently?
This is such a true and great post! People don’t realize that if you eat a whole pizza you probably have to work AT LEAST 3 -4 hours to burn those calories off.
Shay, it’s also about making healthier choices overall, and if one does choose to eat something like pizza, then to listen when the body says “I’m satisfied”, even if that means stopping in the middle of a piece. Thanks for your comment.
I think the old calories in < calories out formula leads to unhealthy choices and yo-yo weight. I've watched family members struggle with it for years. They won't eat my healthy avocado salad because it's "too fatty" yet will eat chemical-laden diet sodas and processed snacks.
I do agree with you Gretchen. That’s why education is so key. While for some posting the exercise cost on menus might help them make a healthier choice, its important to have the sound nutrition education to guide your food choices to nutrient dense options. Yum avocado salad…one of my favorites.
What a great way to think of it! I’ve recently started watching my calories and tracking them on my iPhone. That 1/2 a brownie I ate the other night…whew!!! I have never thought about the Exercise Cost of my food before. Thanks for this tip because I’ll now think of each bite differently!
You’re welcome. But remember, you could and should still eat what you love, just be smart about it.