Letter to the Editor published in USA TODAY, October 26, 2004, on nutritious menu options

Brian Gallagher
Editorial Page Editor
USA Today
7950 Jones Branch Drive
McLean, VA 22107

Dear Mr. Gallagher:

On behalf on the nation's 878,000 restaurants, I would like to address the recent article by Marilyn Elias, "Children's choices at ‘sit down' eateries often aren't healthful."

The restaurant industry prides itself as being one of choice – providing myriad options to meet any individual's dietary needs, tastes and preferences. This is clearly underscored by dietitian Susan Moorers's comment in the article stating that restaurants have been "making positive changes" to meet consumer demand – the driving force of the restaurant-and-hospitality industry.

Restaurants across the country offer a wide variety of choices and portion sizes, which provide flexibility for customers – particularly parents – to make smart dining decisions when ordering for their children. In addition, two-thirds of adults agree that tableservice restaurants make it easy for them to choose the portion size that they want – which allows parents to exercise their parental responsibility and provides the opportunity to educate their children about balance and moderation.

Restaurant companies continue to create positive, market-driven solutions by adding more nutritious options on their menus based on consumer demand. It is important to remember that the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is through balance and moderation in diet, coupled with physical activity. In the future, I hope that USA Today will recognize that the restaurant industry's goal has been – and will continue to be – to provide a wide variety of choices to accommodate the diverse needs of our nation's diverse population.

Sincerely,

Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE
President and Chief Executive Officer
National Restaurant Association