Can we really blame the recession for buying (and supposedly eating) less fruit and veges?

I was watching the news on Sunday night and saw a segment blaming the recession for the Restaurant Brands profit surging but the purchases of fruit and vegetables dropping - can we really blame the recession though? Turners & Growers saw a decrease of 34% profit and this was attributed to the fact that people weren't buying fruit and veges in the recession. That same day I had also read the newspaper and a great article on a different slant to the decreased purchase of fruit and veges - that article discussed how so many NZer's are now growing their own fruit and vegetables and that this could be in fact the cause of the slump in profits - not that we had just gone off veges and brought fast food instead.

I believe there is a lot of proof to the newspaper article - I myself now have vegetable plants growing (red onions, spring onions, celery, lettuce etc), we have a huge feijoa plant as well as large lemon tree and a passionfruit vine. Because of this we do spend less at the supermarket on fruit and vegetables but its not to say we aren't eating them.

Although it may be reported that fast food consumption is increasing there are still a lot of NZer's concerned about their health and making a big effort to increase to their intake fruit and vegetables which is great to see!

Weight Watchers @ McDonalds

You may have heard today that McDonalds is partnering up with Weight Watchers to provide new points based choices. Good idea or bad idea? Well there's definitely plenty of comments on Stuff's article (www.stuff.co.nz) - as I nutritionist what do I think?

I think we need to weigh up both sides of the story...

Weight Watchers provide a weight management service that works on a point based system for each portion of energy. Each person has their set points that they can consume each day and theoretically by staying within their points limits means that they lose weight (by controlling their energy intake). For some people this works really well - they have a limit and can work within this and by having boundaries they can stay in control.

One issue I do have is that by having a range of points it may not always encourage balanced eating - if you know you want a treat food you can save up your points. I know of people who have in the past cut back on eating more balanced foods like wholegrain breads so that they can drink a bottle of wine on Friday night - not exactly a balanced diet!

McDonalds have made big inroads in the past few years by offering healthier choices, which is great but how many people have the willpower to say no to the 'not so healthy' options while they are there 100% of the time? The options at McDonalds which have a points rating of 6.5 are the Filet-O-Fish, chicken nuggets and the Sweet chilli seared chicken wrap. Just how many nutrients are in those chicken nuggets I ask?... going by what they look like you may get some protein from the chicken but otherwise they aren't a balanced meal (and 6.5 points is around a meal for most people) - there is no salad, no fruit or vegetables and no serve of wholegrain breads or cereals with the nuggets. Having a points scheme may entice people to order these options more, but its not teaching them to eat a more balanced meal.

In the end it comes down to a personal decision - will you spend your money on a meal that doesn't fill you up, isn't as balanced as it should be and feel hungry soon after eating?, or will you make a more educated decision to make a homemade meal or find a better, more nutritious, more filling choice?