In the latest healthy choice PR campaign by a fast food chain comes an answer to Subway's Jared. Introducing Taco Bell's newest spokeswoman Christine, you'll be seeing a lot of her in the future. Christine claims she lost 54 pounds in two years, in part by substituting the restaurant's low-fat "Fresco" menu for her usual fast food splurges. The other and more important part of that weight-equation, which Taco Bell freely admits, Christine also lowered her fat and caloric intake by 500 calories (to 1250 calories) at the same time. Which do you think had a greater effect upon Christine's weight loss success story, disciplined calorie reduction or substituting nacho cheese for salsa on her less frequent trips to Taco Bell? The experts seem equally unimpressed with Taco Bell's rather ironic healthy choice campaign.

ABC News Reports: "But dieticians are on the fence about whether these campaigns ultimately hurt or help a nation where more than a third of meals are eaten in restaurants and more than a third of the population is obese.

""What I like is the availability of fast food items that are improved. Perfect is the enemy of good, and these offerings are pretty good,' said Dr. David Katz, director of Medical Studies in Public Health at Yale University. But, 'I also suspect that most people hoping to 'be' Christine will be very disappointed, just as most Jared wannabes are. These are likely people who made a dramatic commitment to lifestyle change, and simply relied on a particular source of convenience food as part of their strategy. That doesn't make that source of convenience food the solution!'"

Later in the same article: "'This is preposterous. This is the same Taco Bell that has the Volcano Nachos (almost 1,000 calories), that boasts about the 1/2 pound cheesy potato burrito, that has systematically encouraged people to eat between meals with their 4th meal campaign,' said Kelly D. Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.'"

Later again: "Dieticians reached by ABCNews.com thought the items on the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet menu had a good handle on calories and fat, but had pitfalls in terms of salt and nutritional value.

"Bonnie Taub-Dix, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, pointed out that the Fresco Crunchy Taco, for example, 'barely has protein' and that 'half of the calories in that meal are coming from fat. If someone had this for lunch alone, I'd say it's an inadequate lunch.'

"She was happy with the protein in the Fresco Burrito Supreme With Chicken, but not the salt.

""The fat of that one is 70 out of the 340 calories,' said Taub-Dix. 'If you look at the sodium content, it's 1,410 milligrams, which is really about what you need for the whole day.'"

Read the ABC News article here

posted by: Brent Carter

" />In WTF News: Meet Christine,Taco Bell's Jared Fogle | The Rathaus

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In WTF News: Meet Christine,Taco Bell’s Jared Fogle

January 1, 2010 communication, culture, The Rathaus

In the latest healthy choice PR campaign by a fast food chain comes an answer to Subway’s Jared. Introducing Taco Bell’s newest spokeswoman Christine, you’ll be seeing a lot of her in the future. Christine claims she lost 54 pounds in two years, in part by substituting the restaurant’s low-fat “Fresco” menu for her usual fast food splurges. The other and more important part of that weight-equation, which Taco Bell freely admits, Christine also lowered her fat and caloric intake by 500 calories (to 1250 calories) at the same time. Which do you think had a greater effect upon Christine’s weight loss success story, disciplined calorie reduction or substituting nacho cheese for salsa on her less frequent trips to Taco Bell? The experts seem equally unimpressed with Taco Bell’s rather ironic healthy choice campaign.

ABC News Reports:
“But dieticians are on the fence about whether these campaigns ultimately hurt or help a nation where more than a third of meals are eaten in restaurants and more than a third of the population is obese.

“”What I like is the availability of fast food items that are improved. Perfect is the enemy of good, and these offerings are pretty good,’ said Dr. David Katz, director of Medical Studies in Public Health at Yale University. But, ‘I also suspect that most people hoping to ‘be’ Christine will be very disappointed, just as most Jared wannabes are. These are likely people who made a dramatic commitment to lifestyle change, and simply relied on a particular source of convenience food as part of their strategy. That doesn’t make that source of convenience food the solution!’”

Later in the same article:
“‘This is preposterous. This is the same Taco Bell that has the Volcano Nachos (almost 1,000 calories), that boasts about the 1/2 pound cheesy potato burrito, that has systematically encouraged people to eat between meals with their 4th meal campaign,’ said Kelly D. Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.’”

Later again:
“Dieticians reached by ABCNews.com thought the items on the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet menu had a good handle on calories and fat, but had pitfalls in terms of salt and nutritional value.

“Bonnie Taub-Dix, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, pointed out that the Fresco Crunchy Taco, for example, ‘barely has protein’ and that ‘half of the calories in that meal are coming from fat. If someone had this for lunch alone, I’d say it’s an inadequate lunch.’

“She was happy with the protein in the Fresco Burrito Supreme With Chicken, but not the salt.

“”The fat of that one is 70 out of the 340 calories,’ said Taub-Dix. ‘If you look at the sodium content, it’s 1,410 milligrams, which is really about what you need for the whole day.’”

Read the ABC News article here

posted by: Brent Carter

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