Dietitian: Fast food can still be healthy
Whether the meal comes from a drive-through window or on a silver platter, eating out is a fact of modern life.
And since it is, diners should know they can still make healthy choices, said Catherine Champagne, one of the speakers at an upcoming “Wellness Day for Women” at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
The free event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the C.B. Pennington Jr. building at the back of the Pennington campus at 6400 Perkins Road.
“When you eat out, you’re letting someone else take care of your nutritional needs,” said Champagne.
Diners can step up, though, and play a more active role.
“What we’re focusing on is choices, what options we have,” she said.
“How can we pick the best choices, depending on what’s on the menu?” said Champagne, a registered dietitian who directs the Women’s Nutrition Research Program at Pennington.
In her upcoming presentation, Champagne plans to show the healthy choices on menus from a fast-food restaurant, as well as from Chinese, Italian, Mexican and Cajun restaurants.
“There’s a set of rules for each of the restaurants,” Champagne said.
“I’m not going to discourage people from going out to eat — they like to!” she said.
The Wellness Day for Women will begin at 7:30 a.m. and will offer the following health screenings: heart rhythm, body fat percentage, body mass index, stroke risk assessment, blood pressure, blood glucose, skin, colorectal and cholesterol (fasting isn’t required).
Exercise demonstrations, exhibits and recruitment tables for Pennington clinical trials will also be available.
Speaker presentations will be offered in two sessions, from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and from 10:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
During those time slots, attendees will be able to choose two of five health topics they’d like to learn more about.
The choices are:
- “Managing Your Blood Pressure,” by Dr. Tara Jarreau.
- “Sleep Problems: Symptoms, Treatment Options,” by Dr. Taylor Theunissen.
- “Skin Cancer,” by Dr. Laci Theunissen.
- “Physical Activity: A ‘FIT’ for everyone,” by Dawn Braud, exercise physiologist.
- “Gestational Diabetes,” by Leanne Redman.
Champagne will present “Eating Out: Making Healthy Food Choices” in a general session from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
On their way to the session, guests can pick up a free pastalaya lunch box.
Space at the event is limited, so people are encouraged to register online at http://www.pbrc.edu.