Drive-In Diets: Do or Dare?

Losing weight while eating tacos sounds like a simple and delicious diet. Taco Bell’s new diet Drive-Thru Diet® plugs a low-fat ‘fresco’ menu which can reduce caloric intake by 500 to 1250 calories per day. Spokeswoman Christine Dougherty lost 54 pounds in two years.

Dieticians are unconvinced whether these fast-food diet campaigns (such as Subway and McDonald’s) ultimately help or hinder a nation where more than one third of the population is obese and three meals a week are consumed from the drive-through window.

A drive-thru diet is just a fast band aid, a gimmicky solution. Fast-food, even healthy-option menus, is still higher in sodium and sugar than an average homemade meal. For those with calorie-counting knowhow, this diet’s just another corporate strategy to influence the public’s food choices and health. Remember, as Michael Pollan says in his new book Food Rules: Rule No. 20: “It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car.”

Photo: http://launchpr.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/02/06/fresco2_2.jpg