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Opinion

Add some variety to your super-sized diet

FLORIAN MARTIN
OPINION COLUMNIST 

Houston has been ranked by Men's Fitness magazine as the sixth fattest city in the United States. While this is an improvement from last year's fifth place and the four No. 1 rankings from 2001 to 2003 and in 2005, this does not diminish the bad news that Houston is still one of the unhealthiest cities. 

Men's Fitness compared 50 cities by 14 factors, including fast food restaurants per capita, television watching, air quality and parks. In 2005, the American Obesity Association ranked Houston first in the number of overweight adults.

Though Houston's automobile-dependant lifestyle certainly plays a big role in these results, the fast food culture should be the first problem to be addressed, not only in Houston but in the United States. 

America, because of its diverse population, has a huge variety of different foods. In a city like Houston, one can easily find many restaurants of different ethnic origins, including Mexican, Asian, Middle Eastern, Greek and Italian.

Despite this, it's the fast food eateries that attract Americans most often. 

Fast food, as implied by the name, is fast and cheap, and people know what they are getting. According to a study by the market research firm NPD Group, the average American consumes 159 fast food meals a year, or about three burgers and four orders of fries a week.

This is not surprising, considering the hundreds of fast food restaurants one encounters when driving through Houston especially on a freeway like Interstate 45. It seems as though every 100 yards there is a McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's or Pizza Hut. 

Good restaurants, on the other hand, are mostly hidden and hard to find unless one has been there before. The recognition factor plays a big role: Fast food chains such as McDonald's are omnipresent, be it on the road or on TV. According to the book "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser, 96 percent of American school children recognize Ronald McDonald, the McDonald's mascot clown. The only fictitious character with a higher degree of recognition is Santa Claus. Once a child develops a habit, it can be difficult to change the behavior, and market strategists certainly know how to use this to their advantage.

Another issue is the food that most cafeterias offer. Whether it is a school cafeteria, hotel dining hall or factory cafeteria, they always offer burgers and french fries. At the University of Houston, the Moody Towers dining hall is open all day, but all it offers in between the official meal hours are burgers, fries and pizza. Many students have classes during the meal hours or have different eating times, so all they have to eat is fast food.

For students who have no meal plans, there are several restaurants on and around campus. However, most offer fast food, with Subway being probably the healthiest one. Other than that, students can choose from burgers, fried chicken, pizza and Asian food.

Considering the number of international students at UH (nearly 3,000, according to the International Student and Scholar Services Office), it would be a good idea to have some international food on campus, for example more authentic Asian food, or Middle Eastern or Italian restaurants that offer pasta instead of only greasy American pizza. 

Most foreigners associate American cuisine with fast food, but there's so much more to American food than just McDonald's and Burger King. After all, American food is a compilation of the food of peoples from all over the world. The Southern cuisine, for instance, is known for its French, African, Native American and Mexican influence and includes Cajun, Creole and Tex-Mex, which are tastier and generally healthier than fast food.

Unfortunately, for a foreigner coming to a city like Houston or in particular a university campus, it is hard to disprove the stereotype of the American fast food culture. 

If Americans can't reduce their love for fast food, healthier types should be added. In Germany, for example, the Turkish Döner Kebap, a pita sandwich filled with beef or lamb and lettuce and tomatoes, has become more popular than hamburgers. It is cheaper and has only half the calories of a burger meal, and is just as filling.

Reducing our dependence on fast food chains, expanding the variety and introducing healthier types of fast food could be a first step toward a healthier nation.

Martin, a communication senior, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu