Future Now
The IFTF Blog
Fast food facts on the go
I love it when our local rag, the Palo Alto Daily News, is the the source for one of my posts. And it's even more fun when a headline is brought to my attention by a colleague while we are in downtown Palo Alto's only "dive" bar. (I hope I don't get in trouble for revealing too much!) And best of all, the story is about a company that I recently discovered and about which I have been meaning to write something.
"Getting your fingers on fast-food nutritional details" ran yesterday. As the lead 'graph says: "Calorie-counting fast-food lovers may be heartened to know there's a new source for nutrition information at their fingertips."
Wellternatives is a free service just launched by Wellsphere, a social networking site devoted to fitness and wellness. It sends calorie and nutritional information about fast-food items to your cell phone or e-mail, and makes recommendations for healthier alternatives.
The article quotes Wellsphere CEO Ron Gutman:
We're providing a huge service to people by literally putting (nutrition information) in their hands and making it convenient . . . Restaurants tend to hide this information very deeply. . . . A recent survey done by Aramark shows that 83 percent of diners want restaurants to make nutritional information available to them - so we decided to give people the information they need to make better menu choices - anytime, anywhere.
That last phrase might ring a bell for those of you familiar with our Global Health Economy map (available for download here). You may recall that "anytime, anywhere health" was a key trend that we highlighted. Wellternatives is a great signal of that trend.
Wellsphere has recruited a team of physicians, computer scientists, nutrition experts and restaurant industry veterans to develop the program, which offers users healthy (or at least healthier) fast-food alternatives based on nutritional factors, taste preferences, portion size and types of food. According to Gutman, the database includes "tens of thousands" of menu items from an estimated 400 chain and fast-food restaurants.
Wellsphere's Chief Information Officer Geoffrey Rutledge, MD, PhD explains in a Market Wire article:
To help us rank the menu items in each restaurant category and make it easy for users quickly compare different alternatives, each menu item is given a Wellscore™. The Wellscore is calculated using a proprietary multivariate model that combines expert medical knowledge and USDA nutrition guidelines to make a scientifically accurate, medically valid assessment of a dish's nutritional value. . . . It's startling to see the wide differences in nutritional values between seemingly similar restaurant menu items. . . . We are excited to empower users to make better and more informed decisions when they go out to eat.
The article goes on to provide this example:
Using Wellternatives, Wellsphere community member Nancy B. was amazed to discover that her favorite Chili's appetizer, the 'Awesome Blossom' onion rings, has more than 2,700 calories and 200 grams of fat! "The suggested Wellternative -- Chili's Classic Nachos -- is just as delicious, with 800 fewer calories and half the fat," said Nancy.
According to Gutman: "Americans dining out eat a whopping 64% of their meals at chain restaurants." (I didn't realize the number was so high.) "Wellsphere community members are constantly searching for menu options that are not only convenient, tasty and inexpensive, but also healthy." (Aren't we all?) We recently asked a working group from one of our health clients to join Wellsphere as part of a project on social media. I'm curious to ask them what they think of this new service.
To try Wellternatives, send a text to 878787 with the word 'diet' followed by the name of the restaurant and menu item, or visit
www.wellsphere.com/wellternatives.s . I'm curious to know what you think, too.