Diet Speak

How to design a forced choice poll to reinforce a dieting mentality of controlled eating, and public perceptions of how people ‘should’ eat.

As seen at the Los Angeles Times:

If a restaurant you frequent begins posting the fat and calorie content of its menu items and you discover your favorite dish is a diet disaster, you:

· Stop ordering it.

· Order it and split it with a friend or bring home half for a later meal.

· Ask the restaurant if the chef can substitute some ingredients to make the dish lower in calories and fat.

· Order it less often, enjoy it when you do, and try to compensate by exercising more or eating less that day or the next.

Missing choice: Order your favorite dish and enjoy it with relish. And, thank the cook for making such a fabulous meal!

How many Los Angeles readers could see the diet speak? How many will truly enjoy the meal and trust their body to tell them when it's hungry again and eat according to their appetite? How many aren't counting calories and fat grams, controlling their calories, and trying to figure out how many minutes they must exercise to purge the calories they just ate?