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Worksite Wellness for Tompkins County
Worksite environments that support good nutrition and regular physical activity

Worksite Wellness

Healthy Living

HHW Heart Check

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Tompkins County Health Department

Tompkins County Home Page

New York State Department of Health


The Health Promotion Program, Tompkins County (NY) Health Department, developed and maintains this web site. (more...)



What Is Healthy Eating?


Counting calories from fat

Too much fat
Fat sells
Dietary guidelines
Unhealthy builds
Your choice
Assure choice


 
Limit fat to 30 percent of calories

It is no secret that most Americans have too much fat in their diet. Why? Well, fat (and sweet) tastes good to people.

We live in a culture that surrounds us with prepared foods, from chips and chocolate, to fast food restaurants and frozen entrees. Recipes for these foods are painstakingly researched for taste, texture, and potential for repeat purchasing. And guess what? Taste tests show that higher fat (and sweet) sells!

Bombarded with ads, salty snacks and fast food becomes the norm.

USDA dietary guidelines urge us to get no more than 30% of our daily calories from fat. Each gram of fat is equal to 9 calories. If you total between 1600 and 2200 calories a day, the guidelines recommend fewer than between 480 and 660 calories from fat. In grams, that’s between 53 and 73 grams of fat per day, max.

So, what’s the answer? Is a donut unhealthy? No, not if your total fat intake is less than the recommendations.

Unhealthy eating doesn’t necessarily start with donuts. Unhealthy eating builds from morning coffee with half and half, a lunch of roast beef sub with mayo, a bag of chips and cookies, and burger and fries for dinner.

At the worksite, what is healthy and what is unhealthy eating can be left up to the individual. Perhaps someone will base their judgement on what else they have eaten, or plan to eat during the rest of the day, or rest of the week.

Because of this, it is important to have choices available when food is served. That way, if someone has had or is planning to have "their donut" at another time, they have an alternative choice now.