"Dine to your heart's content": an assessment of the program in Virginia

The "Dine to Your Heart's Content" program in Virginia was examined from the perspectives of both patrons and restaurateurs. Both groups were tested on knowledge of food composition relative to fats and oils. Additionally, restaurateurs responded to questions concerning the need for nutrition education for their personnel. Eighty-eight percent of the 178 patrons expressed an interest in following a heart-healthy diet: 55% maintained that they always or often were motivated by health-related considerations when selecting menu items. The most important characteristics of the menu items (5-point scale, 1 = least important) were reported to be low cholesterol (3.85 +/- 1.01), low saturated fat (3.77 +/- 1.05), low total fat (3.76 +/- 1.03), low sodium (3.69 +/- 1.15), and low calorie (3.57 +/- 1.13). Fifty-seven percent of the patrons were aware of the program, but most of them dined in participating restaurants less than half of the time they dined out. There were no significant differences between the scores of patrons and restaurant personnel regarding knowledge of fat and oil content of foods. The overall mean score for the entire group was 6.09 +/- 3.4 points out of a possible 13 points. Restaurateurs cited nutrition education for waitstaff and assistance in the identification of appropriate menu items as aspects of the program most in need of further development. The major disadvantage of the program cited was potential negative attention drawn to some menu items. Overall, however, restaurateurs concurred that the advantages of participation in the program outweighed the disadvantages. All of them stated that the major advantage of the program was the ease with which a public service could be provided to their patrons while, simultaneously, the image of the restaurant was enhanced.