Screening for unhealthy food

Veteran travelers may have noticed more healthful food options at airports these days, a fact confirmed recently in a study by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The independent health advocacy group surveyed the nation's 15 biggest airports to see what was available. Three-fourths of the airports had healthful food at 50 percent or more of their restaurants. (In 2002, only five out of 10 airports had a score of 50 percent or higher. In 2003, that improved to 11 of 15.) Restaurants were considered healthful if they offered at least one low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free entree. As busy as Logan International Airport may seem, it is not one of the 15 biggest. In the findings, Denver topped the list with 83 percent of its airport restaurants offering healthful choices, and San Francisco came in second at 82 percent. Chicago and Detroit improved by 30 percent from a year ago; nearly three-fourths of their airport eateries were found to offer healthful food now. Other airports scored as follows: Miami, 68 percent; Houston, 64; Newark, 60; Atlanta, 59; New York; Seattle-Tacoma, 51; Phoenix, 50; Los Angeles, 47; Dallas-Fort Worth, 43; Las Vegas, 38, and Minneapolis-St. Paul, 34. The full study can be found at www.pcrm.org.