THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994                TAG: 9407210010
SECTION: FRONT                    PAGE: A14  EDITION: FINAL 
TYPE: Editorial 
                                             LENGTH: Short :   43 lines

THE WAR ON MEXICAN THE BEEF WITH ENCHILADAS

Having trashed Chinese food, Italian food and cinema popcorn, the menu police at the Center for Science in the Public Interest now turn their gaunt eye, numbed palate and questionable analysis to chiles rellenos and chimichangas.

Those two dishes rank rankest in the high-fat Mexican repertoire, according to CSPI. The National Restaurant Association says CSPI's conclusions are based on skewed lab, not real-world, tests that leave hardly an item on a Mexican menu meeting CSPI approval. Go ahead, CSPI says, order the taco salad - minus the beef, cheese, guacamole, sour cream and fried tortilla shell. That leaves the lettuce. Eat hearty.

Cutting back on fat in the diet is fine. A third of Americans, it is estimated, are obese. But obesity is a result not just of poor diet, but also of a sedentary lifestyle. There are other, unknown, factors that may play a part. According to a recent study by the National Center for Health Statistics in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost half of Mexican-American women are obese, as are almost half of African-American women. Fewer than a third of white, non-Hispanic women are obese, but their rate of obesity is rising fastest.

But the food cops aren't simply seeking to alert people to healthier alternatives so that they will demand them. The folks at CSPI are implying that really responsible restaurants will serve only meals that suit the anti-burrito crowd.

In fact, this is a ``problem'' the market long ago began taking care of. It is hard to find a restaurant these days that doesn't offer ``healthy choice'' dishes next to the traditional ones. Two-thirds of American adults are not obese. More of us than ever are eating and exercising moderately. Health is one reward. The occasional indulgence in kung pao chicken, fettuccine Alfredo, moviehouse popcorn or a beef enchilada is another. by CNB