Monday, November 18, 2002

By The Associated Press

O'Hare International Airport, which last year was ranked as having the third-healthiest menu among the nation's 10 busiest airports, nose-dived to last place this year, according to a new survey.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington ranked the airports by the number of restaurants that offered at least one low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free entree.

Only 25 of the 59 restaurants at O'Hare, or 42 percent, were deemed healthy, the survey showed. Last year, 64 percent of its restaurants were healthy, according to the survey, which was released Friday.

San Francisco International Airport ranked first, with 96 percent of its 26 restaurants offering what was deemed healthy choices.

O'Hare's ranking dropped partly because Starbucks coffee shops at the airport started serving sandwiches this year, said Brie Turner-McGrievy, the researcher who ran the survey.

The last time we did the survey, we did not count Starbucks ' unfortunately they only offer sandwiches with meat and cheese, and they are high in fat, Turner-McGrievy said. We were really surprised that Chicago was so low. They dropped all the way down.

O'Hare also dropped this year because Burger King debuted a veggie burger that offered a low-fat, vegetarian option to diners, Turner-McGrievy said. O'Hare has nine McDonald's and no Burger King restaurants.

I wouldn't consider Burger King a health food option, but it did help the others, Turner-McGrievy said.

O'Hare officials said the airport's culinary offerings, which include nationally recognized restaurants like Wolfgang Puck's, provide many healthy options.

We've probably got one of the best food-beverage programs in the country, Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Monique Bond said.

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