Travel

Dieticians say DTW has healthiest food of nation's busiest airports

Here’s something to be thankful for: Detroit Metro Airport boasts the healthiest food choices among 18 of the nation’s busiest airports, according to an annual survey by dieticians.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine’s 2010 Airport Food Review reports that Detroit Metro took top honors, with 96 percent of its restaurants (52 out of 54) offering at least one healthy option.

That represents quite an improvement from the past. When the survey started in 2001, only one-third of DTW’s restaurants offered healthy food choices.

In the survey, San Francisco International Airport ranks second with a score of 95 percent, while Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport and Newark Liberty International in New Jersey tied for third.

The report, in which dieticians surveyed 18 major airports in more than a dozen states, found that 82 percent of restaurants in the nation’s busiest airports now offer at least one low-fat, cholesterol-free meal, everything from veggie sushi to almond rice salad. That compares to just 57 percent nine years ago.

But nutritious choices are harder to find in some major airports, including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Chicago O’Hare International, and Ronald Reagan Washington National, which are all clogged with restaurants serving cheeseburgers, pizza, and other high-fat fare, according to the report.

The dieticians gave each restaurant a point if its menu included at least one low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free vegetarian entr

Susan R. Pollack
Globetrotting journalist and former Detroit News staff writer Susan R. Pollack has covered travel since 1985, visiting scores of countries on five continents, 47 states, six Canadian provinces and hundreds of cities, islands and outposts along the way. From Alaska, the Galapagos and New Zealand to Tasmania, Thailand and Wales, she has suffered the occasional lost luggage, jetlag and Montezuma’s revenge but still delights in sharing travel news and adventures with readers. In addition to The Detroit News, her award-winning stories have appeared in major newspapers including the Dallas Morning News, Toronto Star and Chicago Sun Times; Midwest Living, Long Weekends and Hour Detroit magazines, travelingmom.com and in several books, including "Rand McNally 2008 Ultimate NASCAR Road Trip Guide."

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