Group seeks ban on new Detroit fast-food eateries

They'd stop opening altogether.

The Washington, D.C.-based Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine on Tuesday called for Mayor Dave Bing to impose a moratorium on new fast food restaurants. The group said Detroit needs a diet because it has the fourth-highest heart disease rate in the nation, killing 3,400 city residents each year.

"We decided to take on fast food in general because the quality of most menu items is rather poor," said Susan Levin, the group's director of nutrition. "The whole country is suffering from these kinds of statistics."

Some cities have taken on burger joints, but that doesn't appear to be on Bing's menu. Mayoral spokeswoman Karen Dumas said the Health Department is educating residents "so they can make informed decisions."

"We certainly respect (the physicians') position, but we think our efforts as well as theirs will be best served in educating consumers to make healthier food choices," Dumas said.

Detroit is home to 73 fast-food restaurants. Former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick at one time proposed a "fat tax" on these establishments to raise revenues and increase health initiatives. The plan went nowhere.

Los Angeles imposed a moratorium in 2008 on new fast-food restaurants in areas with high obesity rates. New York has required restaurants to post calorie counts. But some say consumers — not governments — should decide what to put in their mouths.

"The onus should not be on the McDonald's or the Burger Kings of the world. It should be on the person," said Aaron Mayes, 43, who lives on the city's east side. He said he eats fast food about three times a week, adding he knows there are better options on the menu.

"It's just today's demanding schedule. It makes it hard for people to consciously pick and choose what's healthy and what's not healthy," Mayes said.