Post-holiday Diet Starts at the Airport
Detroit flyers can get a head-start on resolution dieting at their top ranking healthiest airport
Photo by joo0ey
After your holiday visit, by the time your relatives have dropped you off at the airport, you may be so full of home cooking that your usual comfort food joints near Gate 35 don’t look that good. If you’re in Detroit, airport vendors have made it easier than anywhere to shun the cheeseburgers and gloppy pastry rolls.
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine just released a list of airports with the most healthful food options. The group keeps an eye on 15 of the nation’s busiest airports and ranks them by percentage of restaurants with at least one low-fat, high-fiber, cholesterol-free vegetarian entrée (nothing assures you the holidays are over quite like chowing down on a plate of lettuce with dressing on the side). Detroit’s Metropolitan Wayne County Airport topped that list for the third year in a row, with all 59 establishments offering at least one healthy option.
Just the existence of the list might be serving everyone’s healthy interests: When PCRM first compiled the list in 2001, Detroit ranked dead last, with only 33 percent of its vendors offering healthy options. And the 15 busy airports have all improved — which may, of course, just be the sign of the times, but a little shaming can’t hurt.
Other than Detroit, where every stop will have an option (and possibly just one, so we hope you’re not too picky), we don’t know exactly where those options exist in each airport, just the percentage you’ll hit one at your first stop. Shouldn’t dragging your luggage around looking for a darn place to eat get points in the healthy column, too? Well, you might just consult Eater’s handy Airport Dining Guide, compiled earlier this month, and hope that “tasty” and “healthy” cross-reference a few times.