WASHINGTON, D.C., June 19, 2002 - National Council of Chain Restaurants President Terrie Dort today made the following statement in response to the report issued by the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA).

"The chain restaurant industry has and continues to offer the public a valuable service that they clearly want - a variety of quality food choices presented with convenience and value," said Dort. "Unfortunately, the NANA report ignores the fact that consumers have the ability to make informed choices and achieve balance between calories consumed and calories burned."

"We maintain that a healthy lifestyle requires a balanced diet and appropriate physical activity, and that attacking one type of food or an entire industry will not prevent obesity in children or adults," continued Dort. "The National Council of Chain Restaurants has and will continue to promote opportunities and programs that educate our consumers about the importance of maintaining a food and fitness balance."

The National Council of Chain Restaurants (NCCR), a division of the National Retail Federation (NRF), is a national trade association representing forty of the nation's largest multi-unit, multi-state chain restaurant companies. These forty companies own and operate more than 50,000 restaurant facilities. Additionally, through franchise and licensing agreements, another 70,000 facilities are operated under their trademarks. In the aggregate, NCCR's member companies and their franchisees employ more than 2.8 million Americans. For more information about NCCR, visit www.nccr.net. For more information about NRF, visit their web site at www.nrf.com.