Can you trust the calorie counts on chain-restaurant menus and frozen supermarket meals? Tufts research – ers tested 29 restaurant dishes and 10 frozen dinners-all supposed to be among the lower-calorie choices at Boston-area eateries and groceries-and found the numbers often varied widely from reality. The restaurant selections averaged 18% more calories than claimed, while the frozen alternatives to eating out averaged 8% extra calories.Most of the packaged foods were within the 20% margin of error allowed by the FDA. That rule doesnt apply to restaurants, but variations in preparation from one franchise to another mostly explained the restaurant irregularities. Five of the restaurants provided side dishes at no extra cost that werent included in the calorie counts; the average calorie addition from these side dishes-471-was actually greater than the average 443 calories in the entres they accompanied.Most of the packaged foods were within the 20% margin of error allowed by the FDA. That rule doesnt apply to restaurants, but variations in preparation from one franchise to another mostly explained the restaurant irregularities. Five of the restaurants provided side dishes at no extra cost that werent included in the calorie counts; the average calorie addition from these side dishes-471-was actually greater than the average 443 calories in the entres they accompanied.Even a few extra unexpected calories every day can add up, says lead investigator Susan B. Roberts, PhD, director of Tufts HNRCA Energy Metabolism Laboratory and author of The I Diet. For example, 5% extra calories per day for an individual requiring 2,000 calories a day could lead to a 10- pound weight gain in a single year, Roberts points out. Theres a big drumbeat for putting calories on menus, but thats only useful if the calories are right.
| Over-Delivering Testing by Tufts researchers found that the calories in many chain-restaurant foods added up to more than advertised, such as: PF Changs large Sichuan-style asparagus (listed at 200 calories)-more than double Wendys Ultimate Chicken Grill (320 calories)-9% more |
Roberts and colleagues sampled meals from 10 different chain restaurants, including Wendys, Ruby Tuesday, McDonalds, Dennys and PF Changs China Bistro. The frozen supermarket meals tested included Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice and South Beach Living. Some dishes revealed extreme discrepancies, including seven restaurant foods and three frozen dinners that contained up to double the calories on the menu or label.A few items actually came in low, such as Dominos large thin-crust cheese pizza, which had one-third fewer than the promised 180 calories per serving.TO LEARN MORE: Journal of the American Dietetic Association, January 2010; abstract at www.adajournal. org/article/S0002-8223(09)01679-4/ abstract. The I Diet www.instinctdiet.com