The old adage “Let the buyer beware” is now applicable to the stated calorie count of restaurant meals. While the Health Care bill included a section which requires that chain restaurants with 20 or more locations display nutritional and calorie information, and many are coming into compliance, the accuracy of that calorie count has come into question.
As a consumer, you expect to get what you paid for, and while getting more than you asked for may seem like a bonus or a bargain, it could be packing on unwanted pounds. For example, when you order a burger at a fast food restaurant that is listed as containing 500 calories, you expect the 500 calories, no more. Such is not the case, according to new research out of Tufts University in Boston.
Research centered on 42 quick-serve and sit-down restaurants in Massachusetts, Arkansas and Indiana. The team tested 269 different menu items and revealed that almost 20 percent packed 100 or more excess calories—a finding that was most often found in lower-calorie foods. Only 7 percent of the sampled French fries, burgers and other food were within 10 calories from the stated values.
Sit-down restaurant were more often incorrect in serving portions. “There were several cases where we just got a lot more than we thought they were going to give us," said team leader Lorien Urban, a nutrition researcher at Tufts.
It’s not all bad news, however; 52 percent of tested food had 10 fewer calories or more than stated on the menu. Of course, some people might think they were getting cheated out of the food they paid for in this instance.
Nutritional labeling is a benefit for consumers, whose waistlines have continued to grow. Providing nutrition or calorie labeling on restaurant menus has proven to help consumers be more conscious and make better decisions about what they are eating. The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released findings last year of an analysis on the impact of the city’s menu-labeling laws, which was mandated in 2008.
Results indicate that consumers have become more selective in choosing food with fewer calories. In fact, people purchased lower calorie meals at 9 of 13 fast-food restaurant and coffee chains that were included in the study.
As a consumer, you expect to get what you paid for, and while getting more than you asked for may seem like a bonus or a bargain, it could be packing on unwanted pounds. For example, when you order a burger at a fast food restaurant that is listed as containing 500 calories, you expect the 500 calories, no more. Such is not the case, according to new research out of Tufts University in Boston.
Research centered on 42 quick-serve and sit-down restaurants in Massachusetts, Arkansas and Indiana. The team tested 269 different menu items and revealed that almost 20 percent packed 100 or more excess calories—a finding that was most often found in lower-calorie foods. Only 7 percent of the sampled French fries, burgers and other food were within 10 calories from the stated values.
Sit-down restaurant were more often incorrect in serving portions. “There were several cases where we just got a lot more than we thought they were going to give us," said team leader Lorien Urban, a nutrition researcher at Tufts.
It’s not all bad news, however; 52 percent of tested food had 10 fewer calories or more than stated on the menu. Of course, some people might think they were getting cheated out of the food they paid for in this instance.
Nutritional labeling is a benefit for consumers, whose waistlines have continued to grow. Providing nutrition or calorie labeling on restaurant menus has proven to help consumers be more conscious and make better decisions about what they are eating. The New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene released findings last year of an analysis on the impact of the city’s menu-labeling laws, which was mandated in 2008.
Results indicate that consumers have become more selective in choosing food with fewer calories. In fact, people purchased lower calorie meals at 9 of 13 fast-food restaurant and coffee chains that were included in the study.
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