A study released this week of food from about 40 fast food and sit down restaurants in three different states found that overall the stated calories of items on the menus of the restaurants are accurate, but there were some standouts and substantial inaccuracy for some individual foods, with understated calorie figures. In addition, it seems that restaurants are not portioning according to the calorie numbers posted.
Lorien E. Urban, Ph.D., of Tufts University, Boston, and colleagues conducted a study to evaluate the overall accuracy of restaurant stated energy contents and examine factors associated with the accuracy of stated energy contents of individual food items. Food from 42 restaurants, comprising 269 total food items and 242 unique foods, were ordered as a take-out meal and subsequently analyzed at a laboratory for caloric content.
The study concluded:
“The prevalence of obesity in the United States increased from 14% of the population in 1976 to 34% in 2008, during which time both self-reported and per-capita energy intake increased. Reducing energy intake by self-monitoring or selecting foods with lower energy contents is widely recommended for the prevention and treatment of obesity. However, the feasibility of reducing energy intake using these approaches depends in part on the availability of accurate information on the energy contents of different foods. Food purchased in restaurants provide approximately 35% of the daily energy intake in U.S. individuals but the accuracy of the energy contents listed for these foods is unknown. In addition, foods with lower stated energy contents contained higher measured energy contents than stated, while foods with higher stated energy contents contained lower measured energy contents.”
Of the 269 food items, 108 (40%) had measured energy contents at least 10 kcal (calories)/portion higher than the stated energy contents and 141 (52%) had measured energy contents at least 10 kcal/portion lower than the stated energy contents. Nineteen percent of foods contained greater than 100 kcal/portion more than the stated energy contents.
The researchers found significantly greater variability in the discrepancy between the stated and measured energy contents in all foods from sit-down restaurants compared with all foods from quick-serve restaurants.
However, the problem may lie with proper portion control by establishments:
“Although our study showed that stated energy contents in restaurants are relatively accurate on average, thus supporting greater availability of this information, projected benefits for preventing weight gain and facilitating weight loss are likely to be reduced if restaurant foods with lower stated energy contents provide more energy content than stated. Additional portion control in restaurants has the potential to facilitate individual efforts to reduce energy intake and to help resolve the national obesity epidemic.”
Linda Van Horn, Ph.D., R.D., of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, in an accompanying editorial extends the understanding:
“Prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity require change in the environment as well as in personal behavior. Just as balancing a budget can prevent debt, balancing caloric intake with output can prevent added pounds. However, U.S. residents seem to be struggling with both balancing acts. New, innovative, and effective approaches to teaching about energy balance and caloric control are greatly needed.”
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Written by Sy Kraft