Health : Health Buzz: Restaurant Calorie Counts Often Inaccurate |
| Health Buzz: Restaurant Calorie Counts Often Inaccurate Posted: 20 Jul 2011 08:53 AM PDT Study: 1 in 5 Restaurant Calorie Counts Is False Calorie counts posted in chain restaurants are often inaccurate, and one in every five meals packs at least 100 more calories than advertised on the menu, new research suggests. Boston scientists measured the calories in 269 items from nearly 50 fast-food and sit-down eateries, including McDonald's, Burger King, Chipotle, Olive Garden, and Outback Steakhouse. They found that only 7 percent of the foods were within 10 calories of what the restaurants claimed, according to a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Seventeen foods had at least 273 more calories than stated on the menu. Restaurants were most likely to underestimate low-calorie fare like soups and salads, and overestimate the calories in less-healthy choices like pizza and chips and salsa. "The calories on your plate may be quite different from what you think you are getting, and the trouble is you can't tell,'' study author Susan Roberts, a senior scientist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, told USA Today. "I have a Ph.D. in nutrition, and I can't tell if my dinner is 500 or 800 calories just by looking at the plate, and our study shows you can't rely on the restaurants' numbers for an individual meal." 10 Things That Can Sabotage Your Weight Loss So you've got your plot to drop the extra pounds. It certainly seems sensible: You're going to eat right, eat less, and exercise. After weeks of declining dessert and diligently hitting the treadmill, you step on the scale and...only 2 pounds gone? You conclude that something or someone must be sabotaging you. You might be right. While experts say weight loss can always be reduced to the simple "calories in, calories out" mantra—meaning if you eat fewer calories than you burn, you'll lose weight—a host of oft-hidden saboteurs may be meddling with the balance. Here's a smattering of them: 1. Treating healthy foods as low-calorie foods. "A lot of times they're not consistent," says Scott Kahan, codirector of the George Washington University Weight Management Program in Washington, D.C. So while whole grains, avocados, and nuts might be kind to your heart or cholesterol levels, dieters who binge on such foods can, before they know it, add hundreds of calories to the day's total. Enjoy calorie-rich healthy foods, dietitians urge, but ration them out: a quarter of an avocado on a salad or a small handful of almonds for a snack. 2. Shunning shuteye. Some research has linked shorter sleep duration to a higher body mass index (a measure of body fat) and increased hunger and appetite. Additionally, if you're tired, you might be prone to grab a sugar-laden treat for a midday boost, skip the gym, and have takeout for dinner to avoid cooking. It's a vicious cycle. Aim for seven or eight hours a night. [Read more: 10 Things That Can Sabotage Your Weight Loss.] How to Stay on a Diet to Lose or Maintain Weight A diet is only as good as your ability to stick to it. Research has found that most plans will help you lose weight, regardless of type—low-fat or low-carb, for example. What counts is whether you can stay on it long-term. And with restaurant meals, dinners with friends, and hot fudge sundaes to tempt you, adherence is an understandable challenge. Here are five tricks for making your diet stick: 1. Gather the troops. You need support, be it from a friend, a group like Overeaters Anonymous, or even an online community. Research suggests those who go it alone are most likely to fall off the wagon. That's why some diet plans have a formal support component—Weight Watchers connects dieters via weekly meetings, while Jenny Craig members are assigned counselors for advice and encouragement. If you're not comfortable talking about your weight face-to-face, log online. By signing up for the free program PeerTrainer, for example, dieters can interact and track each others' weight-loss progress, pose questions, and swap diet and exercise tips. "It's important to have people who will pick you up when times are tough and cheer you on when you have successes," says registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, author of The Flexitarian Diet. Plus, she adds: "Healthy habits are contagious." [Read more: How to Stay on a Diet to Lose or Maintain Weight.] This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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