Weight watchers who swear by the calorie counts that many restaurants in the United States display on their menus, take head: the numbers don't always tell the truth. Researchers at Taft University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy found that around half the dishes served in popular US restaurants delivered more calories than stated on the menu, with some packing double the stated energy value.
Researchers found discrepancies in the portion sizes the restaurants said they were serving and the actual size of the meal that showed up on the diner's plate, said the study published in the January edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
The researchers analyzed the calorie content of 18 side dishes and main courses from five popular sit-down restaurant chains - Applebee's, Denny's, Olive Garden, P F Chang's and Ruby Tuesday - and 11 sides and main courses from fast food restaurants Domino's, Dunkin Donuts, Mc Donald's, Taco Bell and Wendy's. Ten frozen meals bought at supermarkets were also analyzed.
On average, restaurant foods were found to contain 18 percent more calories than what was stated on the menu, and frozen meals averaged eight percent more calories than stated on their packaging. "Those don't sound like huge numbers but that really adds up over time. It's the difference between maintaining your weight and gaining 10 pounds", researchers said.
Be aware, some of the restaurant items contained more than twice the calories listed on the menu, including P F Chang's Sichuan-style asparagus. It delivered 558 calories for a 348-gram serving rather than the 260 calories listed on the menu, according to the testing done by the Tuft's researchers.
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