The more you eat out, the more likely you are to be overweight or obese. A mounting body of evidence clearly links eating out with obesity, hypertension, and heart disease. Two new studies bring to light just how bad for our health eating at restaurants is.
In one study researchers compared the caloric intake of subjects’ meals at home and at restaurants. More than 1,000 men and women were asked to record everything they ate at home and at restaurants for one week. People of normal weight averaged 550 calories per meal at home while their average restaurant meal intake increased to 825 calories. For people who were overweight or obese, a typical meal at home had 625 calories while at restaurants their meals increased to 900 calories. Researchers also found that meals out contained less whole grains and less vegetables than meals at home.
A second new study quantified just how many calories, sodium, and unhealthy saturated fat were in the menu offerings of more than 28,000 dishes served at 245 different restaurant chains nationwide. Surprisingly, they found that the average appetizer contained 700 calories and included more fat, saturated fat, and sodium than other menu categories. A quarter of the appetizer offerings had more than 1,145 calories. They also found that entrees had an average 590 calories not including the typical side dish with 210 calories, dressed salad with 560 calories, non-alcoholic beverage with 360 calories, and bread offerings with 355 calories. Fewer than 3% of entrée offerings were within the USDA guidelines for sodium and unhealthy saturated fat.
The high calorie cost of restaurant food has been shown to substantially influence weight outcomes. Lisa Mancino, a food economist for the USDA, has found that for the average consumer, eating one meal away from home each week translates to roughly two extra pounds a year. Given that more than half adults eat out three or more times per week and 12% eat out more than seven times per week, the poor nutritional profile of restaurant meals is impacting a large percentage of Americans and has been cited as one of the major factors contributing to the obesity epidemic.
What to do: Eat out less often. To make it easier to eat at home, plan meals ahead of time and batch cook and freeze selections so that you always have healthy food options available at home. When you do eat out, select healthier menu items. To control calories, ask for high calorie sauces and dressing on the side and, at chain restaurants, utilize the calorie counts to select lower calorie items. To limit the size of your meal, choose between having a caloric beverage, a dessert, or an appetizer and, when served large portions, have half your food boxed to-go before eating.
Sources:
-latimes.com/health/os-restaurants-obesity-20110704,0,7026226.story
-Appetite 59: 204, 2012.
-Public Health Nutr. DOI: 10.1017/S136898001200122X.
-Nutrition Action Healthletter, July/August, pg. 8.
