RESTAURANT ENTREES AVERAGE OVER 1200 CALORIES!

Meals consumed at fast-food restaurants are often perceived as one of the biggest contributors to the obesity epidemic. Non-chain restaurants are often seen as the healthier choice.  However, a new study measured the caloric content of entrees from sit-down and take-out chain and non-chain restaurants and found no significant difference in the calories of entrees at chain and non-chain restaurants.  Both averaged around 1200 calories!  This does not include the beverages, appetizers, and desserts that often are includes at a meal out.    Fully 92% of the entrees exceeded recommended calorie intake for a single meal and a significant number had more calories than are advised for an entire day’s worth of intake.  Considering Americans average six meals prepared outside of the home weekly, restaurant meals are a sizable part of our diets.

The study was based on an analysis of 364 of the most popular entrees at American, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in Boston, San Francisco and Little Rock, Ark., between 2011 and 2014.  In each area, they included about a dozen restaurants across a range of cuisines, from American burger joints to Italian trattorias and Greek cafes. There were no significant differences in calorie counts between cities but some cuisines significantly differed in calories.  Overall entrees averaged 1200 calories, but American, Chinese, Indian and Italian cuisines averaged even higher with nearly 1500 calories per entree. 

What is the recommended limit for intake at a meal?  Estimates are based on a person's gender, age and how physically active they are.  For example, for weight maintenance, a moderately active (defined as doing at least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking) woman aged 19-30, is recommended to have around 2,000 calories daily and 570 calories per meal, while a moderately active man of the same age is recommended to have around 2,600 calories daily and around 740 calories per meal.  The calorie needs of persons who are older, less active, and/or of small stature need less.  Even when age, gender, height, and activity are factored in, calorie needs vary tremendously from one individual to the next.

What to do:  These findings illustrate that virtually all meals purchased outside of the home are staggeringly high in calories.  Meals out are also much higher in sodium and sugar.  So, prepare food at home when possible.  Menu planning, weekend prepping, batch cooking, utilizing devices such as rice cookers and slow cookers and drawing on healthy convenience items such as frozen vegetables, pre-washed greens, and unsalted canned beans can help to minimize the time needed to prepare meals.  When ordering out, communicate what you want.  Ask how items are prepared.  Order lighter preparations with sauces and dressings on the side.  Selecting junior meals, boxing up part of the meal for later, sharing an entrée, or ordering from the appetizer or side menus can also be useful strategies to curb calorie content.

Source:

Lorien E, Urban JL. Weber MB, et al. Energy contents of frequently ordered restaurant meals and comparison with human energy requirements and US Department of Agriculture database information: A multisite randomized study.  Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Jan. 20^th, 2016.  Available online ahead of print. DOI:10.1016/j.jand.2015.11.009

Adapted from articles available at:

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_156806.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160120091704.htm
http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/20/health/non-chain-restaurants-calories-fast-food/index.html