the latest health news
Are you a Health Professional? Read more detailed and referenced information written by Australian health professionals, make sure you select health professional in the signup form! Virtual Medical CentreNewsConsumers largely underestimating calorie con...Consumers largely underestimating calorie content of fast food
People eating at fast food restaurants largely underestimate the calorie content of meals, especially large ones, according to a paper published on bmj.com.
From 2006 to 2010 many American states and cities passed laws requiring chain restaurants to print calorie content on menus. The US Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 included a provision that will require all restaurant chains with more than 20 US Sites to print calorie content on menus.
Previous research has shown that adults and children underestimate calorie content often by large amounts. However, these studies did not monitor consumer choices at restaurants or focused on a narrow range of fast food restaurants or individuals.
Researchers therefore carried out a large cross sectional study of repeated visits to fast food restaurant chains in 89 restaurants across the New England region of America: McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC, Subway and Dunkin’ Donuts. At the time of data collection, none of the chains routinely printed calorie content on menus.
Researchers enrolled a diverse group of adults (>18 years old), adolescents (aged 11-20) and school age children (3-15 years old). They collected receipts from participants to calculate the calorie content of their meals, and they administered a short questionnaire which included a question asking participants to estimate the calorie content of their meal. Parents provided answers for the school age children. The final sample size was 1877 adults, 1178 adolescents and 330 school age children.
Among adult participants, 65% were either overweight or obese, as were 34% of adolescents and 57% of school age children. Less than one quarter of participants reported noticing calorie information in the restaurants, and less than 5% reported using it to help them choose their meal.
The mean calorie content of meals was 836 for adults, 756 for adolescents and 733 for children. On average, adults, adolescents, and parents of school-age children underestimated calorie content by 175 calories, 259 calories and 175 calories, respectively. Two thirds of all participants underestimated the calorie content of their meals with approximately one quarter underestimating the calorie content by at least 500 calories. Participants consuming high calorie meals underestimated by a greater amount than small calorie meals. Underestimation was greater among Subway diners than at any other chain. Adults and adolescents eating at Subway underestimated by 20% and 25% more than those at McDonald’s.
(Source: BMJ)
More information
For more information on obesity, health and social issues, and methods of weight loss, as well as some useful tools, see Obesity and Weight Loss.
For more information on nutrition, including information on types and composition of food, nutrition and people, conditions related to nutrition, and diets and recipes, as well as some useful videos and tools, see Nutrition. 
-->
Article Date: 24/6/2013 Related DiseasesObesityMetabolic Syndrome
Related Articles: Hormone That Signals We Are Full When Eating Also Curbs Fast Food Consumption And Tendency To Binge Eat Too much TV may lead to too much fast food Regulations not reducing child exposure to fast food ads Kids have no escape from fast food marketing
Connect
Sign up for free newsletters 
Subscribe to RSS feeds 
Discuss on Forum 
Article Comments Add your comment to this article
Name
Email
Comment
Security Code Change Code
Security Code
Enter the above security Code
User-generated Content Guidelines
Rate this article12345List News by Medical Area All News Men's Health News Women's Health News Children's Health News Allergy News Blood News Bone News Brain News Cancer News Dental News Eye News Fitness News Gastro News Heart News Hormone News Infection News Joints News Kidney News Lungs News Mental Health News Pain News Pregnancy News Skin News Weight Loss News
New on VMC
Orange and Avocado Salad more... 
As the weather warms up – preparing kids for toilet training more... 
Dr Joe: Ear health more... 
Recovering from disaster and trauma more... 
VMC NewslettersVMC newsletters are FREE on subscription. See VMC's previous newsletters here.
Free Membership & NewslettersNot yet a member?Stay up to date with the latest health news
Resend Activation Email -Forgot your Password?Today's medical surveyTrauma
Have you ever suffered second-hand trauma, for example after watching a disaster on TV/internet/or a loved one going through it?
Yes, I sought help from a counsellor/other professional
Yes, I talked through it with loved ones
Yes, but I was too embarrassed to talk about it
No
Other (please comment)
Comment:What is 2 + 2 =
View Results » Current Sponsors About Virtualmedicalcentre.com
Australia�s leading source for trustworthy medical information written by health professionals.
Please be aware that we do not give advice on your individual medical condition,
if you want advice please see your treating physician.
Virtual Medical Centre © 2002 - 2013 | Privacy Policy Last updated 1 Nov 2013
Parenting information is available at Parenthub.com.au
About Us Careers Advertise with us Advertising policy Contact Us Copyright Information Corrections Editorial Advisory Board Investor Information Partners Sitemap Terms of Use User-generated Content
^ Back to Top Partners and Accreditations 
This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information: verify here.
For banner advertising
Website and videos by 
Titan Web Clients
Web Design Perth
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X
Y Z Medical Information Health Topics Anatomy Devices Diseases Doctor Videos Drugs Health & Lifestyle Investigations Medical Dictionary My Experiences Symptoms Supplements Supportive Care Tools Treatments Useful Links News News & Events Latest News Events Newsletter Newsletters Lifestyles Health and Lifestyles Exercise Family General Mental Health Nutrition Occupational Health and Safety Pregnancy Preventative Health Recipes Sexuality Sleep Smoking and Alcohol Win Competitions Current Competitions Competition Winners Health Professionals Health Professionals Editorial Advisory Board Conferences Events Case Studies Research & Trials Publications Consult Magazine Pro Newsletters Pro Membership
Read more detailed and referenced information written by Australian health professionals, make sure you select health professional in the signup form!
Sign up Login About VMC | Contact Us | Sitemap Follow us on:
No comments:
Post a Comment