A new study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics verifies what many of us think when we eat out: “Wow, that’s a lot of food.”
Researchers analyzed the calorie content of popular meals served in more than 120 local and chain restaurants in three U.S. cities – Boston, San Francisco and Little Rock – and found that more than 90 percent were served at portion sizes that exceeded single-meal calorie recommendations and even, in some cases, the amount of calories recommended for an entire day.
Betsy Root is a registered, licensed dietitian and certified diabetes educator in Vero Beach. She says she is not at all surprised by these findings: “Restaurants know that customers expect portions that are in line with prices, and that often means portions that are way bigger than what we need or what is healthy.”
Large fast-food chains, which are often criticized for offering unhealthy and oversized food, were included in the study, and indeed served meals that were too big and too high in calories. But they were not alone – a wide range of cuisine types were included in the analysis: American, Chinese, Greek, Indian, Italian, Japanese, Mexican, Thai and Vietnamese.
The research was done by a team from Tufts University in Boston from 2011-2014. The team used the USDA food database values to calculate calories, and bumped those counts up against the USDA’s recommendations for daily and per-meal caloric intake.
The USDA’s recommendations are based on gender, age and level of physical activity. For example, a sedentary man 61 or older should have around 2,000 daily calories; if he is physically active, the number increases to 2,600. For a woman of the same age, the range is 1,600 (sedentary) to 2,000 (physically active).
The Tufts researchers found that 92 percent of the meals they analyzed exceeded the total number of calories recommended for a single meal; some even exceeded total daily calorie recommendations. The worst offenders? American, Chinese and Italian meals, which averaged a whopping 1,495 calories per meal.
Senior study author Susan Roberts, Ph.D., says, “These findings make it clear that making healthy choices while eating out is difficult because the combination of tempting options and excessive portions often overwhelm our self-control. Favorite meals often contain three or even four times the amount of calories a person needs, and although in theory we don’t have to eat the whole lot, in practice, most of us don’t have enough willpower to stop eating when we have had enough.”
Interestingly, there is a biological explanation for this: the “cephalic phase of digestion,” where the sight, smell, thought or taste of food stimulates appetite. (Cephalic means “of the head,” which helps make the point that our brains play a big role in overeating.)
Study coauthor William Masters, professor of food economics at Tufts, suggests that restaurants should offer diners the option of ordering meals in portion sizes that suit them. He says, “Standard meals are sized for the hungriest customers, so most people need superhuman self-control to avoid overeating. There is a gender dimension here that is really important: Women typically have a lower caloric requirement than men, so on average need to eat less. Women, while dining out, typically have to be more vigilant.”
Knowing that “portion options” are not likely to be offered by most restaurants, Vero’s Betsy Root suggests another way to combat overeating in restaurants. “Request a to-go box when you order, and put half your meal in it before you even start eating. Put it out of sight, under your chair.” She says this can be especially helpful when dining with friends, because we tend to overeat when we’re relaxed, talking, maybe enjoying a cocktail or a glass of wine; in those circumstances we often don’t realize how much we’re eating.
Root also cautions about the high fat level in some restaurant meals. “People may think that they’re eating healthy if they just eat a big piece of meat, and skip the carbs. But some meat – like spareribs, prime rib and rib eye – are very high in fat, and you may be served a pound rather than a more sensible portion of 5 or 6 ounces. There are meats lower in fat, like filet mignon and sirloin, but portion control is still important.”
One other piece of advice from Ms. Root: Eat slowly. “When you eat fast, your brain doesn’t register that you’re full until you’re done eating, and by that time you may have eaten too much,” she says. “When you eat more slowly, you’re more likely to feel full mid-way through your meal. Eating fast is a hard habit to break, but if you concentrate on it, it can be done.”
Betsy Root can be reached at 772 562 6597.
