Having trouble counting calories? It may be harder than you think.
(CBS) Are chain restaurants lying to their customers about calorie counts? Most restaurants post calorie counts on their menus and some states even require it. But a new study suggests that nearly one in five of these counts are wrong.
For the study, scientists checked calorie counts of 269 food items from 42 randomly selected fast-food or sit-down restaurants in Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Indiana. They found 40 percent of the food items contained 10 calories more than what was labeled on the menu. Nearly 20 percent of the foods contained more than 100 calories than what was stated in the nutritional facts. One side dish that was studied was off by an egregious 1000 calories.
100 calories here and there might not seem so outrageous, but according to the study published in the July 20 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association, eating an extra 100 calories everyday can contribute to an added 10 to 30 pounds a year
Counting calories? Don't be too quick to trust restaurants' tallies