Most Americans underestimate daily calorie consumption

Posted: Tuesday, June 18, 2013 10:48 am | Updated: 11:11 am, Tue Jun 18, 2013.

By Robert C. Robbins, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Texas Medical Center

Johnny and Shelley Nuñez started their weekly date night at a neighborhood Italian restaurant. While waiting for their entrees, talk turned to exercise and healthy eating.
Shelley works out at the gym faithfully; Johnny, not so much, but says he compensates by eating healthy foods. Shelley stopped mid-bite. Her husband sat across from her eating a large Caesar salad, which would be followed by a plate of chicken fettuccine alfredo and garlic bread.
“So how healthy do you think this meal is?” Shelley asked.
“Salad, chicken fettuccine alfredo … I’m not eating the bread,” Johnny said. “I don’t know, maybe 500 calories.”
Guess again, Johnny. Even without the bread, you consumed more than 1,200 calories, or more than half of the amount recommended daily for adults. But Johnny is not alone. A recent Harvard University study shows most Americans underestimate the number of calories they eat daily, particularly when eating out.
Neither dieticians Carol Wolin-Riklin nor Roberta Anding are surprised by the Harvard findings.
Anding, director of sports nutrition at Texas Children’s Hospital, says not only do most people not know how many calories they consume, but they don’t even know how many calories they are supposed to consume. In general, an adult should eat fewer than 2,500 calories daily; children age 5 should have 1,500 calories, with the addition of 100 calories for each added year until adulthood. Obviously, individual health issues and activities may alter these guidelines.
Wolin-Riklin, a registered dietician at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, says because people want to get the biggest bang for their dining-out buck, they go for the meal deals. Ironically, a family of four could eat, for example, a roasted chicken with freshly prepared vegetables and fruit at home for less money than a fast-food take-out meal.
How can we count the calories we’re consuming when we dine out? The Affordable Care Act Guidelines mandate that chain restaurants post nutritional information for consumers to see, either on menus or at the counter before ordering.
Both Wolin-Riklin and Anding support this measure. Wolin-Riklin says often, when people know the high calorie count of certain foods, they will make healthier food choices, maybe skipping that cupcake in favor of fresh fruit.
But the Harvard study shows that even with the numbers available, people make high-calorie food choices. We want what we want. Anding, who works with children and understands the magnitude of the adolescent obesity problem in America, says we as consumers are going to have to take responsibility for the health of our children and ourselves.
As a nation, we consume 500 calories more a day now than the population did in 1970, and we certainly are not getting more exercise to counteract the increase.
Providing calorie information at restaurants is a good start, but it doesn’t go far enough. The Harvard study supports a national marketing campaign to inform consumers about calories – how many we should consume, and from which food sources? Anding says one of the best ways to get this information is MyPlate, a nutrition guide offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help us plan healthy menus and “build” healthy plates. The plate consists of about 30 percent grains, 30 percent vegetables, 20 percent fruits and 20 percent protein. Along with these foods, MyPlate recommends a small portion of dairy each day, such as low-fat milk or yogurt. Of course, along with this healthy eating comes exercise – daily.
Obesity is costing Americans billions in medical expenses. We must get a handle on it, and knowing the calories in foods, particularly foods we eat in restaurants, is a good place to start.
For more information on healthy eating, visit www.choosemyplate.gov