Caloric counts on restaurant menus might be misleading, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) this week said. On the same day, the Center for Science in the Public Interest released its annual Xtreme Eating Awards to eight menu items which may strike fear into the hearts of calorie-counters. Susan Roberts of Tufts University and her co-authors studied 269 food items and 242 unique foods from 42 restaurants. The foods and restaurants were randomly selected from quick-serve and sit-down restaurants in Massachusetts, Arkansas and Indiana between January and June 2010. About 40 percent of the foods had more calories than what was listed on menus. Of the 269 food items, 50 (19 percent) contained measured energy contents of at least 100 calories or more than the stated menu contents. Jayne Hurley, senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, told ABC News that restaurants were taking “over-the-top” to a new level. “These are yet more examples of how restaurants are making bad food even worse.” Judith Stern, professor of nutrition at UC Davis, told ABC News that she hopes caloric information about foods becomes more immediately available. When she does know a menu item has too many calories for her liking, she said she often shares restaurant portions with her dining companions, or asks the kitchen to cut her order in half.
