Chain restaurants not exactly helping in fighting the obesity epidemic

82% of Americans eat at a restaurant at least once per week. We have become a fast food nation, often dependent on quick meal ideas. Yet in general home cooked meals are far more nutritious than food from chain restaurants. Many of these restaurants have been substituting quality ingredients for cheaper options, and have sacrificed nutritional value for the sake of taste. One study set out to measure just how unhealthy these chain restaurants can be. The study published, in the journal of Public Health Nutrition, found that out of 245 of the most popular chains in the US 96% failed to meet nutritional guidelines set out by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Out of the 245 restaurants studied, 30,923 menu items were analyzed for their nutritional content. Fast food, buffet, and family style restaurants were all included in the study. Food items ranged from the common burger, to the supposedly ?healthy? salad, to pasta entrees, and all that lay in-between. Only some of the restaurants had their nutritional content on the menu or on their website, and many were only provided through email upon request.

Denny?s, Red Lobster, Pizza Hut, and other family style restaurants were discovered to have entr?es that were worse than many fast food eateries. On average they exceeded fast food eateries by some 271 calories, 435grams of sodium, and 16 grams of fat. Appetizers had on average 813 calories. And the majority of entr?es far exceeded sodium recommendations; not a surprising fact considering the highly processed food that goes into these establishments.

It seems too that it is not entirely the restaurants fault that they are contributing to America?s expanding waistline. So many people do not realize the actual serving sizes for most items on a menu. For example one slice of pizza or one piece of fried chicken counts as a full serving size. And most people far exceed recommended portion sizes at buffets.

The USDA hopes to make some changes. They will soon be publishing a regulation requiring restaurants with more than 20 locations to have calorie counts on their menus. They will also be encouraging eateries to provide customers with healthier menu options, with an emphasis on lowering the sodium content. These researchers are currently conducting another study to comparing menu changes one year later.

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