Volume 17, No. 3, Summer 2009
By Debra Gibbons, R.D.
Years ago nutrition labeling for calories, fats, cholesterol, fiber and vitamins was mandated on packaged foods. Then trans fats were added to the nutrition label because, along with saturated fat and cholesterol, they may increase the “bad” cholesterol.
Some restaurants already are offering limited nutrition facts for some menu items and now the larger restaurant chains are under the gun to provide more complete information on all items.
Now legislation has been proposed on both the state and federal level (See Representative Cleon Turner’s article on Page __.) requiring restaurant chains to prominently display the calories of all their menu selections on the menu or a menu board. Along with prices, you will see specific calorie contents as you order.
The more frequently you dine out the more useful this information will be.
To assess the calories of a meal accurately, however, you must know your daily calorie requirements.
How many calories do you need a day to maintain your weight? If you have no concept of those needs you can’t make choices based on calorie content. There is a simplified way to approximate your daily requirements:
Multiply your weight by 10 calories if you are obese or inactive or a chronic dieter; by 13 calories for persons over 55, active women and sedentary men; 15 calories for active men and very active women; and 20 calories for very active men.
(Example: a 180-pound obese woman needs 1800 calories daily to maintain that weight; cutting back 500 calories a day would facilitate a 1-pound per week weight loss.)
Fish and salads usually seem like healthy choices but a Caesar salad with grilled shrimp provides 980 calories. A tuna salad sandwich on honey wheat bread sounds like a good idea, but it contains 720 calories. It is not surprising that a big fish sandwich has 640 calories. Add a small order of French fries for a total of 870 and for some people that is about half of their calorie needs for the entire day in only two foods. A nice appetizer of Aussie Cheese fries starts your meal with a whopping 2900 calories. (Sharing with three other people still comes to 725 calories apiece.)
On the positive side, you often can modify your choices to fit your own needs. Example: Venetian Apricot chicken for lunch has only 280 calories compared to the Lasagna Classico at 860.
Adding up the calories will help you decide what is best for you since descriptions can be misleading. And what may be a good choice at one restaurant may not be at another.
Knowing the calorie content of menu selections may persuade you to take a second look at what you’re ordering. And then you can truly sit back and just enjoy.
(Ms. Gibbons, a Registered Dietician and Certified Diabetes Educator, provides outpatient nutrition medical therapy at Cape Cod Hospital.)