It’s where you eat, not what you eat
Calorie intake is more in restaurants than at home from same dish
Eating the same meal in a restaurant rather than at home could add 200 calories to your daily intake, according to a new study of more than 18,000 Americans,
And you’re also taking in more saturated fats, cholesterol and sodium than those who eat their meals at home.
For example, a beef burger prepared and cooked at home is healthier than a similar one consumed at a restaurant or fast-food outlet. “People who ate at full-service restaurants consumed significantly more cholesterol per day than people who ate at home,” said professor Ruopeng An from the University of Illinois.
Restaurant diners take in more healthy nutrients including certain vitamins, potassium and Omega-3 fatty acids than those who eat at home or at fast-food outlets, but the food is saltier and fattier.
Those who ate at fast-food outlets also took in extra cholesterol, but only about 10 milligrams more than those who ate at home.
10 grams more total fat in same dish when eaten at restaurant.
58 milligrams of extra cholesterol found in restaurant dish.
412 milligrams more sodium than when one eats at home.
Not many are aware that whenever people eat out, whether at a fast-food outlet or a full-service restaurant, they end up consuming about 200 additional calories than eaten at home, says new study. Besides, you also take in more saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium than those who prepare and eat their meals at home, says a new study.
“People who ate at full-service restaurants consumed significantly more cholesterol per day than people who ate at home,” said researcher professor Ruopeng An from University of Illinois.
“This extra intake of cholesterol, about 58 milligrams per day, accounts for 20 per cent of the recommended upper bound of total cholesterol intake of 300 milligrams per day,” An added.
Like fast food
An reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that eating at a restaurant is comparable to — or in some cases less healthy than — eating at a fastfood outlet.
While people who eat at restaurants tend to take in more healthy nutrients — including certain vitamins, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids — than those who eat at home or at a fast-food outlet, the restaurant diners also consume substantially more sodium and cholesterol — two nutrients that Americans generally eat in excess, even at home.
Those who ate at fast-food outlets also took in extra cholesterol, but only about 10 milligrams more than those who ate at home. Fast-food and restaurant diners consumed about 10 grams more total fat, and 3.49 grams and 2.46 grams, respectively, more saturated fat than those who dined at home.
“The American Heart Association recommends limiting the amount of saturated fats one eats to less than 5 to 6 per cent of one’s total daily calories,” Ruopeng An said.
“That means that if one needs about 2,000 calories a day, less than 120 calories, or 13 grams, should come from saturated fats.”
Eating at a fast-food outlet adds about 300 milligrams of sodium to one’s daily intake, and restaurant dining boosts sodium intake by 412 milligrams per day, on average, An said.
Recommendations for sodium intake vary between 1,500 and 2,300 milligrams per day, but Americans already consume more than 3,100 milligrams of sodium at home, he found.
“The additional sodium is even more worrisome because the average daily sodium intake among Americans is already so far above the recommended upper limit, posing a significant public health concern, such as hypertension and heart disease,” he said.
An also found striking differences in the effects of dining out on different groups.
“African-Americans who ate at fast-food and full-service restaurants took in more total fat, saturated fat, sodium and sugar than their Caucasian and Hispanic counterparts who dined out,” An said.
“And people in the middleincome range had the highest daily intake of total energy, total fat, saturated fat and sodium when they dined at full-service restaurants.”
The obese also consumed more calories at fast-food restaurants than their overweight (but not obese) peers, An found.
“These findings reveal that eating at a full-service restaurant is not necessarily healthier than eating at a fast-food outlet,” An said.
“In fact, you may be at higher risk of overeating in a full-service restaurant than when eating fast-food. My advice to those hoping to consume a healthy diet and not overeat is that it is healthier to prepare your own foods, and to avoid eating outside the home whenever possible.”
Professor An reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition that eating at a restaurant is comparable to — or in some cases less healthy than — eating at a fastfood outlet.