In a recent USA Today article we found that teenagers have no idea how many calories are in the fast foods they love. Often times they underestimate their caloric consumption by hundreds of calories per meal. As we have learned, not knowing calorie consumption tends to lead to weight gain which can turn into obesity. With so many people eating outside of the home its important to have calorie information available. A survey was conducted of 547 adolescences ranging in ages 11-20 when they left five leading chain restaurants. During the survey, they were asked to estimate how many calories they had just ate. The researchers, based on the meal consumed, figured out the correct amount of calories for each entree.
Here is what they found:
•80% of young people underestimated the calories in their meals.
•30% underestimated the amount by 500 or more calories.
•Those who ordered 1,000-calorie meals underestimated the amount by an average of 350 calories.
•Those who ordered 1,500-calorie meals were off by 700 calories
Here is the complete article:
http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/teen-ya/story/2011-10-04/Teenagers-underestimate-calories-in-fast-food/50660282/1
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