Washington: Beware diet conscious people,
the low-carb meals you are taking to keep fit may have more
calories than nutrition labelling indicates.
American researchers have claimed that some commercially
prepared foods contained more calories than indicated in
nutritional labelling.
In a study published in Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, the team from Tufts University said since people
who are trying to reduce their weight are encouraged to choose
meals labelled as "lower in calories" or "reduced-energy" in
restaurants and supermarkets, it is essential that the listed
data are accurate.
But after measuring energy values of 29 quick-serve and
sit-down restaurant foods, they found that on an average all
the items had 18 per cent more calories than the stated
values.
Likewise, measured energy values of 10 frozen meals
purchased from supermarkets averaged 8 per cent more calories
than stated on the label, the study said.
"These findings suggest that stated energy contents of
reduced-energy meals obtained from restaurants and
supermarkets are not consistently accurate and in this study
averaged more than measured values, especially when free side
dishes were taken into account, which on average contained
more energy than the entrees alone," lead author Susan B
Roberts said.
PTI
