Poll: Consumers Aren't Very Good At Estimating Calorie Content
If you guessed "Tuna Melt"---you're smarter than approximately 96% of consumers. The rest either chose incorrectly or admitted that they didn't know. Most thought that the Steakhouse Beef Dip or Baja Chicken with Bacon had the most calories. The Steakhouse Beef Dip with cheese and dressing actually has the fewest calories, with 730, whereas the Tuna Melt weighs in at a hefty 1,420.
"Almost everyone failed this quiz," said Lucy Culp, government affairs director the American Heart Association in WA. "Restaurants don't make customers guess when it comes to prices; they show them on the menu. There's no reason to keep vital nutrition information from consumers, and many good reasons to provide it."
Another question that gave consumers trouble:
Which item at McDonald's has the most calories?
- A Big Mac
- Two sausage McGriddles
- A large chocolate shake
- Four regular hamburgers
- Aren't you sure?
The correct answer is the large chocolate shake at 1,160 calories. Did you guess correctly? Most consumers didn't. Only 10% correctly identified the chocolate shake as the item with the most calories.
You can check out the poll results and the report from the CSPI by clicking here.
(Photo:Morton Fox)
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Comments:
It's a little difficult for me to judge without seeing what sort of dressing is on the sandwich. When I'm actually at Quiznos, looking at the menu and item description, it's easier to discern what's healthier.
That said, I would not have guessed tuna melt no matter what.
I got it right but only because I just read "Eat this, Not That"
At first I thought it would be the tuna, then I was like, wait, bacon!
I'm getting a tuna melt and large chocolate shake for lunch. 1 day's caloric intake in one meal.
The other side of the coin is, the overall effect on eating out on the waistline might be more important than the nutritional factors at restaurants.
Tuna at sandwich places is always high in calories because they make it with at ton of mayonnaise.
@The Count of Monte Fisto: mmm chicken Carbonara, hold the mushrooms cuz I'm not a rabbit. Dang it consumerist, now I want quiznos.
@Youthier: I think the point is that they have the same dressing, so that calorie info is irrelevant.
I absolutely knew it was the tuna melt. If you look into Subway's caloric information, you'll see that their tuna sandwich is one of the worst sandwiches calorically that they offer. Got me on the Mcshake though; I thought 2 Mcgriddles FTW.
Honestly speaking, it's too hard to judge without seeing the product. Do they have cheese and heavy cream sauces? Do they have gobs of mayo? I wouldn't have thought a tuna melt just because when I make a tuna sandwich I make them pretty light, very easy on light mayo and some herbs for extra flavor.
I'm happy to announce that I'm smarter than most (I know you're all thrilled) and guessed the tuna melt, though it's really just a process of elimination. Tuna has more calories than anything listed and when you add gobs of cheese to the mix, it's a no brainer. It's sad how many people fill their gullets without knowing something as simple as how many calories they're ingesting.
As someone who eats a lot fresh tuna, a tuna melt is an absolutely disgusting abomination. Who in their right mind would willingly order one?
I guess right... but I actually misread the poll and thought they were asking which was the HEALTHIEST option. So I guess I actually lost. Blurg.
Bacon gets so much bad publicity. Portion sizes are usually small enough to keep it from really wrecking a sandwich calorie wise.
The mayo they use to hold the tuna together is the killer.
I'm waiting for the inevitable, "It's fast food of course it's bad for you!" comment.
doh, I thought it said "fewest calories", so my vote for Steakhouse Beef Dip was correct in that sense, jeesh good thing I don't have to read for a living...
Quiznos makes it available:
[www.quiznos.com]
There's a link at the bottom of the page to show nutritional information.
So does McDonalds:
[www.mcdonalds.com]
It might have been the case 5 years ago that it was hard to get nutritional information when eating out, but I think these days it's not all that hard to find Caloric counts. Mom & Pop restaurants are probable exceptions, though. Thanks Google!
It's fast food of course it's bad for you!
I didn't read the report, but knowing these guys the phrase, "artery clogging" appears at least 5 or 6 times. They love that one.
Damn, and I like a large chocolate shake once in a while.
Of course, my mid-section shows it.
@Rectilinear Propagation: I'm waiting for someone to tell us how fantastic the tuna melts are in Europe and that our American tuna melts are a joke.
@purplegrog: I think the people who actually care are the ones who are going to seek out the caloric information ahead of time. I always check a website to get the nutrition info so I can make the best decision once I'm at the restaraunt. So I think as long as places provide the nutrition info, online or in a pamphlet at the restaurant, then they shouldn't have to display it hugely and make the person who wants to eat their 1400 calorie burger in peace feel worse, cuz honestly aren't they probably feeling bad enough?
@Assimilation: the tuna itself does not have trans fat, the mayo has it. there's no fast food restaurant that does fish right. they either bread and fry it or mix it with so much sauce to bulk it up it completely undoes the nutritional benefit of eating seafood.
It's not in England, that's for sure. Over their, that call tuna salad "tuna mayonaise" It's more mayo than tuna. Nasty!
Coronation Chicken FTW!!!
I'm just as bad at guessing my gorgeous wife's weight. There's really no way to win.
@AnderBobo: Agreed. Where I live, having pamphlets with nutrition info available is frequently the case in most chain restaurants.
Woohoo! I got them both right. Tuna sandwiches at retail outlets are killer. More mayo, oil, etc. than tuna in some cases!
Does anyone else question the methods of Quiznos sandwich making? They put the meat in a small cylinder of luke-warm meat water before it gets heated. People... it's dirty meat water. How long has that water been in there? It's not boiling so it can't kill bacteria and in fact, it's warm, which promotes growth of all sorts of wonderful things.
Bottom line: dirty meat water. I'll make my own, thanks. Oh, and those $2.99 sandwiches you're always advertising? Wouldn't feed a guinea pig with that small portion. It's $10+ if you want real people food (heated in dirty meat water).
I said tuna melt, but I'm a Nutrition Action Healthletter subscriber and a calorie fascist. Fast food "tuna salad" is always made out of a bucket of full-fat mayo that was near a can of tuna at some point during the assembly process. IIRC, Quiznos also puts cheese on their mayo-tuna sandwiches.
hmm let me think. Oh yeah, I don't really care. Its funny how we have gone thousands of years without counting calories and yet we are still progressing as humans. It seems to me the more we count calories the more unhealthy we become. Which I would amount to stress trying to figure all this crap out rather than just enjoying a meal. Yes I know fast food is not the most healthy of foods. But I will still occasionally eat some because its tasty or I am on the road and need food.
Uck, mayo.
I'm completely against this idea of mandating that restaurants provide this information. Eating out is a vouluntary recreational activity! If nutrutional info is so important to you, take your business to restaurants who provide it; There are plenty of options. Or, tell your favorite place you won't be eating there until they provide the info. But please, we don't need more nanny-state laws!
American tuna melts are a joke!! To truly enjoy the subtle characteristics mayonnaise brings out of tuna one must be in Europe.
@valthun:
I agree. YOu know needs scales and measures to judge whether something is healthy.
Chicken, non-buttered breads, salads w/out gobs of dressing: healthy.
Mayonaisse, heavy sauces, sugary syrupy rubs: Not healthy.
I simply eat in moderation - and at restaurants choose items with sauces on the sides. I always bike every day and workout 2-3 times a week.
I think proportion control and exercise makes the details of what's in everything less important.
james [www.futuregringo.com]
Ugh, for some reason I thought the poll said which has the LEAST calories, and I did guess right on that. Of course, I misread the poll. :(
@TWinter: TOTALLY TRUE, my favorite sandwich at Subway is the Tuna. It has a whopping 1060 calories and 64 grams of fat. MY GOD , WHO SCREWS UP TUNA? I can only have it on days that I walk 10 miles first or after. GOOD GRIEF!
The calorie count doesn't matter to me, I'm doing the Atkins! :-)
Can I just make a suggestion? When there are polls posted, would it be possible to write a little byline for people who use NoScript to let them know what to "unblock" to take/view the poll? Thanks!
Atkins = Another unhealthy alternative to simply eating in small portions throughout the day and working in walking/biking/running and well, MOVEMENT to your daily life.
This book called Mindless Eating has some great studies in it. They conducted a study at a Subway, and asked random people what they thought the calorie intake of their meal was.
One lady who had a 6inch turkey sandwich stated that her sub had only 1 calorie! And thats even with the calories listed on the napkin.
i have a theory.
if you TRULY believe that a food has no calories or fat, it does not.
you have to believe it though...believe it more that you believe in yourself or god or free speech or the right to dance in a community where dancing is prohibited.
the same applies to MORE calories, too..if you believe your milkshake has 3000 calories, it will.
crap, you know what?? maybe thats why im the size of a horse.
@jamesdenver: I know and I agree. Perhaps my comment needed a little more explanation than just the little smilie face. I was indeed taking a jab at all those people who think it doesn't matter how much crap they eat because they are on Atkins or whatever the latest fad diet is.
The fact that 80% of Consumerist readers (atypical, to the extreme) got that answer wrong speaks volumes about the need for calorie labeling at chain restaurants.
Unless you're a fan of fraud.
I got it right cause I used to work at a sandwich shop years ago.
Mayonnaise is full of calories, and the tuna melt is full of mayonnaise.
Baja chicken is probably number 2, mostly because of the sauce that's on it.
#3 would go to the italian, for fatty salami and sausage meats.
I guessed tuna melt because years ago I read that the Fillet O'Fish had the most calories of any sandwich at McDonald's--keep in mind this was before the current fad of foot-high steakbaconlardburgers or whatever insanely fattening crap they're dishing out nowadays.
Now I'm hungry.