Calorie counts on menus shockingly inaccurate
Friday, July 17, 2009 14:48A few weeks ago, I posted on the growing trend requiring restaurants to post calorie counts on the menus. Judging from the dozens of comments, a majority of you think this helps you (and others) make healthier choices--although a notable minority disagree.
But how helpful is it if the menu disclosures underestimate the actual calories by 30 to 40%?
Check out the results of a recent spot-check conducted by Scripps, as represented in this photograph that accompanies a story in the Wall Street Journal:
The restaurants argue that some variation is inevitable--which of course it is. But these margins of error are enough to render the entire exercise somewhat meaningless, wouldn't you agree?
Read more about the foibles and fall-out of restaurant calorie disclosure in Carl Bialik's Wall Street Journal article..