Eating at restaurants boosts risk of obesity, experts warn

Eating out leads people to eat more, and less well

By Marni Jameson, Orlando Sentinel

8:03 PM EDT, July 4, 2011

The more you eat out, the more likely you are to be fat, say obesity experts who have studied the link between eating at restaurants and obesity — which are both on the rise.

A third of the calories Americans eat come from restaurants, including fast-food franchises, which is almost double what it was 30 years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

"For the average consumer, eating one meal away from home each week translates to roughly two extra pounds a year," said Lisa Mancino, a food economist for the USDA.

More than half of adults eat out three or more times a week, and 12 percent eat out more than seven times a week. As a result, the pounds are adding up.

Americans are eating out more than a decade ago because they have less time for cooking, longer commutes, more households where both adults work, poorer cooking skills and many more options for affordable meals out, said Mancino.

The poor economy isn't slowing the trend, she added. "The data suggest that the recession is not making us eat out less, but we are eating out cheaper, choosing more fast-food and takeout options over restaurants with tableside service."

How many more calories a diner consumes out depends on the meal. Eating lunch out has the largest effect, adding 158 calories to daily caloric intake, compared to lunch prepared at home. Dinner out increases intake by 144 calories, and breakfast out adds 74 calories, according to the USDA.

A consumer's weight also plays into how many calories they consume while eating out. For the obese, an away-from-home meal added an average of 239 calories a day versus only 88 additional calories for those who weren't overweight.

Wrong kind of calories

Eating out tends to pack on the pounds more than dining in does because portion sizes are larger, and restaurant foods tend to be higher calorie, said Cynthia Buffington, director of research and education for Florida Hospital Celebration Health's metabolic medicine and surgery institute.

And those calories tend to be the kind that promote obesity.

"The calories we eat out, for a variety of hormonal and metabolic reasons, actually cause more weight gain," said Buffington, who says foods can be fat promoting or fat fighting.

Obesity-promoting foods include sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, processed grains and trans fats — all cheap ways that restaurants add flavor. These foods lead to changes in blood sugar that cause cells to store food energy rather than burn it, said Buffington.

Fat-fighting foods, she said, include good-quality proteins — such as unprocessed meat, chicken, fish, cheese, eggs, milk and beans — as well as vegetables, fruits, whole grains and essential fatty acids.

On average, breakfast eaten away from home has fewer whole grains, while dinners away from home include fewer servings of vegetables, according to the USDA economic researchers.

Mancino and her colleagues also noted that restaurant diners eat less well. "One meal out typically lowers diet quality enough to shift the average adult's diet from fair to poor on the Healthy Eating Index," she said. The index is the tool the USDA uses to measure diet quality.

"When people eat out they tend to make poorer nutritional choices," said Mancino, "partly because people often associate eating out as a special occasion, or a time to splurge — even if eating out has become a routine."

Paying with their health

As Americans have looked to restaurants to deliver them from cooking, restaurants have gotten savvier in luring customers. One way is by super-sizing portions, which appeals to America's appetite to get more for its money.

For example, a bagel 20 years ago averaged three inches in diameter and had 140 calories. Today's bagels average six inches and contain 350 calories. Studies repeatedly have shown that consumers eat more when portions are larger.

Eating out also is taking a bigger bite out of Americans' budgets. In 2009, Americans spent 49 percent of their food budget on foods away from home, up from 39 percent in 1979, according to USDA food-expenditure data.

One provisions of the Affordable Care Act of 2010 requires chain restaurants to post calories on their menus by 2013, and to have available full nutritional information on request. Some already have done so.

Labeling is causing some restaurants to take another look at their menus, said Joan McGlockton of the National Restaurant Association.

"The labeling law is making them more sensitive to the nutrition content of their food, and as a result many are changing their recipes and menus to offer more healthful choices," McGlockton said.

More restaurants also are offering small bites, or smaller versions of meals, so diners can have a choice of portion sizes, she said.

Of course, eating at home more often is another solution. "Though eating at home doesn't always equal eating healthy, it increases the odds," says Mancino. "When you cook for yourself, you have more control."

mjameson@tribune.com or 407-420-5158

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