Surprise: Calorie counts on restaurant menus are dishonestly low

A study of meals from 10 restaurant chains including Ruby Tuesday and Wendy’s found calorie counts averaging 18 percent more than the values listed by the restaurants.

Diet meals made by Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice and others averaged 8 percent higher than the numbers on the label.
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The study was led by Susan Roberts, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University, and published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Roberts says the study “raises a big issue” and that posting calories for consumers is only useful if the numbers are right.