Want to know which restaurants in our area list “healthy” meals on their menu? Click on the link below for Pinellas County Health Department recommendations for healthy meals at local restaurants.

For your information, a new study, 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 says food at popular chain restaurants and in the frozen food aisles can be more fattening than advertised. The study raises a big issue in that posting calories for consumers is only useful if the numbers are right.

In the study, it was shown that meals from 10 restaurant chains including Ruby Tuesday and Wendy's averaged 18 percent more calories than the values listed by the restaurants on their menus. Also, the study found that diet meals made by Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers, Healthy Choice and others averaged 8 percent higher in calories than the numbers on the Nutrition Facts labels for those foods.

Consumers should read labels carefully, and if you suspect that a product or a meal shows an inaccurate calorie, fat or salt amount, don’t be afraid to complain — only squeaky wheels get greased. And it is not the artery clogging kind.

Additional Resources:

http://www.pinellashealth.com/HCRestaurants/index.asp

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=531

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/quiz/index.html