Why Healthy Eating Can Make You Fat
Did you know that some “healthy” Subway sandwiches contain more calories than a Big Mac?
It’s true.
We also tend to choose side dishes, desserts and drinks with up to 131% more calories when the main dish in a restaurant is advertised as “healthy.”
According to new studies from the Journal of Consumer Research, this may explain why obesity rates have continued to rise even though healthier food has become popular.
In one study, consumers estimated that sandwiches from so-called healthy restaurants had 35% fewer calories than sandwiches from restaurants that didn’t make health claims.
After underestimating the healthy foods’ calories, the consumers then went on to choose higher-calorie side dishes, desserts and drinks.
As mentioned before, those choices contained up to 131% more calories.
Worst of all, the “healthy” main course in this study already contained 50% more calories than the “unhealthy” one.
The researchers suggest that we shouldn’t just think of food as good or bad. We should also know how many calories are in a particular food.
So even if a restaurant advertises healthy food and has some low-cal offerings, make sure your food choices from that restaurant don’t contain too many calories.
Or you could eat “healthy” and still become fat.
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