Don't trust MFP food values

2

Replies

  • elmarko123
    elmarko123 Posts: 89

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.

    A US measuring cup... it will measure 8 fl oz. of liquid... the weights will vary for solids, milk, etc. on a scale, but it's the same standard, uniform unit when measured by volume. Not really any different than anyone else's forms of measurements... I don't see what the confusion or disdain is?
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    My main problem is that I eat mostly ethnic foods & here where I am the restaurants don't disclose their nutritional info to the customers so I just go by the generic. However if I cook my own food, I input everything manually. And as for the packaged foods, I go by the package content especially the serving size and the amount of serving per package which the majority misses out.
  • sexforjaffacakes
    sexforjaffacakes Posts: 1,001 Member
    Also, remember that food have different values in different countries.

    I often have to search for big brand names with "UK" added at the end, as American options are often first to come up and twice the calories!
  • kendrafallon
    kendrafallon Posts: 1,030 Member

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.

    A US measuring cup... it will measure 8 fl oz. of liquid... the weights will vary for solids, milk, etc. on a scale, but it's the same standard, uniform unit when measured by volume. Not really any different than anyone else's forms of measurements... I don't see what the confusion or disdain is?

    But again a US fl oz is different to a British fl oz. Scales are far more accurate in my opinion. While it is rare that I'll use cup measurements when i do, I know exactly how much weight or volume I'm using.
  • LottieLou13
    LottieLou13 Posts: 574 Member

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.


    A US measuring cup... it will measure 8 fl oz. of liquid... the weights will vary for solids, milk, etc. on a scale, but it's the same standard, uniform unit when measured by volume. Not really any different than anyone else's forms of measurements... I don't see what the confusion or disdain is?

    Its an issue for us here in the UK, we don't use the measurement 'cup' and it can be a right pain in the rear end trying to figure out how much a cup of something is in grams. Like you say a cup of flour will weigh different to a cup of pasta to a cup of milk...etc. When on the database it just says 1 cup of... we then have to attempt to decipher what that works out to in grams or ounces
  • Crowhorse
    Crowhorse Posts: 394 Member

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.
    A US measuring cup... it will measure 8 fl oz. of liquid... the weights will vary for solids, milk, etc. on a scale, but it's the same standard, uniform unit when measured by volume. Not really any different than anyone else's forms of measurements... I don't see what the confusion or disdain is?

    Because they aren't very familiar with it and apparently the thought of something not being completely exact bothers them?

    About the only time it is truly desirable to use weight is large scale baking.

    I never had a problem making cakes or cookies with volume measurement in my home kitchen.

    The idea of having to tediously weigh everything when I can just easily reach for a cup or a tsp doesn't appeal to me any more than the idea of using a cup appeals to them.

    For everyday uses, volume measurement works well enough, and even if you have a bit more one day, another day you might have a bit less, so I think it evens out in the long run.

    Personally, I don't even use volume measurements unless I'm baking. I just eyeball stuff. While it might not be as accurate as some people prefer, it's served me well.
  • sexforjaffacakes
    sexforjaffacakes Posts: 1,001 Member

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.

    A US measuring cup... it will measure 8 fl oz. of liquid... the weights will vary for solids, milk, etc. on a scale, but it's the same standard, uniform unit when measured by volume. Not really any different than anyone else's forms of measurements... I don't see what the confusion or disdain is?

    It makes sense to use a cup for liquid, we use ml and floz for liquid, but a cup of food makes no sense. You don't know how loose or how packed the cup is. And measuring cups aren't exactly standard in other countries, you don't have them lying about the house, a lot of shops don't even sell them.
    But yeah, for food, weight makes a lot more sense for accuracy, and is more convenient.
  • TaylorsGranddad
    TaylorsGranddad Posts: 453 Member
    most of the values for food when I input in my diary have verifications from other mfp users...if you find an item that isn't accurate, then you should feed that back.

    Thats what I do too.
  • FrugalMomsRock75
    FrugalMomsRock75 Posts: 698 Member

    1 cup of something? How is that an accurate measure?

    Because it's a standard sized, uniform unit of measurement, perhaps?
    You mean the metric cup, imperial cup or U.S. customary cup?.

    A US measuring cup... it will measure 8 fl oz. of liquid... the weights will vary for solids, milk, etc. on a scale, but it's the same standard, uniform unit when measured by volume. Not really any different than anyone else's forms of measurements... I don't see what the confusion or disdain is?

    It makes sense to use a cup for liquid, we use ml and floz for liquid, but a cup of food makes no sense. You don't know how loose or how packed the cup is. And measuring cups aren't exactly standard in other countries, you don't have them lying about the house, a lot of shops don't even sell them.
    But yeah, for food, weight makes a lot more sense for accuracy, and is more convenient.

    It isn't for me. :laugh: I prefer the cup... I have three sets of measuring cups. Some stay in things like the flour, sugar, etc. It isn't hard at all to measure in a cup (for me). Set of measuring cups=1.00. Good food scale=25.00.
  • SPNLuver83
    SPNLuver83 Posts: 2,050 Member
    yeah i noticed some where off... I dunno why ppl lie when they input the stuff.. it could be that, or it could simply be the companies have altered their info since it was put in and noone has noticed. When I catch a difference i try to edit it but MFP doesn't always give me the option :/
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,313 Member
    most of the values for food when I input in my diary have verifications from other mfp users...if you find an item that isn't accurate, then you should feed that back.
    Well, the verification isn't the problem - it may be right (to the person who created it) - just not correct for people in other parts of the world.

    Unless something has changed here at MFP, when you edit it to the correct values for where you are or because of changes in the products by the manufacturers it does not change it in the main database, it adds it to your food list as a new entry.
  • katy84o
    katy84o Posts: 744 Member
    Instead of creating a new food, there is the option to confirm it or change the values to what is correct isn't there?
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
    I always check calories and macros from entries against labels or restaurant website listings. There is a ton of incorrect user-entered data in the MFP collection. It's just the way things work when you let anyone and everyone make entries.

    But, for all the entries that skew low, there are plenty that skew high. For example - someone had boneless, skinless, plain chicken breast in the database at 100 calories per ounce. According to the Perdue label, FOUR ounces only has 120 calories. So, also WAY off - but in a different direction.
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,313 Member
    yeah i noticed some where off... I dunno why ppl lie when they input the stuff.. it could be that, or it could simply be the companies have altered their info since it was put in and noone has noticed. When I catch a difference i try to edit it but MFP doesn't always give me the option :/

    Not necessarily people lying. As stated, the nutritional information changes from country to country. So the same product in Canada will have different values from that in the US or other parts of the world. Also, food companies change their products, sometimes making them "new and improved" other times they don't advertise it. I had one product I liked that had the calories go up but 40 a serving because of this. No mention of it in the packaging, but the calorie number changed from the one purchase to the next.

    If the entry has a * beside it in the food database it is user entered, and you should verify it. If it does not it is from the makers of the website and it probably based on USDA numbers.
  • sumeetn
    sumeetn Posts: 56
    this is very true. a lot of the times the data is inaccurate, which is why I usually take it as a grain of salt and check food labels (which are said to be somewhat inaccurate as well).

    I hope you're logging that grain of salt.... :wink:

    :laugh:
  • DavidOfOz
    DavidOfOz Posts: 225
    I scan the bar code of the products as much as possible and use that info.
  • LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo
    LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo Posts: 3,634 Member
    My main problem is that I eat mostly ethnic foods & here where I am the restaurants don't disclose their nutritional info to the customers so I just go by the generic. However if I cook my own food, I input everything manually. And as for the packaged foods, I go by the package content especially the serving size and the amount of serving per package which the majority misses out.

    In addition to this, I talked to a nutritionist at my gym & I showed her my diary courtesy of MFP that I eat 1500 cals but when she calculated everything, it only came up with 1080ish cals. She told me that I was overestimating my calories. She told me that it maybe because of the difference in the nutritional content & most of the foods in the database are US based. I'm not from the US.
  • mishkat
    mishkat Posts: 99 Member
    I scan the bar code of the products as much as possible and use that info.

    Unfortunately, even those are wrong too. I have scanned many items and have had to search manually after because the info that comes up is wrong.
  • TheBraveryLover
    TheBraveryLover Posts: 1,217 Member
    I don't get this problem too often at all. Perhaps it's because I've been doing this for so long. For the most part, I know what the general calorie count is for the things I eat but if I notice something is off, I'll double check my packaging and edit it accordingly.

    But yes, I can understand this being an issue for non-Americans since their measurement system is different, but hey, the site creators are American so what can you expect? If the roles were reversed, I'd just enter in all my foods in the measurement system I use. I've defintely come across foods that were logged in grams; it doesn't bother me at all, I just find the entry that matches mine and move on. I wouldn't start a post about how off the database is.

    Can't please everyone I guess.

Categories