How accurate are fast food calorie counts?

heykatieben
heykatieben Posts: 398 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just had an Original Recipe snack box at KFC - 1 thigh, and potato wedges - and saw it was listed at 540 calories.

That seems low to me for something so greasy and fried. What do you guys think? Think these calorie counts are accurate?

(If so, hooray, I can still be at deficit today! :)

Replies

  • branson101
    branson101 Posts: 173 Member
    according to KFC's website that is an accurate calorie count.
  • cathyfowler662
    cathyfowler662 Posts: 120 Member
    I just looked at the website and each item is 290 cals each
  • themeaningofthemorning
    themeaningofthemorning Posts: 320 Member
    i can't say this with complete seriousness as i tend to hate it when i see people make posts that start with "well some guys did a study..."

    but some guys did a small documentary where they went to fast food restaurants and ran their food through a calorometer (sp?) and found the servings these restaurants give you are actually much larger than the servings they test for nutritional info. the calorie counts were sometimes 20% higher in the servings these guys tested independently.
  • BflSaberfan
    BflSaberfan Posts: 1,272
    that seems reasonable, chicken is usually pretty low in calories - even fried chicken - a decent piece is about 300 calories
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
    fast food calorie counts are perhaps the most accurate calorie counts you can obtain. the reason is not so that you, the consumer can track numbers accurately, no. The reason is actually because they are keeping any eye on the bottom line, therefore, each McDonalds burger patty weighs X ounces, no more no less. The chicken salads are portioned to a T, and you get 1 scoop of fries which yields very little weight variance as to how many fries by weight that can be.

    So naturally, the calorie counts on their websites, if considering consistency, should be pretty damn reliable.

    **edit: we're talking drive thru fast food here, not your sit down restaurants***
  • themeaningofthemorning
    themeaningofthemorning Posts: 320 Member
    WOOPS. this is one of the documentaries i watched, and it's not really about fast food, so you could still be safe!
    it's an interesting watch, regardless.

    http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/02/12/opinion/100000002061153/calorie-detective.html
  • heykatieben
    heykatieben Posts: 398 Member
    Hmm, thanks guys! :) That's a cool lesson then in how the name of the game is just setting up long-term sustainable habits, not eating perfectly ALL the time... occasional treats are just fine! :D

Categories