Wildly inconsistent data

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lstomooka
lstomooka Posts: 2
in Getting Started
I just signed up, and wanted to know the nutritional value of Costco Rotisserie Chicken. I found wildly inconsistent data. The food database has several entries for the rotisserie chicken, all greatly different. For instance:

"Costco - Rotisserie Chicken Breast" has 40 cal in 7 oz., or roughly 6 cal/oz.
"Costco - Rotisserie Chicken Breast Meat" has 140 cal in 3 oz., or 47 cal/oz.
"Costco - Rotisserie Chicken White" has 360 cal in 4 oz, or 90 cal/oz.

Can these numbers be real? How can I tell which one to use? Can anyone explain the variation between the numbers?

Replies

  • MeganAnne89
    MeganAnne89 Posts: 271 Member
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    I've found this issue as well. I think part of the problem is that you often pull up what other people have inputted on their own so you get a variety of different calorie values depending on what they've inserted into their own diaries.

    What I generally do is check the label of what I've purchased to see if it has it's own caloric/nutritional info and I stick with that one. However, if there isn't anything, I end up going with whatever is the median of those values.

    It's not perfect, but it's worked for me.
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
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    Well, the first entry (40 cals TOTAL for 7 oz. of chicken?) is patently false 40cals/oz for plain, boneless skinless breast (raw weight, they shrink when cooking) is closer, but you're talking cooked, skin and breading/oils/spices included. What does the label say? Or I would guess Costco's deli must have nutritional info available.

    I typically find the nutritional label on store bought/prepared items, and find the correct cal/oz. in the database. If it does not exist (haven't found one that's not there yet, for branded items--much search diligently sometimes), I make a new entry (be super accurate, follow the food label to the T, and measure/weigh it yourself, too).

    When in doubt, use the higher one.


    ETA: Yeah what she said^^. Beat me to it (I type slow, lol).
  • alice400
    alice400 Posts: 2 Member
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    Ihave noticed this problem with ALOT of different foods that I pull up. :( often times I end up going online to several sources to check (if the restuarant doesn't have it listed) rather than depending solely on what others have put into MyfitnessPal. It can get frustrating when so many conflicting entries for the same foods are out there. :(
  • segovm
    segovm Posts: 512 Member
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    Often I will just google the name of the food, "Costco rotisserie chicken nutrition" and see what comes up. In this case:

    http://fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/costco/rotisserie-chicken

    All of them are going to be estimates, but chicken is chicken so you just need to account for any extra calories that their rub might add, probably not too many in this case since it is mostly seasoning.
  • lstomooka
    lstomooka Posts: 2
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    Thank you all for the quick responses. Because I'm new, I didn't realize some of the data was user-generated. That opens the possibility of data entry errors, or just wrong data. Is it ALL like that, or does myFitnessPal collect nutrient data directly from the manufacturers somehow? I'm trying to gauge the overall reliability of the data I get here.
  • martinel2099
    martinel2099 Posts: 899 Member
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    yeah I know it's hard I have the same issue. Take everything with a grain of salt. If it sounds too good to be true then most often times it is. I generally like to check a few entries before I commit to something if I don't already have the nutrition info in front of me.
  • JoeCWV
    JoeCWV Posts: 213 Member
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    FWIW if you download the smart phone app you can scan the bar code. This, I have found, is the most reliable way to manage prepackaged foods. This will be info directly from the source that produced the product. When I have a range of options, like others have stated, I usually pick one in the middle.
  • mommaski4
    mommaski4 Posts: 305 Member
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    Look for item that have several confirmations. That means that other users have verified the nutrional information of the original user. I try to never use any item that have no confirmations. And I will confirm against online information from the chain and confirm items. That is how the integrity of the information is maintained.
  • shrinkinginQualicum
    shrinkinginQualicum Posts: 131 Member
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    Thank you all for the quick responses. Because I'm new, I didn't realize some of the data was user-generated. That opens the possibility of data entry errors, or just wrong data. Is it ALL like that, or does myFitnessPal collect nutrient data directly from the manufacturers somehow? I'm trying to gauge the overall reliability of the data I get here.

    I read somewhere that the listings without an asterisk are from MSP, so are likely to be more accurate. Not everything has them, mostly fruit and veg and raw meat. (Naturally). You can always input your own under 'recipes' and 'my foods'. When I use the database, I look at lots of entries and use one that's higher and close to what I think might be correct. Still guesswork though.
  • DivineChoices
    DivineChoices Posts: 193 Member
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    Thank you all for the quick responses. Because I'm new, I didn't realize some of the data was user-generated. That opens the possibility of data entry errors, or just wrong data. Is it ALL like that, or does myFitnessPal collect nutrient data directly from the manufacturers somehow? I'm trying to gauge the overall reliability of the data I get here.

    When you're looking at the food database on the web (versus the phone app), if an entry has a * in front of it, it is a user generated entry. I ALWAYS check the entry again the nutrition facts on the label or against the USDA nutrient database (for non-processed food items - produce, generic chicken breast, etc).

    Once I have check it, I keep using the entries in my "recent" saved choices in my food diary cause I know i've checked them. Also look for entries that have confirmations that they are correct.
  • fullersun35
    fullersun35 Posts: 162 Member
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    You could also check it against other sites that do not allow user-generated entries. Calorieking.com, for example, has 53 calories per oz for a generic item "Rotisserie Chicken Breast, with skin, with original seasoning"
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    Welcome! Here's a really helpful post on logging that talks about chicken. You might want to check it out.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1234699-logging-accurately-step-by-step-guide?hl=Logging+accurately

    Unfortunately there are a number of entries that are wrong or (in some cases) which seem like wishful thinking.

    As others have said, the entries WITHOUT an asterisk are from MFP and best. You can also look at whether there are lots of confirmations.

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