An article on Reuters titled: "People often underestimate calories in big portions" states that many people who eat fast food can generally guess the amount of calories in a small meal within 3 percent of the actual calorie count, while the larger meals were underestimated by 38 percent. The study says it helps disprove the myth of overweight people being in denial of their eating habits:
The findings disprove the idea that overweight people underestimate the amount of calories they eat because they are in denial or want to hide their eating habits from others, Wansink and Chandon conclude. Instead, both normal- and overweight people misperceive calories contained in larger portions, and heavier people are more likely to choose big portions.
Unless you are really concerned about calorie counts at fast food restaurants, there is really no way of guessing how many calories you're taking in. The best idea would be to avoid fast-food all together but if you must, before your next visit, look up their website. Almost all fast-food chains have a website which includes their nutritional information for their menu items. You would be surprised just how much calories those "combo meals" actually contain. At least by looking up the calorie content, you can make a better decision and not choose the most calorie heavy foods.
[tags]fast food, calories, super size, calorie content, big portions, portion control[/tags]
