According to information from the Office of National Statistics in the UK, a third of adults underestimate their daily calorie intake. The calorie recommendation for men is around 2,500 calories and the recommendation for women is that they consume 2,000 calories each day. Yet, the research revealed that more than 30 per cent of men consumed more than 3,000 calories and that a third of women were eating more than 2,500 calories. The study involved more than 4,000 people and investigated their calorie intake as well as their energy expenditure.
Public Health England recommends that people consume approximately 400 calories for breakfast and around 600 calories for lunch.
One of the reasons experts gave for people’s inability to monitor how much they were consuming was the fact that many cafes and restaurants in the UK fail to provide information on the calorie count in their dishes.
They also referred to how calorie information on products such as large packets of crisps were often given in portions. Therefore one portion’s calories may be far less than consuming the entire packet.
Other factors discussed included drinks, such as certain types of coffee, which contain ingredients such as cream, syrup and sugar, can also have extremely high amounts of calories, which people sometimes don’t realise. Soft drinks were also highlighted as an issue.
Experts also referred to the fact that many involved in the survey probably under-reported their calorie intake and that in actuality, it may even be higher. Speaking to the BBC, Public Health England chief nutritionist Dr Alison Tedstone said this problem has been a part of all diet surveys.
