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Americans Can't Count Calories

Study Finds 9 Out of 10 Are Clueless

March 3, 2006

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While Americans are concerned about their weight and frequently look for calorie information on food package labels, nearly nine out of 10 Americans are unable to accurately estimate the number of calories they should eat in an average day.

This is one of the most dramatic findings from a national survey conducted by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) Foundation.

The online survey, designed to develop a comprehensive picture of Americans' perceptions and behaviors regarding key health related issues including diet, physical activity, and weight, was conducted among 1,060 Americans age 18 or older in November 2005.

How Many Calories per Day?

When asked "how many calories a person your age, weight, and height should consume per day?" 43 percent of Americans would not venture a guess (answering "don't know" to the question).

Of the 57 percent who did provide an estimate, 79 percent guessed wrong the number of calories they should consume, based on the USDA's formula from MyPyramid.gov, which was released in 2005 and bases calorie consumption estimates on factors such as age, gender, and exercise frequency.

In total, this means that 88 percent, or nearly nine out of 10 Americans are mistaken about how many calories they should consume each day.

Are All Calories the Same?

The survey also revealed Americans are confused about the extent to which the basic food components like dietary fat, carbohydrates, and protein can contribute to weight gain.

Only 29 percent of Americans agreed with the correct statement, "calories in general are what cause weight gain (i.e., all calories are the same)." Of the remaining respondents, 26 percent said calories from fats are most likely to cause weight gain, 20 percent said carbohydrates, and only two percent said protein.

Twenty-two percent admitted they were not sure.

Calories Don't Add Up

What makes this confusion somewhat surprising is that among the vast majority of Americans (94 percent) who report ever looking at the Nutrition Facts Panel when deciding which foods and beverages to purchase, calorie information is the most frequently cited (67 percent).

But, when asked, unaided, what changes they are making to improve the overall healthfulness of their diet, only two percent said "eating fewer calories," and another 12 percent said "reducing amounts eaten at meals."

Americans were much more likely to cite other actions such as "consuming less of a specific food or beverage" (21 percent) or "changing meal/snack patterns" (nine percent).

While this number jumps considerably when Americans are provided a list of specific behaviors, Americans continue to be more likely to say they are reducing the amount eaten at meals (57 percent) and changing meal/snack patterns (55 percent), than consuming fewer calories (42 percent).

"This indicates that, while Americans are aware of calories and the general advice that consuming fewer calories may improve overall health, reducing the number of calories consumed is not top of mind," said Susan T. Borra, RD, president, IFIC Foundation and past president of the American Dietetic Association.

"What this survey tells us is that most American consumers are confused about how to use calorie information to make changes in their overall diet in order to improve their health in general or to better manage their weight," Borra added.

"With so much attention focused on the health risks associated with overweight/obesity and advice from many health professionals focused on helping consumers achieve a better balance between energy consumption and expenditure, it will be interesting to see how consumer awareness and understanding of calorie information change over time," said Borra.

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