Subway Diners Eat More Calories?
Researchers Brian Wansink and Pierre Chandon have shown that people routinely underestimate the amount of calories consumed when eating at Subway.
They call it the "Biasing Health Halos of Fast Food Restaurant Health Claims".
It seems we believe the low-calorie hype, and end up adjusting our eating habits because of it.
1. Underestimation
The research (to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research) shows that people underestimate calories in Subway much more so than that of McDonald's.
Chandon and Wansink asked people eating a sandwich, soft drink, and a side order from Subway or from McDonald's how many calories they thought those meals contained. The meals actually had the same number of calories. [...] The Subway diners thought their meal had 151 calories less than it actually had -- a 21% underestimation.(from WebMD)
2. Higher Calorie Side Orders
Wansink handed out coupons for a Subway 12-inch Italian BMT sandwich and a McDonald's Big Mac.
When asked what they wanted with their sandwich, the Subway diners were more likely to pick a high-calorie side order. Ironically, the Big Mac has two-thirds the calories of the above Sub!
3. Healthy By Association
Researchers set up two menus from two fake restaurants. One menu had "healthier" fare, while the other had not so healthy items on the menu.
When students were given a sandwich and drink - labeled with one or other fake restaurant names - they automatically assumed the one with the healthy restaurant label had fewer calories. The sandwich and drink were identical (only the labels were different).
Conclusion
This shows how easily we as consumers are fooled by branding. Choose wisely. This issue is also explored in the post Subway vs McDonald's.
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This makes sense. For years I was under the impression that Quizno's was healthy due to the fact that Subway is marketed that way. Last time I ate at Quizno's, I came home to look up nutritional information and found out that they do not provide it, so clearly they have something to hide. Seems I'm not the only one who erroneously believed that their food were a lower calorie option than other fast food restaurants.
ReplyThis is a GREAT post! I see so many people taking the "healthy" route with subway and getting a 12" sandwich for lunch and dinner, with loads of "fat-free" but calorie laden additions like honey-mustard or sweet onion sauce, which are really pure sugar. Plus, with that much bread (white bread), AND baked low-fat chips, it's far too many carbs for a person to have at one sitting. Sure if you can stick with a 6" turkey on wheat with some mustard and apple slices as your side, you're doing ok, but even the healthy option isn't purely healthy when you consider all the sugar and carbs. Fact.
ReplyI can relate to this - before I started my diet I would routinely eat a decked out 12" tuna sub at subway for dinner. Once I started counting calories I figured out that my combo meal was coming in at around 1500 calories!!
ReplyYeah, not EVERYTHING at Subway is healthy. I go there with my hubby a lot and I'll get an Oven Roasted Chicken breast salad with lowfat dressing and no cheese or anything, plus a side of apples and a diet soda. My husband will get a meatball with extra cheese on the cheesy bread with a side of chips and a large regular drink. Not the healthiest option there...he consumes about 3 times the calories I do in just one meal. Maybe more.
ReplyGreat post! The other issue is that many of Subway's "healthy" sandwiches are very high in sodium and refined carbohydrates.
Replywhen people dine at subway, why don't they just order sandwiches that have their caloric content posted next to them on the menu? they surely don't do this for all their sandwiches and i'm not sure if it's done at all subway franchises, but in most nyc-area subways, they post caloric information next to at least 10 of their sandwiches. i also understand that the numbers they post may not be exact, but i think most people would know how to add the extra calories if they chose loads of cheese topped with mayo as opposed to loads of lettuce topped with mustard. it's just about facing the facts.
ReplyThis sure sounds like an example of risk compensation, although in an unusual domain. Risk compensation is where people adjust their behavior based on a change in risk. Hm, maybe it's not so unusual. One problem that came up when low-fat was in vogue was all the low-fat (but high-calorie) products that came out. People would load up on the low-fat items.
ReplyI've noticed that on the Subway website, they used to post nutritional information ONLY for their lower-calorie sandwiches, like the turkey breast. Now everything's there, read 'em and weep:
http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/nutritionlist.aspx?id=sandwich
I've learned the hard way too many times to always read the label. A 6-inch turkey breast sub is 280 calories; a 6-inch BMT is 450. That's a significant difference.
ReplyYup, I remember those days. I remember my mom loading the cart up with those Snackwell's cookies (remember those?) and I used to love them. I later found out that they had about the same calories as regular cookies and they definitely didn't taste as good. Same with lowfat peanut butter...ick.
ReplyA 12" sub is a lot of food...but Subway certainly uses the 'healthy' angle in its marketing. I'm not surprised that people underestimate the caloric content!
ReplySomeone mentioned the amount of sodium in the sandwiches at Subway and this is one of those things that I think most people don't take into consideration at any restaurant. Just about anything you eat out is going to be super high in sodium which of course, is bad for your heart among other things. I used to pay attention to fat and calories alone, but not I also look at carbs and sodium.
When I do go to Subway, I usually get a 6" Turkey Sandwich on wheat (although it's not whole-wheat) with lots of veggies, and a little bit of mustard. And occasionally I get the cheese too. :)
ReplyJust get the 6 inch veggie delight. It's low in calories and delicious.
Reply:)
Lowfat peanut butter is awful.
ReplyOk, wait, what's wrong with low fat peanut butter? I use the low fat Jiff and I find it just a few calories and fat less, but not much sacrifice on the taste. In fact, I don't know if I can tell the difference. I started using it because I was on Weight Watchers and the low fat comes in at 4pts for 2 tablespoons vs. 5 for the regular. As my weight got lower, each point becomes more valuable and it mattered. Now, I just buy it out of habit and the thought that who need the extra fat anyway.
But still, I like the taste just fine.
ReplyHi Amy,
You have a great web site, and congratulations on doing so much good!
I like my nut butters straight - just ground nuts and nut oil added to make it a butter. I don't use much - I have it in my oatmeal every morning, and sometimes a tablespoon as a snack. Anyway, a few weekends ago at my mother-in-law's house, all that was around was a low fat commercial peanut butter. It didn't taste very much like peanuts at all...
Replywhat I've heard about low fat PB (and someone correct me if I'm wrong) is that the natural PB (i.e. only ground nuts) has got heart-healthy fat, and the commercial PB is full of icing sugar and hydrogenated fat (i.e. they take out the good fat and replace it with bad fat) therefore, the low fat commercial PB has less bad fat than the regular, but still no good fat.. that's why I eat small amounts of natural PB-it took a little while to get used to the taste, but now I can't stand the commercial stuff because its too sweet!
ReplyI use Jif low-fat peanut butter as well, and I've never noticed a difference! It probably depends on the brand?
ReplyFirst off, Thank you very much for the compliment.
I guess I'll have to try the "natural" stuff. I grew up on Skippy and have found that I agree that Jiff is "peanutier". Don't think I've tried it straight. Hmmm, now that I think of it, perhaps I don't need to learn to like a high fat, tempting new food?? ;-)
ReplyI buy the PB that's in the refrigerated section of the store...it's got no preservatives or sugar in it and it has a few less calories than any lowfat stuff I've seen. Lowfat peanut butters often have more sugar in them to compensate for the lack of fat, which is why I think they taste weird...kinda pasty and grainy.
If you want a REAL treat, grind up a bunch of cashews and add just a touch of oil..cashew butter is to DIE for good.
ReplyAmy, you're right, some food is best to keep at arm's length! I'm a hammerhead runner in my training program for the fall, and so I can afford the nut butters. And, sometimes, an ersatz food is what one needs to make it through the night. But, I'm usually a fan of less of the real thing than more of the fake stuff.
Having said all this, it's hard to argue with your successes...
Replysome american's can't help it but to be big they have differnt traits in their family. we have to stop trying to blame society. i am a BIG BLACK WOMAN PROUD AND TRUE!
ReplyI EAT SUBWAY FREQUNTLY. AND I LOVE USING OLIVE OIL.
Replywhat is health?
ReplyI grow increasingly more disgusted every time I read one of these ridiculous surveys. The bottum line is that every fast food restaurant chain offers a certain number of more health conscious alternatives to choose from. It is up to the individual consumer to choose what they are putting into there mouths. I do not believe that people honestly think that eating a foot long BMT sub and a bag of chips is a low fat or healthy food choice. It has been my experience that the individuals who are ordering these types of foods are not the individuals who are very concerned with their diet. However, the individuals who are concerned with their diet are much better off going to Subway rather than McDonalds because these are the individuals who take the time to do nutritional research and ask questions about what they are eating. It is then that most people find out that Subway really does have atleast seven subs that are under six grams of fat.Subway also offers lower fat sides that McDonalds doesn't. Subway never claimed that everything on their menu was "low fat", and it would be absurd to believe that.People who are serious about there diet know (or learn) what to and what not to order, and Subway has many more low fat options to choose from.
ReplyI just wanted to add one (or two) more things. The above comparison stated that a McDonalds Big Mac only had 2/3's the calories of a foot long BMT sub. Am I the only one noticing this flawed comparison? A six inch BMT sub is much more comparable in size to a Big Mac than a foot long. A foot long is twice the food. Also, they compared the Big Mac to one of the most fattening subs on the Subway menu.(a sub which never claimed to be low fat)If you do the math, when comparing the Big Mac to the more comparably sized 6"BMT, the BMT has less calories.
Reply--Also, didn't they say that people who eat subway usually choose higher fat or higher calorie sides? Just a thought, but when people eat at McDonalds, don't they usually choose greasy,deep fried, salty french fries?(no offense...I love'em) But doesn't it seem more likely that the french fries would have more fat and calories than say....a bag of baked Lay's???
Replyyou people need to read the entire study. get it at the library.
ReplyI would hate to think anyone who eats a whole loaf of bread at subway actually thinks that is a low calorie diet.
ReplySubway food is terrible. The air in the subway is full of bacterial things and it can easy get on your food. And in the summer it`s very wet there and the meat can easy get bad and there are some people who will sell it to you like it is just to get rid of it.
ReplyI work at Subway, and Subway can be perfectly healthy for you as long as you choose smartly. First of all, order whatever is on the 7 under 6 menu for a more nutritious meal choice, watch putting cheese on the sandwich since cheese can be fattening, but if you must have cheese, provolone is the smarter option, and go with less instead of more, load up the veggies since veggies is a very important part of your everyday diet, go with wheat or Honey oat for a heathier bread choice, go with a fat free dressing or no dressing at all, Vinegar and oil is the healthiest choice, skip the soda since it adds un-needed calories to the meal and go with water, or if you dont want to give up soda, just go with diet since there are no calories at all in diet soda, and go with a 6 inch sandwich instead of a 12 inch because it clearly states in our nutritional information that it is a 6 inch with a helathier bread choice that is the better option. I have lost over twenty pounds eating Subway. I just watch my portions and view less as more.
ReplyI've lost 53 pounds in 1 year eating a 12 inch turkey on wheat, no cheese, loaded with veggies, no dressing, salt, pepper and oregano. Don't just consider the calories taken in per sitting but consider your whole day. I personally choose to have my biggest meal at lunch and a respectable dinner. The key here is if you must eat a larger portion than you know is healthy to keep you from binge eating later in the day, simply load up on the right stuff (i.e., extra lettuce, sweet peppers, etc), not chips, subway cookies, etc.
ReplyIf you don't want excess sodium, carbs, etc. You just have to eat home. They are clearly posting the Nutritional Information on their 6 and under menu. Anything else you are at your own "pleasures". NI is posted on their site for everything. Stick with the 6 and under and you're OK. When NYC initially made places with 20 and more stores/restaurants post their NI, people were shocked at Starbucks breakfast snacks. A lot of people just don't want to know.
Reply