Calorie labels may be inaccurate by up to 50 percent, says Harvard researcher

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Feb 18, 2013

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Calorie labels may be inaccurate by up to 50 percent, says Harvard researcher

If you're a calorie counter, you are probably constantly checking the nutrition labels of everything you eat. It's just part of trying to stay fit, be healthy, keep track of your diet, right? But what if those calories you've been counting are wrong? And not just by a little, but by as much as 50 percent.

The label on a box of Hostess Brownie Bites lists 3.5 grams of Trans Fat January 3, 2006 in Chicago, Illinois. New Regulations from the Food and Drug Administration, which oversees most food labels, requires food manufacturers to list Trans Fats on products with 0.5 grams or more of Trans Fat. Trans Fat in food increases 'bad' cholesterol and increases the risk of heart disease.

If you're a calorie counter, you are probably constantly checking the nutrition labels of everything you eat. It's just part of trying to stay fit, be healthy, keep track of your diet, right? But what if those calories you've been counting are wrong? And not just by a little, but by as much as 50 percent.

If you're a calorie counter, you are probably constantly checking the nutrition labels of everything you eat. It's just part of trying to stay fit, be healthy, keep track of your diet, right?

But what if those calories you've been counting are wrong? And not just by a little, but by as much as 50 percent. That's what Rachel Carmody, post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University, says.

Today, she's making the case at the American Association for the Advancement of Science that the way calories are counted and listed on your food needs an update.