Baked beats grilled: a calorie analysis of 18,000 menu items in fast food chain restaurants

Abstract

Fast food and chain restaurants often give the menu items descriptive names related to the production processes (e.g., baked, fried, grilled, glazed). Do these descriptions in a food’s name provide a useful indication of its calorie content? This study analyzed 342 different words that form the names of 18,614 menu items across 66 high-traffic, affordable American restaurant chains (e.g., Starbucks, Applebee’s, Panera Bread, Bojangles). Of the 342 words, 31 were related to production processes. A statistical analysis involving the calorie levels associated with the 31 words revealed that words related to batter and cheese – such as melt (+59%), topped (99%), or fried (38%) – were significantly higher in calories than the average. Interestingly, entries that were reliably lower in calories than average were either related to cutting techniques – such as sliced (−72%) or diced (−96%) – or how it was cooked – steamed (−43%), smoked (−30%), roasted (−27%), or baked (−26%). The findings suggest that it is possible to infer caloric levels from the preparation methods noted in the name of a menu item at a restaurant. Health conscious consumers would be well served to choose menu items described with cutting techniques (e.g., sliced, diced) and should be extra cautious when uttering menu names related to batter and cheese.