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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