Fast Food: Eating At A Restaurant Is Just As Unhealthy, Study Suggests

Restaurant food may be just as unhealthy as meals at some fast-food joints, according to recent findings published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers at the University of Illinois found that when Americans go to a full-service restaurant, they consume, on average, about 200 more calories than when they would for stay at home meals.

During the study, researchers analyzed nearly eight years of nationally representative data from more than 18,000 adults living in the United States, focusing on their dietary habits.

Findings revealed that eating at restaurants was actually comparable to (and even in some cases less healthy) than eating at a fast-food joint, altogether.

"People who ate at full-service restaurants consumed significantly more cholesterol per day than people who ate at home," researcher Ruopeng An, said in a news release. "This extra intake of cholesterol, about 58 milligrams per day, accounts for 20 percent of the recommended upper bound of total cholesterol intake of 300 milligrams per day."

While those who ate at restaurants over fast food joints took in more healthy nutrients, typically, including certain vitamins, potassium and omega-3 fatty acids, the meals they ate were also considerably higher in sodium and cholesterol.

Furthermore, researchers found that fast-food and restaurant diners were much higher in fat than home-cooked meals.

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