A new study by nutrition researchers found that nearly 20 percent of restaurant dishes have at least 100 more calories than what the restaurant states on their website. Underestimated foods came from a number of chains, including Chipotle Mexican Grill, Olive Garden, Boston Market and Outback Steakhouse.

One dish, a side order of chips and salsa at On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, had more than 1,000 calories more than it was supposed to.

According to CNN:

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Nearly one out of five fast-food and sit-down restaurant dishes contains at least 100 calories more than the restaurant's online menu states, CNN reports. Not surprisingly, sit-down restaurants were more inaccurate than fast-food menu items, which tend to be more standardized.

However, does this really matter?

If you're trying to lose weight, your instinctual response might be yes. Unfortunately, believing you can shed or maintain your weight by counting calories may be leading you astray and keeping you from success.

I've long advocated against the general principle of counting calories unless you are counting them to make sure you eat enough protein to avoid losing muscle mass.

Granted, you'll probably lose weight if you eat fewer cookies, and hence fewer calories, but you're not going to get healthier as long as you keep eating cookies. And you probably will not lose as much weight as you would if you abstained from cookies altogether and replaced them with calories from a more nutritious food. And therein lays the crux: Calories are NOT created equal, and will not have identical effects your weight or health.

In short, you do not get fat because you eat too many calories and don't exercise enough. You get fat because you eat the wrong kind of calories.

According to last year'sReport of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the top 10 sources of calories in the American diet are:

Looking at this list, it should become easier to see the dietary roots of the American weight problem. Four of the top five sources of calories are CARBS—sugars (primarily fructose) and grains.

As an update, you've often heard me state thatsoda is the number one source of calories in the US diet, which it was—based on the 1999-2000 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). The updated NHANES survey above covers nutritional data from 2005-2006, placing grain-based foods in the top two slots. Still, soda comes in at number four, and I still believe a lot of people, particularly teenagers, probably get a majority of their calories from fructose-rich drinks like soda.

In order to curb the current obesity epidemic, we do not need more accurate reporting of calories; we need to start focusing on eating the right kind of calories. It is far more important to look at the source of the calories than counting them. If it wasn't, you'd be able to subsist on nothing but soda and donuts and still stay trim and healthy. Alas, reality tells us that's simply not the case. I believe that the two primary keys for successful weight management are:

Your consumption of carbohydrates, whether in the form of grains (including whole grains) and sugars (especially fructose), will determine whether or not you're able to manage your weight and maintain optimal health. Cutting out or severely limiting grain carbs and sugars can be the U-turn you've been looking for if you are currently overweight and/or your health is suffering.

This is because these types of carbs (fructose and grains) affect the hormone insulin, which is a very potent fat regulator. Fats and proteins affect insulin to a far lesser degree.

Dr. Robert Lustig, an expert on the metabolic fate of sugar, explains that fructose is 'isocaloric but not isometabolic."

This means you can have the same amount of calories from fructose or glucose, fructose and protein, or fructose and fat, but the metabolic effect will be entirely different despite the identical calorie count. This is a crucial point that must be understood. Fructose is in fact far worse than other carbs because the vast majority of it converts directly to FAT, both in your fatty tissues, and in your liver.

And this is why counting calories does not work... As long as you keep eating fructose and grains, you're programming your body to create and store fat.

If you have:

... then you'll want to be very careful to limit fructose to 15 grams per day or less, and this includes fructose from whole fruit. Ideally you'll want to avoid ALL sources of fructose until your insulin stabilizes, and then proceed with caution.

If you do not have any of these health issues, then I recommend keeping your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day, with a maximum of 15 grams from whole fruit. The following table can help you calculate your fructose from fruit consumption.