When I was young, going out to eat was a special occasion. I remember getting dressed up and being excited because it was a big deal, a chance to indulge!

Fast-forward to today. Eating out has become a way of life. Americans now spend 58.5% of total food expenditures on food away from home in 2024. Going out to eat isn't for special occasions anymore. For many people, it's a daily occurrence.

That creates problems.

Recent analysis of 245 restaurant chains found entrees average 674 calories, appetizers 813 calories, sides 260 calories, salads 496 calories, drinks 419 calories, and desserts 429 calories. For some people, that appetizer alone contains as many calories as they should eat in a day. And the serving sizes keep growing bigger.

Instead of competing to make things healthier, restaurants are still trying to see who serves the most extreme meals. The 7-Eleven Double Gulp contains nearly 800 calories. That's 10 times the size of original Coca-Cola and equivalent to more than one-third of energy requirements for large segments of the population. A lean entree doesn't make the news, but if you serve a 10-pound hamburger, that gets featured on CNN.

The good news? Things have changed since my original column in 2007. Since May 2018, chain restaurants with 20 or more locations must display calorie information on menus and menu boards. Most sit-down and quick-serve chains show calories next to menu items. Alcoholic drinks count, too, numbers are right on wine lists, beer menus, and specialty cocktails.

Many small local restaurants still don't show nutrition by default, but more will provide details if you call or check online. Expect more plant-forward and "smart swaps" flagged right on some menus.

But here's the reality: About half of U.S. adults noticed calorie info in 2022 in fast-food and sit-down restaurants, but studies show menu labels reduce chosen calories by only around 1.8%. Seeing the numbers doesn't automatically change behavior.

Here's your action plan.

Check online first. Look at restaurant websites, Google Maps, or apps for nutrition info and healthy choices. Chain restaurant mobile apps often feature filter tools for allergies, calories, and protein.

Look for the icons. At national chains, watch for labels like "heart healthy," "lower calorie," or "plant-forward" right on the menu. These restaurants must show nutrition info, use it.

Plan your appetite. Watch what you eat before you head out. Have a lighter breakfast and lunch so you have room for dinner calories. Then just before you leave, eat a small healthy snack so you don't arrive hungry and overindulge. A handful of dry roasted, unsalted nuts or a piece of fruit are both excellent options.

Preview and customize. Use mobile apps to check nutrition ahead of time. When ordering online or through delivery apps, use the notes section to request substitutions. Ask for whole grains, extra veggies, or grilled protein swaps when available.

Vote with your feet. When I was at a local restaurant with friends, we sat down and read the menu, but couldn't find anything even remotely healthy. So I asked the server if they had any lighter options. She said, "No, people don't come here to eat healthy." My friends and I closed our menus, stood up and walked out. They don't have to cater to me, but I also don't have to spend my money there.

Work with your server. Remember that your server is there to serve you. Don't be intimidated or worry that you're holding them up with questions. You're paying them to get proper information to the kitchen so you have a healthier dining experience. Ask about substitutions, most places accommodate requests. But the courtesy goes both ways. If a server handles your special requests well, tip accordingly. 20 to 25% is fair for good service with modifications.

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Servers: WRITE IT DOWN!

Why do so many servers still try to take orders without writing them down? I eat out quite a bit and decided to track how often servers got complex orders right when relying on memory. Out of 19 attempts at 11 different restaurants, only two got it right, and they were both places where I'm a regular.

Five times food came out covered in sauces that I requested on the side, and twice things were prepared differently than ordered. This is even more important now with the rise of complex allergy and customization requests.

If you're a server reading this, do your customers a favor: Get a pad and write it down! If you're ordering something special, ask your server to write it down and repeat it back.

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UPDATE: Make Bigger Tips!

I like it when a waitperson repeats my order back to me because then I know it's correct. I hate it when my carefully chosen substitutions are ignored. Now a book called Invisible Influence claims it can also increase the tip by 70%.

If you're a waitperson, don't try to impress people by relying on your memory. Write down their order, repeat it back and get it right.

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UPDATE: Frequent Meals Outside the Home Lead to More Deaths

Since we originally wrote this article in 2007, there's been a lot of research done into the dangers of eating more meals outside the home. In 1978 the number of calories people ate outside the house was 17 percent. By 2012 that number had grown to 34 percent.

Researchers studied what happens when you eat out frequently. They found that the more you eat out, the greater your risk of dying. It increases your risk of heart attacks, stroke and cancer, all diseases associated with increased weight.

Follow the tips from this article and make healthier restaurant choices.

Reference Link:

Association Between Frequency of Eating Away-From-Home Meals and Risk of All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality

Yang Du, MD, Shuang Rong, PhD, Yangbo Sun, MD, PhD, Buyun Liu, MD, PhD, Yuxiao Wu, MS, Linda G. Snetselaar, PhD, Robert B. Wallace, MD, Wei Bao, MD, PhD
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics - eat right, Published March 25, 2021

Click Here for the Study: https://www.jandonline.org/article/S2212-2672(21)00059-9/abstract

 

Mitigating the Health Risks of Dining Out: The Need for Standardized Portion Sizes in Restaurants

Deborah A. Cohen, MD, MPH, Susan H. Babey, PhD
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Published May 2012

Click Here for the Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4025680/

 

A Prospective Study of Frequency of Eating Restaurant Prepared Meals and Subsequent 9-Year Risk of All-Cause and Cardiometabolic Mortality in US Adults

Ashima K. Kant, PhD, RD, Barry I. Graubard, PhD
PLoS One, Published January 23, 2018

Click Here for the Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5779659/

 

The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to the US Obesity Epidemic

Lisa R. Young, PhD, RD, Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH
American Journal of Public Health, Published February 2002

Click Here for the Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447051/

 

Adults Noticing Calorie Counts on Restaurant Menus: Evidence from Nationally Representative Data

Brandon J. Restrepo, PhD
American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Published March 2024

Click Here for the Study: https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/august/calorie-labels-at-restaurants-half-of-adults-notice-but-some-more-than-others

 

Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Outcomes: A Narrative Review

Leonie Elizabeth, Priscila Machado, Marit Zinöcker, Phillip Baker and Mark Lawrence
Nutrients, Published  30 June 2020

Click Here for the Study: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/7/1955

 

Frequency of Eating Out at Both Fast-Food and Sit-Down Restaurants Was Associated With High Body Mass Index in Non-Large Metropolitan Communities in Midwest

Surabhi Bhutani, PhD, Dale A. Schoeller, PhD, Matthew C. Walsh, PhD, Christine McWilliams, MS
American Journal of Health Promotion, Published January 2018

Click Here for the Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5453830/

 

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3/25/2007
Updated 6/21/2016
Updated 5/1/2021
Updated 9/11/2025