Most Restaurant Meals Exceed USDA Guidelines

Heading out to eat might not be the best idea if you're watching your health; a new study from the Rand Corporation found that 96 percent of main entrées in chain restaurants exceed daily recommendations for calories, sodium, fat, and saturated fat.

USA Today reports that while restaurants are trying to become healthier by putting nutritional information on menus, "your chances of finding an entrée that's truly healthy are painfully low," Rand analyst Helen Wu said.

The biggest mistakes are appetizers, which average 813 calories, some 100 calories higher than an average main entrée.

Furthermore, family-style restaurants serve entrées with more calories, fat, and sodium than fast-food venues, meaning Buca di Beppo might be off limits. Family restaurant entrées have 271 more calories, 435 more milligrams of sodium, and 16 more grams of fat than fast-food places.