A new study published in the BMJ has found calories in popular UK restaurant chain dishes are 'shockingly high'. England's national public health agency recommends that midday and evening meals contain no more than 600 calories each (although that figure doesn’t take activity levels into account). The researchers analysed the calories in 1,009 dishes from 27 large UK restaurant chains. They found an average of 488 calories for starters, 397.5 for sides and 430.6 for desserts. The government is currently considering making restaurants provide calorie information by law to enable more savvy choices.