Chicken vs salmon for weight loss: the calorie numbers
Full comparison · Protein · Calories · Weight loss
About the same calories in chicken and salmon: 165 calories vs 153 calories per 3.5 oz (100 g). Per typical serving: 187 calories in 4 oz (113 g) of chicken and 174 calories in 4 oz (113 g) of salmon.
USDA FoodData Central.
| Chicken | Salmon | |
|---|---|---|
| Calories per serving | 187 calories in 4 oz (113 g) | 174 calories in 4 oz (113 g) |
| Calories per 3.5 oz (100 g) | 165 calories | 153 calories |
| How much is 200 calories | 4.3 oz (121 g) | 4.6 oz (131 g) |
| Protein per 100 calories | 18.8 g | 16.1 g |
| Fiber per 100 calories | 0 g | 0 g |
| Sugar per 100 calories | 0 g | 0 g |
These are composition numbers from USDA, not a test of weight loss. “How much is 200 calories” shows the amount of each food you can eat for the same calories.
What weight-loss studies found
What the numbers don't tell you
Most people here want the better everyday protein, often for weight loss. Per 4 oz (113 g) cooked, roasted chicken breast gives about 35 g of protein for 186 calories, pink salmon about 28 g for 173.
The table leaves out salmon's EPA and DHA, omega-3 fats with an authorized EU claim for normal heart function. Farmed fillets in one trial carried 0.9 to 2.1 g per 3.5 oz (100 g). In 14 cohorts of 911,348 people, each extra 20 g (0.7 oz) of fish a day went with lower cardiovascular death. In pooled studies, swapping red meat for poultry went with 12 percent lower coronary heart disease risk, while swapping it for fish showed no link. Both are observational links, which cannot prove cause.
For weight, eating more fish gave about 1.9 lb (0.85 kg) more loss than control in pooled trials in adults, at low certainty, an amount the authors called trivial.
In pregnancy and breastfeeding, US advice is 8 to 12 oz a week of lower-mercury seafood, and salmon is among the even lower-mercury Best Choices. Do not wash raw chicken. Rinsing spreads bacteria to other foods, utensils and surfaces.
Practical take: chicken for more protein per calorie, salmon for the EPA and DHA the table does not show.
Evidence behind this note
- Level E The EU register authorizes one heart claim for the EPA and DHA that salmon carries, and holds no authorized claim for chicken or any poultry substance. EU Register on nutrition and health claims, claim POL-HC-6368, snapshot 2026-09-21
- Level B Salmon fed on rapeseed oil carried less than half the omega-3 in its flesh compared with salmon fed on fish oil. After eighteen weeks of eating it twice a week, people's blood omega-3 had risen by the same amount either way. European Journal of Nutrition, 2021
- Level C Each extra 20 g of fish a day was associated with 4% lower cardiovascular mortality (RR 0.96, 95% CI 0.94 to 0.98) across 14 prospective cohorts of 911 348 people. Public Health Nutr, 2018
- Level C Swapping red meat for poultry was associated with 12% lower coronary heart disease risk (RR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.96), while the same swap for fish showed no association with coronary disease (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.79 to 1.04), across 13 prospective studies. Nutr Rev, 2022
- Level A A 2023 network meta-analysis of 152 randomized trials found that eating more fish led to about 1.9 lb (0.85 kg) more weight loss than control, which the authors called trivial. Eur J Nutr, 2023
- Level E FDA and EPA advise people who are pregnant or breastfeeding to eat 8 to 12 ounces of lower-mercury seafood a week, and salmon sits in the Best Choices group they name. U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Advice about Eating Fish
- Level E FDA and EPA name salmon among the Best Choices fish that are even lower in mercury, the only fish children should be fed to reach the higher amounts of the Dietary Guidelines. US FDA and EPA, Questions & Answers from the FDA/EPA Advice about Eating Fish
- Level E The agency responsible for US poultry safety tells people not to wash raw chicken, because rinsing spreads the bacteria instead of removing them. Chicken from Farm to Table, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
Written from the studies and agency guidance we hold for both foods, reviewed by the Bioma editorial system. How we verify.
Keep exploring
Read more about these foods
- Chicken or salmon: the two salmon trials we have came out flat
- Chicken: the iron it blocks, and the washing you skip
- Salmon: wild against farmed, measured rather than assumed
What the studies say
Rankings and guides
- Calories: what it does and what the evidence shows
- Which foods give the most protein for the fewest calories?
- Dietary fat: what it does and how much you need
- Chicken: full nutrition facts
- Salmon: full nutrition facts
More comparisons
Where the numbers come from
- Chicken: USDA FoodData Central, Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, roasted, FDC ID 171477 · full profile · all forms of chicken
- Salmon: USDA FoodData Central, Fish, salmon, pink, cooked, dry heat, FDC ID 172001 · full profile · all forms of salmon
Each food is one USDA entry, chosen as it is usually eaten. Other cuts, brands and preparations differ, and the links show them. % DV uses FDA Daily Values for adults. How we verify.