The worst fast foods include those that cause weight gain, high blood pressure, tooth decay and additional health problems. A healthy diet, according to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, incorporates nutrient-dense foods---foods with high vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber that also have little fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar. Few drive-thru menus offer such choices. Instead, high amounts of these less beneficial nutrients displace the good ones and also carry high calorie loads. You can steer clear of the worst selections by paying attention to nutrient content.
High-Fat Foods
The FDA considers foods with 13g of fat or more---out of the recommended 65g daily total---high in fat. Such foods likely have high proportions of saturated fat, which create cardiovascular health problems, as per the USDA. The USDA Nutrient Database gives examples of the highest-fat fast foods, such as a biscuit, egg and sausage breakfast sandwich, with 37g of fat, and a regular-sized double hamburger, with 32g.
The American Diabetes Association points out that any foods that add fatty ingredients, such as cheese, bacon or chili, increase these fat totals. Eating a triple-patty large-sized cheeseburger can exceed the total fat allowance in your healthy diet for the whole day---meaning that any other foods you eat that day will threaten weight control.
High-Cholesterol Foods
Both the breakfast sandwich and double hamburger make the high-cholesterol list as well, with the egg and sausage biscuit providing 290mg of cholesterol---nearly the full 300mg daily limit recommended by the FDA. Any egg, cheese and meat combo sandwiches have similar cholesterol counts, according to the USDA. The double burger contains 122mg of cholesterol.
High-Sodium Foods
Excessive salt intake is linked to blood pressure health problems, and most drive-thru meal selections contain salt. Even items such as French toast sticks and fried fruit pies contain 480mg of salt or more of the FDA-recommended 2,400mg daily allowance. The USDA reports that the worst high-sodium fast foods include a meat combo submarine sandwich, with 1,651mg; an order of fried and breaded shrimp, 1,446mg; and a single, large-patty cheeseburger with bacon, 1,314mg.
High-Sugar Foods
If your fast food meal includes sugary drinks, entrees or desserts, they are likely to contain very high amounts of sugar, which can add up to diabetes health problems down the road. The ADA notes that sweetened muffins and even nonfat iced desserts can load a healthy diet with sugar.
The FDA doesn't set a sugar allowance; instead, you should eat as little sugar content as possible. Compare a chocolate shake, with 62g of sugar, to a cola, with 44g, to a diet cola, with 0g, in 16 oz. servings. Additional high-sugar items include French toast sticks and cheeseburgers with bacon.
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