Many of the worst fatty foods are also fast foods. Fast food restaurants often add fat, salt and sugar for flavor. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends avoiding foods that contain those detrimental nutrients, as well as cholesterol. Various high-fat foods contain all these "risky" nutrients, which can be harmful when consumed in excess. Ingredients made with cholesterol-laden animal products may be considered the worst for your health. You should get no more than 65g of fat and 300mg of dietary cholesterol daily, according to the FDA.
Egg Breakfast Sandwiches
While eggs don't have the highest fat content of all foods, they do have one of the highest cholesterol counts. When you add fatty foods such as biscuits and sausage to eggs, you get one of the most unhealthy combinations, as listed by the USDA Nutrient Database.
Breakfast sandwiches have the most fat, 37g, and the most cholesterol, 290mg, among fast foods. The American Diabetes Association suggests softening the dietary blow by ordering plain scrambled eggs or a sandwich on an English muffin instead.
Double-Patty Hamburgers
It's easy to gain weight from fast food, because high calories accompany high fat content. In addition to 32g of fat and 103mg of cholesterol, a double-meat hamburger without cheese has 576 calories, per the USDA. That's about 50 percent of total fat, 30 percent of cholesterol and 30 percent of recommended calorie intakes for the whole day.
Compare that to a single-patty sandwich, with 27 g of fat, 87 g cholesterol and 512 calories. The American Heart Association notes that these totals are still high because most commercial restaurants use larger portions than the recommended 3 oz. of beef.
Tacos
Multiple high-fat ingredients make fast food tacos extremely fatty, even with "healthy" veggies thrown in. To reduce the fat content of 32g and cholesterol content of 87mg that you'd get from one large taco, the American Diabetes Association suggests order nonfried or nonmeat items, such as soft tacos or bean burritos.
Pecan Pie
Pecan pie is another fatty food with multiple high-fat ingredients: pie crust made with oil, butter or lard; custard filling made with eggs; and pecans, which are among the fattiest nuts. The USDA reports that just one piece has 27g of fat and 106mg of cholesterol.
Fried Shrimp
Among fast foods, an order of breaded fried shrimp actually has a worse nutritional content than fried chicken. Just six to eight shrimp contain 25g of fat and 200mg of cholesterol, compared to 3 oz. of fried chicken breast, with 18g of fat and 119mg of cholesterol. Avoid the highest fat content by ordering grilled seafood and chicken, the American Diabetes Association recommends.
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