Between the mid-70s to mid-90s, the number of U.S. fast food restaurants doubled to a quarter million restaurants, estimates the Agricultural Research Service. This means there is one fast food restaurant for every 1,100 people in the U.S. Every day, a quarter of the U.S. population eats at a fast food restaurant. The growth of our nation's collective waistline has paralleled the remarkable growth of the fast food industry. The number of obese people has doubled since the 70s, and two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, reports the National Institutes of Health.
Burgers
Burgers may be the defining food of the fast food industry. Americans consume an estimated 14 billion hamburgers each year. Fast food hamburgers provide some nutrition, including protein, but they are also loaded with fat, calories and sodium. Super-sized menu items pose a particular hazard. A regular-size hamburger may have 250 to 400 calories and contain 8 to 12 g of fat, but double burgers have 400 to 600 calories. Typically, 40 to 50 percent of those calories come from fat. Bigger burgers bring more to the table. Burger King's Triple Whopper with cheese and Quad Stacker have 1,250 and 1,000 calories, respectively, and more than 60 percent of the calories come from fat. Toppings such as bacon, cheese and mayonnaise provide even more fat and calories, adding between 50 to 100 calories per item.
Chicken
Chicken may strike you as a healthy alternative protein source compared to a hamburger, but because of the way many fast food restaurants prepare chicken, you don't really benefit from reduced calories or fat. For example, chicken McNuggets are deep-fried and contain additives including beef extract, so they have extra fat and calories. The chicken and biscuit bowl from KFC contains 870 calories, with almost half those calories coming from fat. One original recipe chicken breast from KFC has 360 calories, 190 from fat, and the extra crispy breast has 510 calories, 290 of which come from fat. Eliminate the coating to retain the protein and reduce fat and calories. KFC grilled chicken breast has 210 calories, with 70 calories coming from fat.
Fries
Potatoes, when baked or micro-waved with their skins on, are relatively nutritious. However, fast food restaurants process much of the nutrition out of the potato. They remove the peel and the outer layer of the potato, where most of the nutrition lies, and then they boil the potato as part of the preparation process, which leaches out water-soluble vitamins. Finally they deep-fry the potato, adding fat and calories. A large serving of fries at most fast food restaurants has 500 to 600 calories, about half of which comes from fat. Medium fries contain 300 to 400 calories and small orders of fries range from 210 to 250 calories.
Shakes and Sodas
Wendy's small vanilla shake offers 8 g of protein from the dairy it contains, but also gives 310 calories. On the high end of the calorie spectrum, at 1,110 calories, McDonald's 32 oz. triple thick strawberry shake gives more than half the daily recommended calories. Full sugar sodas provide no nutrition and the small serving contains 160 to 180 calories. The 32 oz. serving of soda contains 400 calories.
Healthier Options
When you go to a fast food restaurant, avoid super-sized menu items, bacon, cheese and mayonnaise. Choose grilled or baked skinless chicken when it is available. Consider going with a salad, but survey the ingredients before you choose your salad. Often topped with deep fried chicken strips, ham, bacon, cheese or croutons, fast food salads can lure you into eating more fat and calories than you intend. Ask for a low-fat or reduced-calorie salad dressing.
References
- A Calorie Counter: Fast Food Restaurants & Nutrition Facts Compared
- Agricultural Research Service: Survey Links Fast Food, Poor Nutrition Among U.S. Children
- CBS News: Americans are Obsessed with Fast Food.
- CNN Health: Nutritionists: Soda Making Americans Drink Themselves Fat
- Fat Calories: The Fast Food Explorer
- KFC.com: Nutrition
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