Fast food is readily available, relatively inexpensive and unfortunately, often not the healthiest food choice. Americans spend about 51 percent of their food budget for food prepared and consumed at home and about 49 percent of their food budget for restaurant foods, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Before you spend half your food budget on fast food or restaurant meals, use the nutrition data to help you determine whether the 1,000-calorie meal is really a good value.
Fast Food and Weight
Eating fast food on a regularly may mean you will struggle with your weight, according to an April 2004 study published in the "Journal of the American College of Nutrition." The more you eat fast food, the more calories you consume. Eating more calories than you require, whether from fast foods or other foods, may cause you to gain weight, unless you work off the unneeded calories through exercise. Overweight and obesity may increase the chances you develop Type 2 diabetes, suffer a stroke or heart attack or experience joint and back pain.
Calories
Some states require fast food restaurants to post the calorie content of each menu item, but not all require this. The calories in fast food are important for both adults and children, as it is difficult to ascertain the calorie count in fast foods by looking at the foods. Fast food baked or fried potatoes have 393 and 421 calories, respectively, while a fast food roast beef sandwich has 410. Fast food salads with no dressing, bacon or cheese are healthier choices. Small fast food cheeseburgers contain around 303 calories, and a fully loaded triple-patty hamburger has 692.
Fat Content
Fast food meals can be a source of high amounts of unhealthy saturated and trans fats. A triple hamburger has 42 g of fat, and 16 g of saturated fat A serving of fast food nachos and cheese has 19 g of fat, and an eight-piece serving of chicken tenders contains 20.6 g of fat. A medium container of french fries has 21.6 g of fat. Fast food choices lower in fat include green salads, plain baked potatoes and some deli sandwiches. A submarine sandwich with cold cuts contains 19 g of fats. Look for grilled meat selections, such as grilled chicken, and avoid fried fish sandwiches or fried hamburgers.
Sodium and Sugar
Sugar adds unnecessary calories to your dietary intake. The extras you eat at a fast food restaurant contribute to your sugar intake. Ketchup has 9 calories, 8 of which are from sugar. A 21 oz. soda has 64.8 g of sugar. Switch to diet drinks, unsweetened tea and water, and use mustard instead of ketchup. Sodium in your diet from both fast foods and home-prepared meals may be a factor in developing high blood pressure, according to the American Heart Association. Even if you make a low-calorie, low-fat choice, the sodium content may be unacceptable. While a cold cut sub sandwich has a reasonable 456 calories, the same sandwich has 1,651 mg of sodium.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Economic Research Service; Food CPI and Expenditures; Annette Clauson, et al.; February 2011
- "Journal of the American College of Nutrition"; Fast Food Consumption of U.S. Adults: Impact on Energy and Nutrient Intakes and Overweight Status; Shanthy A. Bowman, et al.; April 2004
- Weight-control Information Network; Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?; December 2007
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Fast Food
- American Heart Association: Test Your Sodium Smarts
Member Comments