fast food healthy options still unhealthy

[Organic Revolution]

Fast-food 'healthy options' still full of fat and salt

3 December 2005 14:05

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Published: 01 December 2005

Healthy options offered by burger and pizza chains are still stuffed with salt and fat despite menu changes.

An investigation of the food sold by the "big four" - McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut - found that 17 of 20 products were high in salt or saturated fat or both. Of those, five out of eight of the salads used as "evidence" of their embrace of healthy eating had "high" salt or fat content.

On average, the fast-food meals sampled by Which? had 274 calories per 100g of food, more than double that of a home-cooked roast dinner. And there were inaccuracies in the nutritional information provided by three of the companies.

McDonald's website claimed that a Big Mac and medium fries had 786 calories but analysis showed it had 900. Burger King's Whopper and regular fries had 19 grams of saturated fat, rather than the 13 grams claimed. Levels of saturated fat in KFC's Zinger crunchy salad were almost treble the company estimate.

Obesity has tripled in England since 1980. A third of children aged two to 15 are overweight or obese. Which? said that although fast food was not solely to blame, the rise in weight had been accompanied by the rise in fast-food sales.

Researchers said the chains frequently targeted children in promotions by giving away toys or goodie bags. Many used children's characters such as Mr Men, Postman Pat, Winnie the Pooh and My Little Pony.

Which?found the popularity of fast-food outlets was related to their advertising budgets. Researchers also analysed nutritional content. Burger King fries were only 86 per cent potato; the 11 other ingredients included partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil, rice flour, dextrose, corn syrup solids and salt. McDonald's chicken grills contained 19 other ingredients. McDonald's and Burger King's cheddar slices included "cheese flavouring", trisodium citrate, diphosphates, polyphosphates and sorbic acid.

Some of the fast-food meals scored astronomical calorific counts. A Big Mac, medium fries and small vanilla milkshake contained 1,169 calories. A diner would need to walk 16 miles to work that off. Which? said: "Nearly all the fast food we tested contained a lot of salt. And salt can lurk where you least expect it. The KFC original chicken salad contains more salt than the KFC chicken fillet burger."

A Pizza Hut margherita pan pizza and garlic bread had 5.4 grams of salt, almost the entire recommended daily allowance of 6 grams.

The companies said their menus now had more variety. Pizza Hut said it gave customers "the choice of healthy or more indulgent food". McDonald's said its customers visited on average just two or three times a month.

Tim Lang, professor of food policy at City University, said: "The food industry knows there is evidence of a health problem which it is part of, but it likes to claim it has nothing to do with it."

Which? wants to ban television advertisements for fast-food aimed at children, saying such "aggressive but sophisticated" marketing was irresponsible.

[More Fire for the People]

Fast food as unhealthy is a product of the capitalist system. Businesses could easily sell healthy fast food but the cost of goods would increase. Unhealthy fast food is constructed from inexpensive goods and results in a maximum profit.

Under a socialist system if fast food restaurants were necessary they would operate under a balance of factors — health value, expense, and negative impact. For instance if the best food health-quality hamburger was $15 in cost but a less healthier but still healthy option was $5 and the economy was in bad shape then the latter would be chosen.

[Vallegrande]

An investigation of the food sold by the "big four" - McDonald's, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut - found that 17 of 20 products were high in salt or saturated fat or both.

Saturated fat is not trans. It is Cis, meaning unchanged. The "Fat" you are describing is the trans. Saturated fat has nothing to do with obesity or other problems that are associated with the trans fat. Why do you think some European countries banned trans fat?


partially-hydrogenated vegetable oil, rice flour, dextrose, corn syrup solids
Now that is what makes us fat. Hydrogenation is trans. Our bodies dont know what to do with it, whereas original fats are quite readily absorbed and utilized. Pure fat doesnt make us fat.

[Vallegrande]

I find it quite interesting that some products boast that they do not use "trans fat", but then they use "hydrogenated oils". If anyone looks on the back of their nutrition label, almost all products contain hydrogenated oils, even vegan brands. You just have to be careful at what the ingredients say.

[Craig]

I'm sorry, but I think that people will still deep-fry potatoes and load them full of salt and ketchup after the revolution. Cheap and tasty is a great combination, comrades. Yeah, corporations lie, and capitalism might encourage them to cut corners in order to deliver a cheap product to the market, but economics will still be a factor even in an anarcho/socialist/communist/collectivist/mutualist society. Our collectives or central states or whatever will still have to make tough choices based on cost vs. benefit. Sometimes that might mean that we can't have the $25 soy-vegan-organic-wonder-happy burger.

And, quite frankly, I think this subject is blown all out of proportion. People in the United States, where all this fast food is consumed, are still relatively healthy. We're living longer. And a Big Mac is far more nutritious than a handful of sawdust. If the starving people around the world had one for dinner every night, they'd be much happier.

Information is the key. Now you know that this shit is unhealthy. The ball's in your court. Don't eat it. Warn other people. But take some responsibility for your own actions. I know liquor destroys my liver, but I still drink it in LARGE FRICKIN' QUANTITIES.

I'm sorry, but I really don't think that shopping at Whole Foods and paying $10 for an ounce of high grade Japanese organic beef is the answer.

[which doctor]

I try to eat as little fast food as humanly possible. I just can't stand being in those dirty places watching pimple-faced teenagers microwave my food. It's quite gross. Now they are trying to fool people by telling them their food is healthy, just disgusting.


And, quite frankly, I think this subject is blown all out of proportion. People in the United States, where all this fast food is consumed, are still relatively healthy. We're living longer. And a Big Mac is far more nutritious than a handful of sawdust.

Au contraire my comrade. People are not relatively healthy. In the last 10 years, obesity rates have increased by more than 60 percent in America. This is startling news. Diabetes rates have also significantly jumped, especially among young people. The only reason the average life expectancy has gone up is because medical science is lengthening our lives faster than we can shorten them. It really is sad when we see so may people gouging themselves so much. America is bigger than ever!

[Craig]

Originally posted by Fist of [email protected] 22 2005, 01:45 AM
Au contraire my comrade. People are not relatively healthy. In the last 10 years, obesity rates have increased by more than 60 percent in America. This is startling news. Diabetes rates have also significantly jumped, especially among young people. The only reason the average life expectancy has gone up is because medical science is lengthening our lives faster than we can shorten them. It really is sad when we see so may people gouging themselves so much. America is bigger than ever!
Yeah, but this is primarily an issue of education and motivation.

It might have been argued that people weren't always aware, but now most people are. That they continue to eat at these places means one of two things: either a) they don't care, or b) they can't afford the alternative. If it's point A, then they are exersizing (haha -- funny choice of words) their rights and we can't really do much. If it's point B, then we need to fight the system that creates these economic circumstances.

I'm a committed enemy of capitalism, but I dislike these utopian fantasies that somehow all problems are caused by it. I can imagine many situations where a socialist society might have to mass produce less-than-ideal food items in order to feed all the people that need to be fed.