With so much media scrutiny and governmental legislation working to improve the nutritional value of fast food, you’d think that it’s improving more and more. However, according to a study led by Katherine W. Bauer, assistant professor in Temple University’s Department of Public Health and Centre for Obesity Research and Education, even though fast food chains have thrown some smoothies and side salads on the menu, the average calorie content remains very much the same.
For the study, researchers analysed menu offerings and nutrient composition information from leading U.S. fast food restaurant chains; McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Arby’s, Jack in the Box and Dairy Queen. These were chosen because they had been in the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Centre’s Food and Nutrient Database since 1997, and each had a defined set of offerings on the menu which were all included on the database.
The results showed that over 14 years across the restaurants, the total number of menu offerings had increased by 53%, with the specific number of entree salads increasing from 11 to 51 and sweetened teas, which weren’t even an option in 1997 now appearing 35 times across menus. However, one thing that hadn’t changed was the average calorie content of entrees and drinks. Researchers found a gradual increase in calories of condiments and desserts, whilst the average calorie content of side items decreased from 264 to 219. They speculated that this may be due to the addition of lower-calorie side salads and some restaurants limiting the portion sizes of side items like French fries.
Bauer said the study doesn’t mean you should stop eating fast food, but warns ‘You might order a lower-calorie entree, but then you get a drink, fries and a dessert’ and so calorie awareness is key, as they ‘can add up very quickly.’
She concluded by saying ‘Without massive changes by the fast food industry in the caloric content of food, the key is for consumers to try to educate themselves about calories and be aware that just because a restaurant promotes healthful options, does not mean that overall the foods sold are lower calorie,’ she said. ‘Over time, with increased exposure to calorie information on menus, people may start to understand how many calories they should consume each day.’
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