Value Meals: The High Price of Fast Foods

Someone once joked that building lots of McDonald’s and Burger Kings in “enemy territories” would eradicate the need for atomic bombs; the obese population would soon self-destruct. Unfortunately, Americans have become are our own worst enemy and obesity has reached epidemic proportions. More than 60% of American adults are, well, super-sized as are 14% of American teens and 13% of 6- to 11-year olds.

While most of the readers of this column are fit and healthy, you’ve perhaps noticed your uncle, parent or neighbor become bigger and talk about high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and another undesirable health conditions. These diseases of aging not only interfere with longevity but also lead to worrisome medical expenses. This nation cannot afford to be so unhealthy!

Obesity is indeed a complex condition associated with over-eating, under-exercising, stress, fatigue and TV-viewing, among other factors. Some say obesity stems from ignorance. Children, in particular, may be unaware of the health dangers of a steady diet of fast foods; most would happily eat chicken nuggets and french fries daily. In New York, a person is suing four fast food chains (KFC, Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s) for contributing to his obesity, diabetes and heart disease. His complaint: he didn’t know how bad these foods were for his health.
      With luck, good changes will arise from this suit. For example, perhaps we'll eventually see Nutrition Facts printed on fast food wrappers, telling us about a Super Burger's calories, fat and sodium content. Or perhaps a warning label will appear:
“Consuming a steady diet with large portions of fatty, high calorie foods can be dangerous to your health.”
     While the verdict is unclear as to whether the food industry can be held accountable for America's problem with obesity, this suit does raise consciousness about the industry’s efforts to overfeed Americans. Between value meals and super-size portions, hungry people can all-to-easily be lured into gluttony while thinking “I only ate one serving....” One Cinnabon, mind you, is more than enough for two people.
   While I do believe that all foods (even fast foods, in moderation) can be balanced into a healthful diet, I also recognize the food marketing industry is succeeding at their goal of getting us to consume more and more and more. (For example, have you noticed how Coke, which originally came in an 8-ounce bottle and then in a 12-ounce can, is now prevalent in 20-ounce bottles­­enough for at least two people?) Hence, the purpose of this article is to help you grasp the importance of feeding appropriate portion sizes to yourself, your family, and most importantly to the children who have never seen “small” as a menu option.

The High Price of Value Meals
     At Burger King (and most other fast food restaurants), you can “Size it your way”; that is, you can have a medium, large or king-sized value meal with incremental increases in the fries and soft drink. By ordering the value meal, as opposed to ordering each item separately, you’ll save 78˘ per increment (medium to large; large to king-size). And for those 78˘ you can get about 200 to 250 more calories. Calorie for calorie, the medium value meal costs a bit more than the king-size meal (3.5˘/calorie vs 3.2˘/calorie). The king-size Whopper with Cheese value meal offers a total of 1,825 calories from the burger, fries and soft drink. This equates to:
1) a whole large cheese pizza (that would more likely feed the whole family, not one person) or
2) the whole day’s worth of calories for the average women.
If you are looking for the whole day’s calories in one dose, as well as the whole day’s fat intake (if not more), this king-sized value meal is seemingly a bargain. Unfortunately for our health, most people eat two other meals in their day­­and the medical bills related to obesity will not come with a bargain price!
       If you are a fast food eater, you have to decide for yourself if a value meal is truly a good deal­-and if it is really the best way to spend your calories. After all, almost half of those calories all too often come from fat, cloggage and the stuff that makes heart attacks. For example, Burger King's Whopper with cheese medium value meal provides almost 1,400 calories (equivalent to 3/4 of a pizza that feeds a family of three) and 71 grams of fat (more than you need). A peanut butter and jelly sandwich costs far less and is far more healthful...
     The best value at a fast food restaurant is to NOT get the value meal, but rather just get one item. That is, by having just the Whopper with Cheese (no fries or soda, thank you), you can save 590 calories and $2.10. You’ll still be left with 800 calories (that need to be balanced with lowfat choices at other meals). This is more than enough for most hungry people.
     Even impoverished students, who commonly ponder how to get the most calories for the least amount of money, should skip the fries and soda. The Whopper with cheese costs about 3.6˘ per calorie, as opposed to the soda (5.6˘/calorie) and fries (4.4˘). Now of course, you'll save a few pennies per calorie if you upgrade to king size. But then, do you really want that money to go to waist?
      For children, Burger King’s “Big Kid Meal” is also a bad deal. For $4.39, a child can get a double cheeseburger, small fries and a small soda. This comes to just under 1,000 calories--the equivalent of two hefty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches or half a large cheese pizza (food for two kids, not one). I guess that's why it's called the “BIG Kid’s Meal"; a steady diet of Big Kid’s Meals will make kids big (and fat) ... that’s for sure.
     Equally worrisome, kids who eat the whole meal because it is just “one portion" will get stuffed. Each time a child overeats, he or she chips away at the body’s natural ability to regulate an appropriate intake. The desire for big food grows, as does the waistline.
   Perhaps it's time to move back in time to "slow foods"; you know, the homemade meals that nourished the body, fed the soul and were one of life's pleasures?

Nancy Clark, MS, RD is nutrition counselor at SportsMedicine Associates in Brookline MA (617-739-2003). Her new Sports Nutrition Guidebook,Third Edition (2003; $24) and her Food Guide for Marathoners (2002; $20) are available via www.nancyclarkrd.com or by sending a check to Sports Nutrition Services, PO Box 650124, W. Newton MA 02465.