Welcome to Friday's Fast Food Facts (say that 5 times fast). An interesting study was released this week in the Journal of Consumer Research that offers some insight into the "American obesity paradox." The paradox is this: As healthier foods become more popular in America, Americans become more obese. Shouldn't these two stats move in opposite directions?
Over the course of four separate studies, researchers found that we sometimes give too much credit to "healthy" fast food, and in doing so, we feel like we can eat more and enjoy dessert, just because we chose Subway over McDonald's.
“In our black and white view, most food is good or not good,†explain Pierre Chandon (INSEAD, France) and Brian Wansink (Cornell University). “When we see a fast-food restaurant like Subway advertising its low-calorie sandwiches, we think, ‘It’s OK: I can eat a sandwich there and then have a high-calorie dessert,’ when, in fact, some Subway sandwiches contain more calories than a Big Mac.â€
This thinking led to participants consuming an average of 131% more calories at each meal. The authors explain that it is much more important to focus on total number of calories, rather than just accepting one restaurant as "healthier" than the other.
But, Burger King doesn't exactly advertise the number of calories in a Whopper right there on the menu, so how do you know what you're eating? We've got you covered: Check out our Fast Food Nutrition Guide.
What is your favorite Fast Food guilty pleasure?
4,662 views
{ 3 trackbacks }