a Big Mac from McDonald’s has almost 500 calories

A nutritional survey done on a number of different food items found in fast food restaurants has shown that the majority of customers are unaware which items they should choose to eat healthily and to eat the lowest amount of fat.

The survey which was done by the Food Commission in the United Kingdom saw for example that very few customers were aware that a big serving of KFC coleslaw actually contained more fat than a large portion of fries or a chicken burger. Another common misconception was that the veggie patty roll from the Subway food chain contained less calories than the steak and cheese one.

The Food Commission even questioned over 60 nutrition and diet experts who were taking part in the European Congress on Obesity in Geneva and thus were expected to know more about fat and calorie contents than most individuals, but their knowledge was not much better. None of the diet experts got all the questions right and most of them only scored 1/5 or 2/5 when presented with five questions.

In view of this The Food Commission says that it should be made imperative that all fast food chains clearly display the calorie content and fat content of every single item that they sell. In some American states such as Seattle and New York it has already been done and regulations say that calorie contents have to be clearly displayed at the point of sale of any item of food.

It is abundantly clear that good nutritional information about what you eat can influence food choices and therefore the Food Commission feels that it is essential that all nations of the European Union take steps to regulate fast food restaurants to give consumers the information they need.

The fact that people are aware that a Big Mac from McDonald’s has almost 500 calories and that and 6in. “individual” pizza from Pizza Hut has over 800 calories could change the way that people look at fast food.

If calorie contents are displayed properly fast food restaurants may find that the most calorie laden items start to sell less and healthier options begin to sell more. It could even lead to a situation where fast food restaurants actually begin to compete with each other not only on price and taste but also by highlighting low calorie content meals.