Fast Food-Good, Bad or Indifferent

Fast Food – Good, Bad or Indifferent

 Eating at fast food restaurants can be consistent with a healthful diet, especially if it is an occasional practice with careful food and beverage choices i.e. smaller portions of calorie-dense foods, ordering a grilled chicken sandwich or salads with low-calorie dressings, selecting fresh fruit as a side dish, and ordering low-fat milk, 100% fruit juice or water instead of sodas or shakes. However, recent research shows that in practice choosing to eat at fast food restaurants is likely to be inconsistent with healthy food choices as recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for America.

Researchers from the University of Minnesota examined the associations between weight status and family food dinners eaten away from home in a sample of 723 adolescents and parents. About two-thirds of the families reported eating meals together as a family three to six times per week and about half of the families had a family meal from a fast food restaurant or take-out source at least once in the previous week. Parents and adolescents were more likely to be overweight or obese when their families ate dinner away from home at least once in the week before the data collection.

Staff from the Michigan Department of Community Health used 12 questions about fast food from the 2005 Michigan Behavioral Risk Factor Survey to examine how fast food consumption related to obesity prevalence. About 80 percent of the adults in Michigan went to fast food restaurants at least once a month and 28 percent reported eating fast food twice a week or more. The prevalence of obesity was 24 percent for adults who went to fast food restaurants less than once a week and 33 percent for those going to fast food places three times per week or more often.

Making plans to select healthy foods is key when eating at fast food restaurants.

Source: Susan Nitzke, University of Wisconsin Extension Nutrition Specialist, Professor Emeritus