Getting more food for less money may be appealing to students, but health experts say portions at fast food restaurants have been getting larger since the 1970s and are contributing to America’s obesity epidemic. The food often contains high amounts of calories, sodium and fat.
Although fast food chains like McDonald’s have phased out their super-sized portions, health experts say fast food portions are still too large.
One out of four Americans eats fast food every day for convenience and price, according to the nonprofit group Helpguide.
Becoming a nation that eats out more and more poses serious health risks because a single burger can come close to, or even exceed, a day’s worth of calories and fat.
Government food guidelines released two years ago recommend that people keep their total daily fat intake between 20 and 35 percent of calorie intake. (The recommended amount of dietary fats is different for everyone because daily caloric needs are different.)
Someone on a 2,000 calorie-a-day diet would be allowed 65 grams of fat each day, but eating a Double Six Dollar Burger at one of the six Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Eugene and Springfield would provide 1,520 calories and 111 grams of fat – nearly twice the amount of fat in one day than the recommended amount.
Carolyn Raab, food and nutrition specialist at Oregon State University, said portions at fast food chains are getting larger because customers have been responsive and often order the meal option or upgrade their meal.
“More is not necessarily better,” she said. “It’s a real temptation to take a value meal without thinking about the extra calories.”
University marketing professor Lynn Kahle said the trend is occurring because customers want more food for less money.
“Customers in America always want bigger, and they think bigger means better, even though more French fries aren’t always better for you,” he said.
A New York University study found that food portions are consistently larger than in the past, and the large portion sizes are contributing to the obesity epidemic in America. A large order of French fries in the 1950s, for example, is now the small size at one chain. The small is now one-third the weight of the large.
Some fast food chains are responding to the amount of fats in their foods with healthier options like salads, Raab said.
“They aren’t best-sellers,” Raab said. “Consumers select food based on flavor, and lower fat foods are not as appealing. The fast food industry has tried to respond to concerns about the healthfulness of their food, but we as consumers don’t buy it, and we speak with our pocket books.”
In Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 film “Super Size Me,” Spurlock ate every meal at McDonald’s for 30 days and supersized his meal when asked if he wanted to do so. He took in an average of 5,000 calories a day and gained 25 pounds.
University graduate and holistic health counselor Alex Jamieson, now married to Spurlock, said she noticed changes in her then-boyfriend.
“He became depressed and moody, and the weight gain affected his energy,” she said. After the filming, Jamieson said she put him on a vegan detox diet that included whole foods.
Jamieson, author of “The Great American Detox Diet,” said they both feel the movie helped change the fast food industry and started a national conversation about fast food portion size.
“Before the movie even came out in theaters, McDonald’s announced they were getting rid of supersized options,” she said. “They said it had nothing to do with the movie, but it was quite a coincidence.”
McDonald’s phased out its supersized option by the end of 2004, and last year Wendy’s did away with its Biggie portion size, equivalent to a large. The restaurant got rid of the name, but the portion has remained unchanged.
Raab hopes to see healthier options and smaller portions at fast food chains.
“We like to encourage a more diverse and variety of healthier foods,” she said, adding that salad and fruit at some fast food chains offer a more balanced diet.
Joan Ottinger, a registered dietitian for the Oregon Public Health Division, said she hopes fast food chains make nutrition facts more available. She added that many post nutrition information on Web sites or put them on tray liners after food is ordered, but neither is practical.
Jamieson said there are plenty of healthy alternatives in Eugene.
“I think Eugene and Portland – the whole Willamette Valley – are really lucky because you guys have such great options, even in the EMU,” she said. “You can easily seek out places to go that aren’t fast food.”
When Jamieson visits her dad in Eugene, she said she usually eats at home. Jamieson said that students should learn how to cook meals at home, and she recommended trying to cook stew and chili.
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