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Fast Food Facts
Monday
May 21, 2001
It
used to be burgers and fries were the hottest
fast food fare. Now low cal, low fat is everywhere.
And remember Jared Fogel? Jared claims he lost
245 pounds on a diet of low fat Subway sandwiches.
So are these fast food restaurants really trying
to pull a fast one? How many calories are you
really getting? How much fat? We bagged a bunch
of quick cuisine to find out.
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We
went undercover at six different fast food chains from
New York to Los Angeles testing lower fat sandwiches and
salads. What we found: a mixed bag of results.
"When you order fast food you don't know exactly what
you're going to be getting," said Lab scientist Marvin
Winston.
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Eating
healthy at fast food restaurants
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Lab
scientist Marvin Winston analyzed multiple samples of
each menu choice. Four food items from four different
places had more fat and calories than promised. Taco Bell's
light chicken taco wasn't so light; about 60% more fat
than advertised. Wendy's Grilled Chicken Sandwich had
more fat and calories too. And subway's low fat turkey
had almost 50 percent more fat.
Not good for people watching their waistline. But remember
people prepare the food, mistakes do happen. At Boston
Market we found 10.5 fat grams in their plain ham sandwich,
instead of just eight.
And you should read the fine print before ordering. Most
places base their nutritional values on the meat and bread
alone, no condiments. Marvin says, “This is a little misleading
frankly because that's not how people eat the sandwiches."
It's not all bad news though. Some of the items we tested
were actually lower in fat and calories than advertised.
McDonald’s Grilled Chicken Caesar had 3.5 fewer fat grams
than expected. BK Broiler: three grams less. And two of
Subway's low fat sandwiches had less fat than advertised.
So if you’re choosing between a burger and a low fat sandwich,
you may save some calories but not always as many as they
say you will.
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