Fast food has a reputation for being high in fat, salt and sugar, but this combination could be exactly what makes it so appealing.
It all comes down to evolution. Fatty foods were prized by our not-so-distant hunter-gatherer ancestors because the high concentration of calories in fat provided an important energy store – a potential life saver in times when food was scarce.
Our bodies have evolved to enjoy sugar too – it’s one of the first tastes that babies can detect. Sweetness indicates that foods, such as fruit, are ripe, ready and safe to eat. Salt is another taste hit because it regulates our water balance and exists naturally in many foods.
The trouble is that fast food manufacturers have isolated and concentrated our favourite tastes into a heady mix that makes it hard to resist. So hard, in fact, that recent research suggests eating fat and sugar-loaded foods could actually be addictive.
Harder than ever to resist
In March 2010, McDonald’s announced it plans to double the number of restaurants it has in Korea by 2015, as well as opening a further 500 stores in China. With KFC and Subway also rapidly expanding into Asia, it’s soon going to be harder than ever to resist temptation.
This ‘westernisation’ of Asian food has sparked concern among experts, who blame the increase in the availability of fast food for the recent rises in obesity rates.
Specialist in obesity management at Taiwan’s Shuang Ho Hospital, Dr Chu Nain-Feng, recently undertook a national survey and found that the number of overweight children in Taiwan has rocketed from six per cent to 25 per cent in the last decade. Dr Chu attributes this rise, in part, to the availability of fast food, along with a couch potato lifestyle.
Fan Zhihong, a food expert with the China Agricultural University, is also concerned by the growth of the Asian fast food industry.
“The rise of obesity ... is directly related to the intensity of fast food restaurants,” he told the Global Times.
Is fast food ever an option?
The Biggest Loser Club dietitian, Dr Clare Collins, says, “In a perfect world, fast food doesn’t have a place in a healthy diet. The fact is, though, we don’t live in a perfect world. By making the right choices most of the time, you can eat fast food and still get good results”.
It’s all about balancing your diet, said Tom Sanders, director of Nutrition at King's College London. The occasional meal, perhaps just once a week, won’t do much harm as long as it’s factored into your weight loss program, he said.
If you’ve been a bit of a fast food junkie, there’s no doubt that stepping inside a fast food outlet can be tempting fate. Dr Collins suggests having a healthy lunch or snack first. That way you can order a large diet drink or water and a side salad to help fill you up. Otherwise go for a sandwich without the extras or special sauces, she says.
“Generally speaking, it is definitely worth getting good at surviving close encounters with fast food outlets because ... people who keep lost weight off long-term rarely opt for fast foods or takeaways,” she says.
Making better choices
Here’s how you can make smarter fast-food choices:
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Research your facts. Many fast food restaurants have brochures and websites that list the nutritional information for their menus. Check before you go to see which foods are the lower calorie options.
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Count the calories. Try to choose something that provides fewer than 450 calories and 12 grams of fat or less, such as a McDonald’s Beefburger from the Malaysian menu, (259 calories, 7.6g).
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Downsize. If you don’t want to supersize your body, downsize your portions. Sanders says that the supersized quantities on offer in fast food outlets are “a major problem” and “particularly unhealthy” because they encourage you to eat more than what you need. Share a regular-sized meal and you’ll slash the calories you consume.
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Cut the sugar. Did you know that the average sugar intake of Malaysians is above World Health Organisation recommendations? New figures revealed in March by the Health Ministry found that the average person consumes 10 teaspoons a day from, drinks alone.
To help cut your intake, opt for water or a diet soft drink. You’ll cut the calories from a regular standard 375ml can of cola (171 calories) and 8tsp sugar to 0 calories for water or a diet soft drink.
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Watch the salt. Fast food tends to be very high in sodium, a major contributor to high blood pressure. Don’t add salt to your meal.
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Beat the burger. The best burgers are the undressed kinds, so leave out the fatty cheese, mayo and other add-ons and ask for mustard or tomato sauce on the side. This way you can add as much or as little as you like. If you have the option, ask for extra vegies, such as lettuce, tomatoes, onion and pickles.
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Choose roasted over fried. Go for roasted instead of fried chicken. Frying any food piles on the calories because the food absorbs the cooking oils. Fried chicken, such as a KFC Original Recipe Chicken Breast, comes in at 342 calories per serve, while lean, roasted chicken breast adds up to 243 calories for the same 160g.
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Pizza and Italian. If Italian is your thing, opt for thin-crust, Italian-style pizza with just a little cheese instead of a thicker, cheese-stuffed crust, American-style pizza. Ask for lots of vegetable toppings.
- If you choose pasta, leave-off the creamy sauces, cheeses and fatty meats and instead go for tomato-based sauces and simply dressed salads with balsamic vinegar or light dressing.
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Get serious about salads. They may sound virtuous but some salads can be sinful in calories and fat – a chicken Caesar salad can crank up around 400 calories because 1 tbsp Caesar salad dressing comes in at around 113 calories, while 1tbsp mayonnaise can be anything from 100 to 200 calories. The best salad choices include lots of fresh vegies but little or no add-ons.
Remember the big picture
You don’t have to ban anything from your diet but if you want to be healthy in the long term you do need to achieve a balance. If you’re planning a meal that you think may be high in calories, cut the calories earlier in the day or the next day to make up for it, and increase your exercise to burn them off. Input everything into your online diary and check the nutritional information to help you stay on track.
Keeping an eye on your portion sizes is important too. See this week's challenge for simple ways to keep them under control.