Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 19, 1995 TAG: 9504190014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAT DOOLEY LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The chosen fare might be burgers and fries, or it might be pizza. But the plan for Marcia and Don Leahey and their sons - Sean, 14, and Donnie, 9 - is always the same: to break the pace of a hectic week, and to give Mom a night off from cooking.
``I know there's not much nutrition in fast food,'' Marcia says. ``But sometimes you just get so busy.''
The Leaheys are not alone.
Nationwide, we eat 25 percent of our meals away from home, The American Dietetic Association reports. That's about five meals a week. Nearly half of those are fast foods, and about half of those are purchased at drive-through windows.
``People . . . have to deal with conflicting schedules and need to find quick meals they don't have to prepare,'' the dietetic association reports.
But those meals can translate into mounds of fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories, if we aren't paying attention.
Even a plain burger, small fries and medium soft drink - among the lower-fat fast-food meals - can weigh in at about 700 calories, 19 grams of fat (about 170 fat calories) and more than 700 milligrams of sodium.
Dietary experts recommend the average 150-pound person eat about 2,000 calories daily, with no more than 65 grams of fat and 2,400 milligrams of sodium.
In their ``Fast Food Guide'' (Workman, 1991), co-authors Sarah Fritschner and Michael Jacobson assess the nutritional values of fast foods from more than 20 limited-menu restaurants.
In one example, they calculate ``just for fun, what a meal consisting of the Double Whopper With Cheese, medium fries, a large strawberry shake, and apple pie would add up to.''
The totals: 2,187 calories, 25 teaspoons of fat, 22 teaspoons of sugar and more than a teaspoon of salt.
But the nutrition-conscious can take (or save) heart.
``It's possible to eat fast food in a healthy way,'' says Fritschner, in an interview.
In the January/February issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter, for example, the Center for Science in the Public Interest picks ``the best and worst citizens of Fast Food Land.''
The consumer-advocacy group, headed by author Jacobson, assigns the title ``Worst Burger'' to the Double Western Bacon Cheeseburger from Carl's Jr., a Southwestern-U.S. chain. The burger weighs in at 1,030 calories, 63 grams of fat and 1,810 milligrams of sodium.
Other ``buns-down'' go to: McDonald's Quarter Pounder With Cheese; Burger King's Whopper; and Burger King's Double Whopper With Cheese.
The group also picks ``Worst Bites'' among chicken and turkey sandwiches; rotisserie and fried chicken; roast beef sandwiches; fish sandwiches; nuggets and fries; baked potatoes; main-dish salads; and shakes.
But ``buns up'' go to regular hamburgers from McDonald's, Wendy's, Hardee's, Roy Rogers, Burger King and Jack in the Box.
Rated ``Best Bite'' among burgers is the McLean Deluxe from McDonald's. ``You could eat five of 'em and still get less fat than you'd get from one Burger King Double Whopper With Cheese,'' reports the article by CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley and editor-in-chief Stephen Schmidt.
Among other wise choices from some limited-service restaurants: McDonald's McGrilled Chicken Classic; Chick-fil-A Grilled n' Lites; McDonald's Chunky Chicken Salad (with 4 tablespoons light vinaigrette); Arby's Light Roast Beef Deluxe; and Hardee's Regular Roast Beef.
Nutritionists agree that every fast-food restaurant offers something healthful, from grilled chicken sandwiches, chili and fresh salads to plain baked potatoes, rotisserie chicken (without the skin), carrot sticks and even some cooked vegetables.
It wasn't always that way.
``When Ray Kroc opened the doors to that first McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Ill., in 1955, he opened a whole new world for busy parents, fussy eaters and people who just plain did not like to cook,'' Jacobson and Fritschner write in ``Fast Food Guide.''
They trace America's ``love affair with the french fry'' to those early days of fast food.
In the 1930s and '40s, family dinner was something of a constant. Mom stayed home with the kids, and cooked. Dining out was reserved for special occasions or family road trips. Then, the occasional highway eatery serving up burgers, hot dogs and french fries was a quick, inexpensive respite from a day's drive, says Harvey Levenstein in ``Paradox of Plenty: A Social History of Eating in Modern America'' (Oxford University Press, 1993).
In the 1950s, as more women entered the work force, the restaurants popped up in suburbs, using assembly-line techniques and the promise of hot food fast.
Kroc, Col. Harland Sanders (founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken - now KFC) and the other fast-food leaders ``made their bundles by following the baby boomers as they progressed through childhood and adolescence,'' Levenstein says.
Early eateries discouraged teens from loitering by offering only window service, historians say.
In the late '60s, Burger King added tables; McDonald's followed. By the '70s, restaurants had taken on the popular fern-bar look.
``Seats were made softer and the tables enlarged,'' Levenstein says. ``New, lighter entrees such as fish were introduced, and salads and salad bars began to appear.''
Author Fritschner credits ``Fast Food Guide,'' first printed in 1986, with helping shake the fat from fast-food menus.
The guide, subtitled ``What's Good, What's Bad and How to Tell the Difference,'' includes nutrition charts, ingredients lists, tips for ordering, and a ``Gloom Index'' rating system.
More and more, Fritschner says, ``we're ordering food we know is good for us, and we're demanding choices.''
Still, some experts say, when it comes to healthy fast food, there's more than a Biggie Cola between what we say we'll eat and what we really order.
Lynn Deaner of the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association says a 1994 National Restaurant Association survey shows that eight in 10 Americans think good nutrition will prevent serious illness. But fewer than half of us order healthy foods.
``A lot of us still have the idea we are treating ourselves by ordering what tastes good,'' Deaner says.
Senior citizens and baby boomers are more conscious of healthful options, Deaner says, while Generation X, the 41 million Americans age 18 to 29, want value.
``A lot of times, that leads them to fast-food restaurants offering combo meals,'' where they're most likely to order cheeseburgers, fried chicken, ham and cheese sandwiches, sub sandwiches, burritos and tacos, Deaner says.
Recently, Taco Bell launched a ``Border Lights'' line - eight regular menu items with half the fat and 20 percent fewer calories - including tacos, burritos and a taco salad. The items are scheduled to be in all outlets by May.
The ``lights'' earns praise from consumer advocate Jacobson. ``They are setting a standard . . . that should have a ripple effect throughout the industry,'' he says.
``Food Guide'' co-author Fritschner says, ``It's about time.'' She calls Taco Bell's original taco salad ``a travesty.''
Other fast food eateries, too, have made changes for the better in recent years. Most, for example, fry foods in vegetable oil instead of beef tallow. Many serve salads.
Industry experts say McDonald's has been among the most responsive to customer demand for healthier fare.
Jane Hulbert, a company spokeswoman, says McDonald's introduced salads, fortified buns and reduced-salt pickles in 1986.
In 1991, the chain switched to vegetable oil to cook its fries and hash browns; converted from 2 percent milk to 1 percent; replaced cheese with carrots on its salads; and introduced the McLean Deluxe.
In 1973, McDonald's posted nutrition information at each restaurant, though Arby's was the first to disclose ingredients, say Jacobson and Fritschner.
Now it's possible to obtain nutritional data on most any food. If you don't see it, ask.
by CNB