Eating Healthy at Fast Food Restaurants Aim: How can we make better, healthier choices at fast-food restaurants?

Do Now Describe the last time that you went to a fast-food restaurant. Where did you go and what did you order? If you haven’t eaten fast food, describe a typical meal you imagine someone your age would order at one of these restaurants.

Fast-Food Chains What are some fast-food restaurants that are popular with teenagers? Why do you and your friends like to eat at these places? Answer in your notebooks: Do you think the meals at fast-food restaurants are healthy? Why or why not?

Super...size? When we learned about food labels and Nutrition Facts, one of the things we examined were serving sizes. It is very important to check the serving size on packaged foods because people often eat more than one serving. We are going to learn more about why serving size can be an issue when people go out to eat, especially at fast-food restaurants.

Supersizing America Read the handout titled “Supersizing America”. Answer the following questions in your notebooks: 1. What surprised you the most about what you read? 2. Why do you think serving sizes have increased? 3. How has the strategy of supersizing contributed to the high obesity rate in the U.S.?

Why do we supersize? Larger serving sizes may be a big selling point at fast-food and other restaurants. However, they are a big part of America’s growing health problem due to poor eating habits and obesity. People may feel like they are getting a good deal if they get more food for their money, but they pay a much greater cost in terms of their overall health. example: 32 ounces of soda per day = only 50 cents more but = 40 pounds in 1 year!

Issues with Fast-Food People aren’t always able to prepare healthy meals and snacks at home. The reality is that many people eat at fast-food restaurants fairly often. One of the most challenging times to follow the guidelines for healthy eating is when you eat at fast-food restaurants. Let’s review those guidelines. So how well do you think a typical fast-food meal meets these dietary guidelines? Which guidelines do you think are harder to follow when you eat at a fast-food restaurant? Which are easier? What are some typical problems that are typical with fast foods?

Issues with Fast-Food Fast-food meals typically don’t include a lot of fruits and vegetables. The buns, breads, flatbreads, etc. are often not whole grain. Most of all, fast foods tend to be high in calories, fat, and salt. What is the problem with having too much calories? Fat? Sodium? Remember that calories are potential amounts of energy in a food. The body tries to maintain a balance with calories taken in and calories burned. Over time, if you eat more calories than you burn, your body will store these calories as fat and leads to weight gain. Though fat is a key nutrient and essential to good health, they are also high in calories, which can lead to weight gain if eaten in excess. Too much saturated or trans fats can contribute to heart disease. No more than 25 to 35% of your total daily calories should come from fat.

Analyze Fast-food Meals You’re going to complete Part 1 of the Making My Fast-Food Meal Healthier activity sheet now. Write in the name of your favorite fast-food restaurant and then list all the foods in your favorite meal. If you don’t have a favorite meal at a fast-food restaurant, then list a restaurant you know of and a typical meal you think someone your age would eat. Next, you’ll use the menus I’ll provide to determine the number of calories, grams of total fat, and milligrams of sodium in the meal you listed.

Recommended Daily Intake According to the USDA, or the United States Department of Agriculture, an inactive high school student should have: 1,800 - 2,400 calories No more than 50 - 80 grams of fat No more than 2,300 mg of sodium

Analyze Fast-food Meals Going back to the activity sheet, complete part 2. Add up the total number of calories, grams of fat, and milligrams of sodium in your meal. Then compare it to the recommendations.

What did you notice? You have just calculated these percentages based on the maximum recommended intake. If you are female or not very physically active, your recommended intake is lower than the top end of the range. Also remember that these recommendations are for the whole day and that this fast-food meal is just one of your meals for the day. So it should contain no more than ⅓ of the recommended daily intake of calories, fat, and sodium. How many of your fast-food meals have too many calories? How many have too much fat and sodium? How many exceed the total daily allowance for calories, fat, and sodium?

So what can we do? One reason fast foods are often high in fat and sodium has to do with how they are cooked or prepared. Many places serve fried foods by putting them in hot oil. This adds a lot of fat and extra calories. Healthier ways to cook foods include BROILING and GRILLING, which food is heated from above or below to cook it. Another way is BAKING, which food is placed in an oven to cook. Cooking foods in butter or serving them in sauces can also add a lot of extra fat. You can avoid foods like this, or ask to have the sauce served on the side so you can control how much you add and choose not to use as much of it. What you drink can also affect how healthy your meal is. Soft drinks or sodas contain a lot of sugar, and adds extra calories. Drinking water, milk, or 100% fruit juice would be a better choice.

Summary Pay attention to the descriptions on the menu. If a food item is described as deep-fried, battered, creamy, buttery or crispy, it’s most likely high in calories and fat. Choose meats that has been grilled, baked, or broiled instead of fat. Order dressings, butter, sauces, mayo, etc. on the side, and use them sparingly. Reduce portion size by ordering a small instead of large. Don’t supersize. Don’t add salt to your meal. Order low-fat options when available. Add vegetables to your meal, such as a salad with low-fat dressing on the side. Drink water or 100% juice with your meal instead of soda or other sugary drinks.

Finish Up Complete Part 3 of the Making My Fast-Food Meal Healthier. Revise the fast-food meal you described in part 1, and make it healthier using strategies that we went over today. Try to make sure it doesn’t go over ⅓ of the number of calories, fat, and sodium recommended for one day. After you created your new meal, answer the questions on the bottom.