Fast food snacks: Small packages, big on calories.
I was watching TV tonight and saw one of the fast food
companies advertising a range of snacks that would be suitable for between
meals when you are feeling a bit peckish. It was a chicken range of products,
so, I decided to look into what the fast food companies think would be a good
snack choice.
The tables below outline a few of the snacks and drinks
available at some of the major fast food outlets. Given that 7000-9000 kilojoules(kj)
(1670-2140 calories) per day is an estimate required to maintain weight at low activity
levels; use the lower-mid end of the range if you’re female and the upper end
for males. Snacks of around 420-630kj
(100-150 calories) are recommended as a good serve size to achieve weight loss…how
do these snacks stack up?
Chips and nuggets:
| Regular (medium) Chips | 6 Nuggets (without sauce) | |
| McDonalds | 1540kj (386cal) | 1160 (279cal) |
| Hungry Jacks | 1409kj (336cal) | 974kj (232cal) |
| KFC | 1137kj (271cal) | 1090kj (260cal) |
Wraps, burgers and other stuff:
McDonalds
| Crispy chicken wrap | 1130kj (271cal) |
| Seared chicken wrap | 868kj (208cal) |
| Cheese burger | 1190kj (284cal) |
Hungry Jacks
| Chicken wrap | 1977kj (471cal) |
| Spicy chicken tender crisp | 2221kj (530cal) |
| Grilled chicken burger | 1584kj (378cal) |
KFC
| Snack box 1 serve | 2087kj (498cal) |
| Twister | 2446kj (583cal) |
| 3 Crispy strips | 1514kj (583cal) |
Drinks:
| Medium coke = 1 x 375ml can | 650kj (155cal) |
| Medium Strawberry thick shake | 1600kj (382cal) |
| KFC Krusher | 1100-2280kj (262-544cal) |
| McDonalds fruit fizz | 429kj (103cal) |
| Standard Late` | 658kj (157cal) |
| Medium Orange juice | 782kj (187cal) |
Compare it to these snack options:
| Piece of fruit (kiwi – banana) | 165 -355kj (39-85cal) |
| Tub of low fat flavoured yoghurt | 650kj (155cal) |
| 2 wholegrain crackers with avocado | 515kj (123cal) |
| Handful of nuts (approx. 20 nuts) | 800kj (190cal) |
| Glass of skim milk | 525kj (125cal) |
| 1 small slice of raisin toast and thin spread margarine | 600kj (143cal) |
Top tips for snacking:
-
Even though these fast foods snacks might come
in small packages, they can pack a calorie punch particularly if you get a
drink as well. -
It’s a good idea to keep in mind that a snack is
really something to just take the edge off your hunger, it’s not a meal. The
aim is to be hungry again for lunch or dinner. -
Having breakfast is a great way of keeping
hunger at bay and helps you make better
snack choices throughout the morning as you won’t be as hungry. -
Although nuts are higher in energy, the protein
and fibre will help you feel fuller for longer and nuts will help to lower
cholesterol, a burger won’t do that!
Lisa Renn is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and
author of “Body Warfare – The Secret to Permanent Weight Loss” (Brolga
Publishing 2011)
