TOO MUCH FAT!
Do you eat McDonald’s Food?
Do you know how much fat is in YOUR food?
And what are McDonald’s doing to change this?
The ‘Golden Arches’ first opened their doors in 1955, in the United States of America! Their wide range of fast food allows customers to enjoy hot food quickly, the delicious taste of burgers and fries really gets the taste buds going (Mc Spotlight 2016).
‘BUT… Do you know how much fat is in your food?’
The government recommends no more than 30g of fat a day per male adult or 20g of fat per day for women (NHS CHOICES 2015).
McDonald’s restaurants are renowned for their tasty fries or their delicious burgers for the busy consumer on the go. However, whilst you’re tucking into your food do YOU realise how much fat is in every bite?
‘Well… Here is the horrible truth
WARNING it may put you off fast food for life!’
McDonald’s meal which consists of a Big Mac, Fries and a large drink (fizzy) contains: This meals contains a massive 44g of fat! With a huge 1090 calories. ‘Would you still eat this knowing how much fat it contains?’ (McDonald’s 2016)
McDonald’s ‘Big Mac’ contains: There is 10g of saturated fats in a Big Mac burger, this constitutes 52% of your daily intake.- ‘In ONE burger?!’ (Calorie King 2016)
McDonald’s Chips contains: 24.2g of fat in one large portion of fries, with 2.0g of this portion being made up of saturated fats which are the type of fats which leads to heart disease and high cholesterol. (Calorie King 2016)
McDonald’s Happy Meal contains: A mean containing Chicken nuggets, small fries and a drink contains 12g of fat! This is 18% of your child’s daily intake.- ‘Would you want your child eating this much fat in one meal sitting?’ (Mcdonalds 2016)
What are McDonald’s doing to change this?
INTRODUCING…
Fresh Fruit introduced at McDonald’s in 2005!
“Fresh fruit? … Did she just say FRESH FRUIT AT MCDONALD’S?”
Fresh fruit was introduced in 2005 to try and conquer the growing obesity problems come to the United Kingdom. Many different fruits were included,which would be sold fresh. 
- Apple bags
- Carrot Bags
- Apple and grape
- Pineapple sticks
Photo from Google Images
McDonald’s are also introducing fruit based drinks to entice customers on those warm summery afternoons to enjoy a cold, yet healthy drink! A healthy eating campaign is launched in 2007 to counteract the claims that they were broadcasting unhealthy food through television advertisement to young children. A whopping £1,000,000 has been spent on two minutes of advertising to promote healthy eating towards children and adults.
Health Campaign:
Each of the song’s McDonald’s use within their adverts are to promote four main messages to young children which are “keep fit, eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, drink plenty of fluids and not to have too many treats” (Manchester Evening News 2007).
‘BUT is just promoting healthy eating helping or does physical action need to be taken by McDonald’s?’
Kath Dalmany states that she believes it whilst it is good that they are taking action against the amount of fat that they are placing in products she also believes that the only reason why they are placing this money into advertising healthy foods is because if they don’t, McDonald’s could be facing HUGE consequences and backlash from the general public about it. She also stated that: “I hope the change is permanent but I can’t image it will when its message could mean people buying less of its food.” (Manchester Evening News 2007).
2016
Are McDonald’s keeping up with the healthy food campaign in the year 2016?
The answer is yes, McDonald’s offer a wide range of healthy options which are a healthy alternative to the high fat products they sell; for example the cheeseburger. These products are:
- salads
- Deli- style menu; which include chicken salad wrap
- Fresh Fruit
McDonald”s are a continuously growing industry and will continue to change and adapt to the market in which their customers are in. Looking to the future McDonald’s are introducing different flavours from around the world to entice customers to ‘try the flavours of New York’.
IN HONG KONG…
Although sources have revealed that McDonald’s are going one step further with the health kick and are going to introduce the product Quinoa in their food also introducing salad bars which will be displayed through glass counters with a choice of 19 different salad ingredients (Sheffield, H 2016).
‘But the question is, are McDonald’s doing this because public opinion forces them to or is it a strategic plan to keep market share of the fast food market?’
YOU DECIDE!
References:
- Manchester Evening News. (2007). McDonald’s launches “healthy eating” children’s ads. Available: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-Manchester-news/mcdonalds-launches-healthy-eating-childrens-1112898. Last accessed 13th May 2016.
- Mcdonalds. (2016). Nutritional Calculator. Available: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/meal_builder.html. Last accessed 14th May 2016.
- Mc Spotlight. (2016). A Brief History of McDonald’s . Available: http://www.mcspotlight.org/company/company_history.html. Last accessed 15th May 2016.
- NHS CHOICES. (2015). Eat less saturated fat. Available: http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Goodfood/Pages/Eat-less-saturated-fat.aspx. Last accessed 14th May 2016.
- Sheffield, H. (2016). McDonald’s Next opens – offering quinoa, touch screens and table service: in pictures. Available: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/mcdonalds-next-hong-kong-of-the-future-just-opened-offering-quinoa-asparagus-touch-screens-and-table-a6812611.html. Last accessed 14th May 2016.
- Calorie King. (2016). Mcdonalds Big Mac Burger. Available: http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-sandwiches-burgers-big-mac-burger_f-ZmlkPTEwMTAyOA.html. Last accessed 14th May 2016.
- Calorie King. (2016). Mcdonalds French Fries. Available: http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-hot-fries-chips-french-fries_f-ZmlkPTU1MTE3.html. Last accessed 14th May 2016.
Truth About Food 