MCDONALD’S, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT!

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.

 

‘Celebrity Chef’

The worst food you’ll ever eat will probably be prepared by a ‘cook’ who calls himself a ‘chef.’ Mark my words. -Alton Brown

What are the Benefits and Drawbacks of a Low Carbohydrate Diet?

Why are carbohydrates needed in the body?

Carbohydrates produce around 47% of the bodies everyday energy, this is needed to keep a high metabolism, different types of carbohydrates in the body aid different functions. Polysaccharides, Monosaccharides and Disaccharides, these are foods such as pasta, porridge, crisps and noodles.

A low carbohydrate diet involves limiting the amount of carbohydrates that enter the body. There are many benefits and drawbacks of maintaining this kind of diet, the most famous low carbohydrate diet is the Atkins diet. (Barasi, 2007)
-This diet involves rapid loss of glycogen which results in the loss of water leading to a process called Ketosis. ‘Whats ketosis?’  Well…
-Ketosis is when ketone levels in the blood have been raised, these are formed when glycogen runs out in the liver. Symptoms of ketosis include bad breath, dehydration and nausea. (Nordqvist, N, 2010)

–  The low intake of carbohydrates means vitamin and minerals are lacking also, supplements will need to be taken if this is the case (which is in most cases) otherwise, it will result in deficiency and will have anorexic effects as the diet will be high in protein and less in vitamins e.g. A, B1, B2 and B12. (Nordqvist, N, 2010) 

‘It’s not all bad news!’

–  There are many benefits of a low carbohydrate diet, as it allows you to lose weight quick, the low carbohydrate diet is usually used to treat obesity along with other chronic illnesses, like cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.

–  The ‘Journal of English Medicine’ underwent some tests, to try out the low carbohydrate diet against the other diets out there, e.g. high protein diet, high- fat diet and low- calorie diet. This resulted in 63 people having a restricted calorie intake for 12 months. The results showed that people on the low carb diet lost a significant amount of weight just after three months, this also improved blood levels- by looking at this test we can see that the low carbohydrate does have its benefits as it is quick and effective in a short space of time. (Foster D G, 2003)

There are many more diets that allow you to benefit the joys of losing weight. However, a low carb diet isn’t the right way forward! Allowing you enough of the correct minerals and vitamins would be enough to maintain a healthy diet.

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Why is the Mediterranean Diet so Beneficial?

 

Everyone is asking, why is the Mediterranean diet so different to the numerous amounts of other diets out there? Well! The Mediterranean diet is beneficial in a number of different ways; by looking at the distinctive dietary sections of the Mediterranean food pyramid we can see that there dietary habits are different to the average British ones by helping to lower the risk of heart disease by 30%. (Mary E. Barasi. 2007)

There are many aspects of the Mediterranean diet, which lead us to believe that it has beneficial factors, this is due to the lower consumption of processed/ready-made meals, relying on the freshly grown produce around them and using olive oil as the main principle fat, replacing butter and margarine.  The high intake of oil in the Mediterranean diet which comes from capers, olives and oily fish is beneficial to the diet as oil is a natural food source which has a high level of mono-saturated fat, oleic acid- this has a reduced risk of coronary heart disease due to the omega 3 fatty acids which lowers triglyceride levels in the body, this is a beneficial process as it lowers the risk of heart disease as the excess fatty molecules aren’t stored as fat in the body. Omega 3 fatty acids/oils contain antioxidants which improve cholesterol level; The Mediterranean diet is beneficial to people suffering with high cholesterol as the high oil intake acts as an anti- inflammatory and has hypertensive effects- by lowering the cholesterol level it gives the person suffering with high cholesterol a lower chance of suffering a heart attack or possibly a stroke. (NHS choices 2013)

We all know people like a sprinkle of salt here and there, but do you know that sometimes a small intake of natural salts is beneficial for you? The Mediterranean diet is based around a high intake of salt from the oily fish, olives, anchovies, capers and salt fish called Roe. The small amount of salt from the natural sources means that no extra salt is added therefore is adequate, also acting as a blood pressure and acid-base diet.

By switching to a largely plant based diet with fruit and vegetables, the Mediterranean people have managed to keep a well-balanced diet, high in fibre, vitamins and minerals with nuts which are Obtained from the island itself, nuts contain potassium which reduce the blood pressure as it promotes the process called natriuresis, this is the process which allows unwanted sodium to be lost in the diet through going to the toilet, by eating the right amount of potassium it’s beneficial as it helps cardiovascular health allowing the heart to run smoothly without running the risk of a heart attack. A high fibre diet is necessary also and the 

Mediterranean diet offers this, by keeping a high fibre diet by consuming nuts, fruit and oats the bowel is kept healthy and disease free. (Mayo Clinic 2013).

As you can see, the Mediterranean diet is beneficial to health; they use the natural sources around them to get all the necessary dietary needs. By following their way of life we would live a healthier lifestyle, where natural sources are used and to create a place where ready-made meals are a thing of the past. 

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What are the Future Treatments for Obesity?

Did you know?

Obesity is becoming a worldwide epidemic, with over 2/3 men and ½ women becoming obese, this is a dramatic 40% increase over the past 10 years! According to the World Health Organisation a person is overweight if his/her BMI is 25 and obese if 30.

Is this a problem? you may ask…  the answer is YES! with over half the population becoming overweight, more health risks are becoming apparent, increase in weight gain can cause infection such as decreased cell mediated immune responses and heart problems.

However, there are many current treatments that are available to people suffering from obesity, the gastric band procedure, medicated treatments and dieting. Although, not many people would want to go ‘under the knife’ as there are many risks. (Barasi 2007)

-It is an expensive procedure which the NHS will not fund, therefore likely to pay for it yourself.

–  It is an irreversible procedure

–  People who have this treatment are on medication for the rest of there natural lives. (NHS Choices 2012)

FEAR NOT!

There are many treatments that are being developed which doesn’t involve going under the knife. Scientists have found that humans have two types of brown fat cells, this brown fat cell is found in a small amount of places around the body, round the kidneys, between the shoulder muscles and surrounding the adrenals, this brown fat cell is present in young infants and then diminishes with age or when the child hits puberty. Austgen L, Bowen R, (2009)

Scientists are slowly trying to develop this theory so that it will be available to treat obesity,  as well as help the older more mature person, to lose weight without having to change their lifestyle. would you prefer this to surgery?

-Another treatment that is currently being developed is called the ‘Gut Sleeve’ this is said to be an effective weight loss treatment! it involves a silicone like intestinal barrier being inserted by endoscopy (endoscopy is a non painful procedure, where the endoscope is inserted into a small cut in your skin, usually takes 15-60 minutes) ‘See! Easy!’

The Gut sleeve is inserted into the end of the stomach, reaching the beginning of the small intestine (is removed by the same process) this would allow the patient to not absorb calories from the intestine AND lose weight without going through a surgical procedure. ‘sounds good, doesn’t it?’  however, you would have to be on a strict diet after this procedure as weight gain is still possible although, there will be an improvement in health. This procedure is currently being developed and is hoping to be a fully functioning procedure within the next few years. NHS Choices, (2012)