Nutrition
Fast food - traps and tips
Did you know?
Americans spend about half their food budget on meals and drinks consumed outside the home, and consume about a third of their daily energy this way.
Fast food tips from liveto100 visitors
- If burger and chips is your favourite, try a bigger burger and skip the chips?
- Choose the basic burger (without brie, aioli, mayo, etc) and ask for extra salad. It's lower in fat, and sometimes cheaper.
- Choose a larger burger, eat it in-house, and throw away the top of the bun - you eat fewer carbs, and that's usually where the mayo and butter sits!
- Make your own burgers at home - grill lean meat or fisht, add beetroot and lots of raw onion (thinly sliced red onion is milder) and salad. Tomato sauce and mustard is better for you than mayo, as is a wheatmeal bun. Try a smear of avocado instead of butter.
- Takeaways don't have to be fatty. Try Japanese or Asian - sushi or a light stirfry. Fill up first on a tasty soup (miso or chicken and corn) and you might only feel like a small main course.
We all get too tired to cook, and it’s enjoyable having a meal out or fish and chips at the beach. Sometimes an instant meal from the supermarket is handy, too. But take care with all these options - remember health conscious people regard these foods as occasional treats rather than dietary staples. We’ll tell you why.
What are fast foods and who eats them?
These are foods like burgers, fried chicken, pizza or fish and chips, bought from fast food shops. When our population was last surveyed, 7 out of 10 children aged 2-14 years were reported as eating fast foods over 1-week period, with most doing so once in that time.
One in 7 children was eating fast foods twice a week, and 1 in 14 (which equates to 53,400 children) had done so 3 or more times a week. Of the children who ate fast foods the most, boys 10-14 years were more likely to do so, than younger boys, but there was no difference by age for girls.
Pacific boys and girls were twice as likely to have eaten fast foods at least 3 times a week; Maori girls were 1.5 times more likely to have done so than the general population of girls; and children in poor areas were much more likely to eat fast food that often than those who lived in more affluent areas.
Why are they treat foods?
Eating fast food, especially fried foods and those containing pastry, more than twice a week is associated with an increased risk of weight gain, being overweight and obese. That’s because most are high in salt, fat and kilojoules. They are also low in fibre, healthy carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals. Diets high in fat and salt and low in fibre are associated with heart disease and high blood pressure.
Fast food make-over tips
- Buy the larger pieces when buying fried food, like whole chicken pieces rather than nuggets, and wedges rather than shoestring fries, as the smaller portions contain proportionally more fat.
- Look for high vegetable and bread content options.
- Choose foods that are grilled or steamed.
- Chinese stir-fry with steamed rice is healthier than sweet and sour chicken with fried rice.
- Make your own ‘fast foods’ for kids, using healthier ingredients and cooking methods.
- Find outlets that use healthy oils, rather than lard or palm oil, to cook their food.
- Choose thin-based pizzas, not thick crusts filled with cheese!
- Ask the person serving you to go easy on the salt.
Email us your healthy take away tip
Click on the Share a Health Tip button (top left) and share your healthy eating out and fast food ideas with us. A team of dietitans will select the best tips and we will publish them on line.
More 'Eating out' articles will follow - watch this space.