Don't supersize me follow up...

Yesterday, just after we posted on the potential pitfalls of eating too much fast food, a new study came out supporting the very point we were making: the more often you eat out, the greater the likelihood you'll be overweight. The study was done at Temple University and showed that people who ate fast food 3-6 times per week had significantly higher BMIs (body mass index) than those who ate fast food 0-2 times per week. BMI is a measure of your weight relative to height or in simple terms, the higher your BMI, the more overweight you are.
The study also looked at whether people would be willing to pay more for healthier items and the answer was basically no. Luckily, some chains, like Wendy's, have healthier items available on the combo deal without any extra charges. So you can get a salad, baked potato, chili, or yogurt + granola rather than fries with your meal for no extra money. You can even get a bottle of water instead of a fountain soda, no charge. After doing a nutrition analysis with the same grilled chicken meal with yogurt + granola and water, you can save 220 calories, 10 grams of fat and 250 mg of sodium over the small French fry, small Coke version.
Since Americans eat out an average of 5 times per week -- and with our hectic schedules we know that's not going to change -- every fast food chain needs to offer healthier choices without the customer having to pay more for it. Because we all know it's hard enough passing up those greasy, salty fries for a salad, you don't need cost to be a factor also. So, stick to the restaurants that offer healthier choices without having to make a dent in your wallet. It's all about balance, and Wendy's is one place helping make that a little easier. (Hey, that could be their tagline.) Who knows? If every fast food place got on board with offering healthier choices at no extra charge, maybe the next time they do the study, they'll find that people who eat at fast food joints are no heavier than people who avoid them. At least that's this dietitian's/mom's/crazy-busy-person-who-eats-fast food-too's pipedream.