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CNN Live Today
Americans Eating More, Exercising Less
Aired May 13, 2003 - 10:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of discussion about the super sizing of America. Health experts say that we're eating more and exercising less, and that could be a deadly combination. The nation's Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is launching a new effort to combat obesity, and he's targeting fast food restaurants. We got his side of plan just a little while ago, and now our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen checks in from our very own food court downstairs, and hopefully she's got tips for on trimming the fat -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Leon.
I didn't have to go very far to find some healthy choices in fast food and some, well, some people could say, less than healthy choices.
Let's get to the food and see what's being offered. Here we have a McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese. This is I think something typical that a lot of people would get in a fast food restaurant -- 760 calories, 48 grams of fat. That is well over half the fat you are supposed to have in an entire day, and you're getting it in one sandwich.
Now chicken a lot of people think, that has to be a better alternative, and indeed it is better, but you see from this chicken sandwich here, that it is fried. That's 410 calories, 16 grams of fat. Better than the double quarter pounder with cheese, but still, that is also quite a bit of fat.
Now here is what I think is the biggest surprise in all of this. This is -- a lot restaurants offering these new sandwiches, sort of deli-type sandwiches. This is a roast turkey ranch and bacon from Arby's, 880 calories, 44 grams of fat, and you might think, how could that be, with all this lettuce sticking out of it. Well, there is lettuce, but there also is bacon. There is also ranch dressing. So sometimes things that look they are lower in fat and calories aren't necessarily.
Now here is one that is lower and fat and lower in calories, and that is a chicken sandwich. This is from Chik-Fil-A, 280 calories, seven grams of fat. Now it's important to remember that you want to make sure you don't get a whole lot of dressing on sandwiches like these because that can really defeat the whole purpose.
Let's move to salads, because salads, more and more fast food restaurants are offering salads, and you have a lot mover control over salads. This salad here from Wendy's, mandarin chicken salad, 590 calories and 34.5 grams of fat. If you add on all of this, and this is the noodles, and nuts and dressing, if you eat it just sort of naked, it would only have 150 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. So there's a huge difference. So when you get the salad, just don't put on all dressing, you'll save yourself a lot of fat and calories.
Here's Another salad, sort of a similar tale. This one would have 380 calories and 23 grams of fat if you used all of the dressing. Again, you don't have to use all of the dressing, and you also can order it as a grilled chicken salad rather than a fried, and that's an important thing to remember, that as a customer, you often have more control than you might think.
Now earlier in our show, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson says that he's going to be doing more to encourage fast food restaurants to offer healthy alternatives and to promote those alternatives. It will be interesting to see what he does specifically to make that happen -- Leon.
HARRIS: Elizabeth, come on, tell the truth, if we scream this from the rooftops every day for the text 10 years, do you think people would still go to a restaurant and order a salad plain?
COHEN: I don't think so. I mean, it's interesting, because people say, oh, I want healthier alternatives, but the history of this has been that when restaurants do offer them, consumers don't always buy them, and instead they say, you know, I would like that jumbo, super fry double fried lots of cheese extras. And so what people say they are going to do and what they do are two very different things.
HARRIS: When it comes to food, that's the American way.
COHEN: Absolutely.
HARRIS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks. We'll see you in a bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 13, 2003 - 10:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: A lot of discussion about the super sizing of America. Health experts say that we're eating more and exercising less, and that could be a deadly combination. The nation's Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson is launching a new effort to combat obesity, and he's targeting fast food restaurants. We got his side of plan just a little while ago, and now our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen checks in from our very own food court downstairs, and hopefully she's got tips for on trimming the fat -- Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Leon.
I didn't have to go very far to find some healthy choices in fast food and some, well, some people could say, less than healthy choices.
Let's get to the food and see what's being offered. Here we have a McDonald's double quarter pounder with cheese. This is I think something typical that a lot of people would get in a fast food restaurant -- 760 calories, 48 grams of fat. That is well over half the fat you are supposed to have in an entire day, and you're getting it in one sandwich.
Now chicken a lot of people think, that has to be a better alternative, and indeed it is better, but you see from this chicken sandwich here, that it is fried. That's 410 calories, 16 grams of fat. Better than the double quarter pounder with cheese, but still, that is also quite a bit of fat.
Now here is what I think is the biggest surprise in all of this. This is -- a lot restaurants offering these new sandwiches, sort of deli-type sandwiches. This is a roast turkey ranch and bacon from Arby's, 880 calories, 44 grams of fat, and you might think, how could that be, with all this lettuce sticking out of it. Well, there is lettuce, but there also is bacon. There is also ranch dressing. So sometimes things that look they are lower in fat and calories aren't necessarily.
Now here is one that is lower and fat and lower in calories, and that is a chicken sandwich. This is from Chik-Fil-A, 280 calories, seven grams of fat. Now it's important to remember that you want to make sure you don't get a whole lot of dressing on sandwiches like these because that can really defeat the whole purpose.
Let's move to salads, because salads, more and more fast food restaurants are offering salads, and you have a lot mover control over salads. This salad here from Wendy's, mandarin chicken salad, 590 calories and 34.5 grams of fat. If you add on all of this, and this is the noodles, and nuts and dressing, if you eat it just sort of naked, it would only have 150 calories and 1.5 grams of fat. So there's a huge difference. So when you get the salad, just don't put on all dressing, you'll save yourself a lot of fat and calories.
Here's Another salad, sort of a similar tale. This one would have 380 calories and 23 grams of fat if you used all of the dressing. Again, you don't have to use all of the dressing, and you also can order it as a grilled chicken salad rather than a fried, and that's an important thing to remember, that as a customer, you often have more control than you might think.
Now earlier in our show, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson says that he's going to be doing more to encourage fast food restaurants to offer healthy alternatives and to promote those alternatives. It will be interesting to see what he does specifically to make that happen -- Leon.
HARRIS: Elizabeth, come on, tell the truth, if we scream this from the rooftops every day for the text 10 years, do you think people would still go to a restaurant and order a salad plain?
COHEN: I don't think so. I mean, it's interesting, because people say, oh, I want healthier alternatives, but the history of this has been that when restaurants do offer them, consumers don't always buy them, and instead they say, you know, I would like that jumbo, super fry double fried lots of cheese extras. And so what people say they are going to do and what they do are two very different things.
HARRIS: When it comes to food, that's the American way.
COHEN: Absolutely.
HARRIS: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks. We'll see you in a bit.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
