Fast Food Nutrition Facts and
Calorie Count

We have listed the fast food nutrition information and calories for some of the well-known fast food restaurant chains.

Fast food covers a large number of different cultures and cuisines, but is considered to be predominantly highly processed food that is prepared quickly, to either take away or eat in. Below we provide links to the nutrition and calorie pages of the largest fast food restaurants, to save you time trying to find them.

Fast Food History

Fast food has existed for centuries, but in the western world, what we commonly think of as fast food, started back in the 1940’s in the United States with McDonalds. KFC opened its first franchise in the 1950’s. In the UK, Wimpy is probably the best known historical name, which also started around the same time.

Fast food has grown from humble beginnings to become an immense business, with sales measured in the billions, in just the US alone.

Fast Food Statistics

To understand the size of the fast food industry, approximately 1 in 6 Americans will eat fast food each and every day, with the restaurants turning over more than $100 billion annually.

McDonalds alone has more than 33,000 restaurants serving more than 60 million people daily. Advertising is huge - Pepsi spend more than $2 billion a year. More than 50 gallons, or 230 litres, of fizzy drinks, per person, per annum are consumed in the US.

Fast Food and Health

There is no doubt that most fast food is unhealthy. Fizzy drinks are full of sugar, the food is processed, and often high in both saturated fat and sodium, unless of course you decide to buy a salad with a bottle of water.

Maybe surprisingly, whilst there have been numerous studies, there is little evidence to link obesity with fast food. However, in 2010, the University of North Carolina concluded that regularly eating fast food will result in an increased BMI rating.

Tufts University reported in January 2016, that a number of researchers had concluded the majority of restaurants regularly serve meals that exceed recommended calorie requirements, and we simply do not stop eating until our plates are empty. In September 2016, Columbia University tested specific fast food portions, and reported on specific items from three fast food chains that had more calories than was stated by the restaurant.

Fast food eaten occasionally due to a busy lifestyle can be acceptable, but eaten regularly will have a big impact on your health. The food is deficient in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Therefore you are consuming calories that are effectively useless, other than giving you the effect of feeling full. Your body will then convert those calories to fat. Additionally, this food will not keep you feeling full for long, and you will soon have a craving for more, as highly processed foods are high on the glycemic index (GI index), digesting quickly, they cause swings in blood sugar levels, which will make you feel tired, hungry and looking for more sugar again in a very short time.

Obesity leads to type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These in time will cause heart disease.

Healthy Fast Food Choices

Cut out fizzy drinks, and instead drink plenty of water. Milk and fruit juice are also ok in moderation. Cut out french fries and white bread they are high in the GI index.

Eat lots of salad and dress with a little olive oil. When eating salad in a restaurant, check what their dressing contains.

Fruit – we all need to eat more fruit. It’s nutritious and full of vitamins, and can certainly be prepared quicker than a burger.

Grilled chicken is an excellent source of protein. Stay away from deep fried chicken.

If you must eat a burger, then throw away the white bun.

Eat plenty of vegetables (excluding french fries) – they are low in calories, high in fiber and only take a few minutes to prepare and most can be steamed within 10 minutes.

Bread – eating brown bread is an excellent source of fiber. Do not eat white bread which is high in the glycemic index.

Calories and Nutrition for Fast Food Restaurants

Click on the links below to find out the fast food calorie count and fast food nutritional information for the products that they provide. The links will take you direct to the nutrition page of each company. If there is a fast food source that we haven’t included, let us know and we’ll get it added.