Consumer Guide to Fast Foods Based On Caloric and Fat Gram Limitations

Abstract

The purpose of this project was to develop an educational tool for consumers frequenting fast food restaurants. The Fast Food Freeway Guide TM was developed to help people select SizeWise TM meals that would keep them below a certain level of calories and grams of fat. Surveys show that dietary fat is the number one consumer nutrition concern. It consistently ranks higher than concern for salt, cholesterol, sugar, and caloric intake. According to the Prevention Index, the majority of adults are trying to avoid too much fat. However, according to The Third Report on Nutrition Monitoring, there does not appear to be sufficient public knowledge on how to reduce dietary fat from various sources. Consumers also complain of hearing about “what not to eat” rather than “what they should eat,” and state by a 62 percent margin that they would prefer to learn how to choose foods rather than about individual nutrients. The Fast Food Freeway Guide TM addresses these issues by providing consumers with SizeWise TM meals they can consume while on the road that are below 400 calories/15 grams of fat for women and 600 calories/25 grams of fat for men.