Eating healthy can be particularly hard given the sheer amount of fast-food restaurants available for everyone to pick. But even among the variety of burgers, fries, fried chicken, and the occasional milkshakes, some stand on top for the wrong reasons.
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Recently, PlushCare - a telehealth platform that provides primary care appointments - conducted a study to determine America's unhealthiest food items. Among them, is the unhealthiest burger in America. The study analyzed 24 different fast food chains and their nutritional menu items, adding their calories (kJ), sugar (g), saturated fat (g), and sodium values (mg) to an overall Unhealthiness Score
Overall, Five Guys' Cheeseburger ranked as the unhealthiest burger of them all. It has an Unhealthiness Score of 50 (12 calorie points, 26 fat points, 1 sugar point, and 11 sodium points). It is followed by the Jalapeño & Cheese Whataburger from Whataburger and the Classic Smash burger from Smash Burger. Both are tied with an Unhealthiness score of 42.
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"According to our calculations, the Five Guys cheeseburger is the most unhealthy in its class, primarily because it has 73% more saturated fat than any other fast-food cheeseburger," states the study.
Other Unhealthiest Fast Food Items
Not only does Five Guys has the unhealthiest burger, but also the unhealthiest fries. With an Unhealthiness Score of 28, the Regular Five Guys Style fries are the "perfect" combo for their Cheeseburger. Steak 'n Shake's Medium French Fries landed second place with a score of 19. The Seasoned Fries from Bojangles got third place with a score of 18.
Other unhealthy items were also analyzed in the study: chicken burgers, chicken nuggets, and milkshakes. Popeyes leads the race in both the chicken sandwich and chicken nuggets categories with the Chicken Sandwich Classic tallying a score of 39 and the Nuggets 8pc having a score of 30.
Finally, Fatburger provides the unhealthiest Vanilla Shake milkshake in America. It has a whopping score of 63, the unhealthiest item of the study. It is followed by Sonic's Medium Vanilla Shake with 55, and - once again - Five Guys' Base Vanilla Shake with 51.
PlushCare concludes by saying that while half of Americans are willing to eat healthier. However, current food costs make the decision more difficult. "Fast food is hard to beat for cost and convenience, but keeping it healthy means making informed decisions," wrote the PlushCare Content Team.
