Good Question: Who Has The Healthiest French Fries?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- On Tuesday, Burger King released a healthier french fry: the Satisfry. The fast-food restaurant says it has 20 percent fewer calories and 25 percent percent less fat compared to regular fries. It's made with a different batter so less oil is absorbed.
"If they taste the same, I'm totally game," said Christina Manzo, of Miami.
"I think it kind of takes the charm out of eating french fries," said Wes Veldman, of St. Louis Park.
Research organization The NPD Group says 44.4 percent of all orders at hamburger fast food restaurants contain fries. Last year, Americans ordered 8.7 billion orders of fries and 6.4 billion of those were from hamburger fast food restaurants. Fries come in second behind soda and just ahead of burgers and sandwiches.
Sara Bloms is a registered dietitian with the Everyday Table.
When it comes to the Satisfry, she says, "I don't want to say it's a healthy option, but it's a better option."
On the fast food market right now, she says the Satisfry would be the healthiest. But when asked to rank the seven top-selling fries (McDonalds, Wendy's. Burger King, KFC, Chick-fil-a, Sonic and Arby's) based on calories, fat, saturated fat and sodium, she said she wouldn't.
"Because I don't think there's one standout fry," she said. "It's a mixed bag."
Click on the link for a chart of the top-selling fries to see nutritional contents. The smallest size available is the portion used. You can see KFC has the least amount of calories/g, Burger King has the least amount of fat/g and Chick-fil-a has the least amount of sodium/g.
When it comes to how often people should eat fries, Bloms uses a familiar dietitian phrase: moderation. She says that includes exercising and eating healthy the rest of the time.
"Moderation is dependent on who you are," she said. "If you're a person who eats out a lot moderation is choosing French fries once a week. If you're a health nut, moderation is once every three months."
