Chris, I use Consumer Reports from time to time, but seriously doubt if very many fast food customers care much about nutrition or fat content. I think studies like these tend to reinforce people's preferences, making them feel better IF their favorite picks happen to be above average in these departments, but they don't change many people's eating habits. The same goes for the "fat police" reports we get every year on Chinese food, or Mexican food, etc. If people really paid attention to these studies they would be abandoning these restaurants in droves. Don't all fast food restaurants have to offer a printed report on the nutrtitional (fat) content of all their items if the customer asks for one? You ever hear the person in line in front of you asking for one?
I believe MacDonalds has a long history of testing vegetarian and lower fat items, only to have them fail miserably in the marketplace. People choose fast food outlets because of convenience and because the food tastes good. JITB's success has come from their emphasis on "specialty" or "premium" sandwiches, designed to appeal to working professionals who want something better than the average burger or chicken sandwich. And they deliver. For example, I'm not a freqent fast food addict (3-4 times a month), but I love JITB's spicy chicken sandwich. I'm sure it's loaded with fat, but it's all relative, because my regular diet is mostly vegetarian. JITB is a diet-busting, fat-frolicking treat when I do go. Add french fries and an oreo cookie shake and you probably have "heart-attack-in-a-bag".Yummmm!
BTW, did you happen to catch the fat content of JITB spicy chicken sandwiches? :-)
D. Kuspa |
