Much of the local population suffers from being overweight: about 60 percent of adults in Israel and about 20 percent of children are plagued with the problem, and of that group, 30 percent are genuinely obese, says Irit Poraz, chief dietitian at the Schneider Childrens' Health Center. And what contributes to this problem? "Fast food most definitely plays a major role," she says.
Eating fast food - which is rich in fat, sodium and cholesterol and high in calories - and conducting a sedentary lifestyle devoid of physical activity are the two primary reasons for obesity in Western countries, including Israel. Since December 2001, when obesity was declared one of America's most pressing health problems, a front taking on fast food franchises such as McDonald's, Burger King, Wimpy and Kentucky Fried Chicken has begun to coalesce. In fact, the damage caused by fast food has been cited in several lawsuits. In response, the chains have begun enriching their menus with foods considered healthier, such as salad and pasta. McDonald's, which bore the brunt of much criticism for the fat and salt content of its menu items announced that as of April 1, fruit would be sold at its branches in England.
However, not all fast food is junk food. Olga Raz, a clinical dietitian who runs the nutrition and dietary unit at Tel Aviv's Ichilov Hospital, argues that fast food offers nutritional value. She contends that a child who does not eat dairy products but enjoys pizza can receive the daily calcium requirement of calcium in this way. Nutritionist Hadar Lander agrees: "It is important to scrutinize the overall menu. If a person eats a lot of vegetables, fruits and other good foods, and every so often also eats fast food, there's nothing bad about that."
Nevertheless, many children and adults do not have a balanced diet, and it would be worthwhile to know which fast foods are less fattening and less harmful. To that end, Haaretz had three fast food types - hamburger, pizza and falafel - from several franchises tested at the Bactochem laboratory.
The portions sampled were the most basic items on each of the franchise's menu: the basic hamburger sold by various vendors (Burger Ranch's Ranch, Burger King's Whopper, and McDonald's Royal); a regular personal-size pizza (Dominos' personal margarita, a slice of Pizza Hut's margarita, a quarter-meter from Pizza Meter), and whole falafels sampled from three random falafel places. All of the food items were tested to determine their contents.
The test related to a variety of ingredients, including carbohydrates, fat, cholesterol, sodium and caloric value, and the results were calculated according to both a 100-gram portion and the value of an entire portion. For example, falafels received the lowest calorie and fat values per 100 grams, but since a standard falafel weighs more than a standard portion of pizza or hamburger, a falafel's caloric value is, on average, higher than the other two fast food types.
At the same time, it would be wise to consider the size of each tested portion. For instance, substantial differences were found among the three personal pizza choices: Pizza Meter's personal pizza (315 grams) is notably larger than those of Domino's Pizza (220 grams) and Pizza Hut (120 grams), and therefore, has more calories (851 per portion).
Poraz was surprised by the results. "We are intuitively accustomed to thinking that falafel is going to be healthier than hamburger or pizza, but based on the results, a portion of pizza contains, on average, the least sodium and has the lowest average caloric value."
Poraz also says that pizza is the closest food to current international recommendations: "Calories in food should comprise 55 percent carbohydrates, less than 30 percent fat, with proteins constituting the remainder." On the basis of these tests, pizza comes closest to the recommendation: the fat in pizza contributes 26 percent to its calorie content (in falafel, that share is 32 percent, and in hamburgers, 37 percent), carbohydrates contribute 55 percent of the calories (falafel, 54 percent and hamburger, 42 percent), and protein in pizza contributes 18 percent of its calorie intake (falafel, 13 percent and hamburger, 21 percent).
According to the survey, pizza is the least harmful food of the three types examined. Opinions vary, however, regarding the second-place finisher. Poraz says that falafel, which has large amounts of sodium and calories, is preferable to hamburgers, in which much of the fat comes at the expense of carbohydrates. Raz, however, believes that falafel is the least nourishing food: "Although it is made of nourishing ingredients, the repeated frying in oil is liable to cause the absorption of oxygenated oil by the food, and this oil contains pro-cancerous substances. It goes without saying that making falafel at home, in clean oil that is used only once, can be nutritious and healthy."
