![The Kilojoules In American Fast Food Will Horrify You [Infographic]](https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/31/pdjjzoedjss4awsqxnm9.png?quality=75&w=640&h=360&crop=1)
If you’re planning a trip to the US anytime soon, beware of what you eat. As this chart from Flowing Data demonstrates, the menus from popular US fast food chains are not for the faint (or chronic) of heart. Here’s how the calorie damage compares at McDonald’s, Carls Jr, KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Burger King and more.
Surprise, surprise: the impossibly fit “customers” that feature in Carl’s Jr adverts are just a mirage. The chart below provides a general range of how calorific the menus of America’s top fast food restaurants really are. The chart also singles out some of the most popular or highest-calorie items, so you can see just where that Big Mac lands on the list.
“[This] chart shows all the menu items for ten of the biggest national fast food chains,” the creator explains on their blog. “Each square represents an item, and each row represents a restaurant. Items farther to the right are higher in calories and items to the far left are probably a side of apple slices.”
While some options are better than others, pretty much everything on the chart is calorie heavy to the point of being seriously unhealthy. (Well, duh.)
Okay, so counting calories is an imperfect method to begin with. but it’s interesting to see how these US fast food chains stack up against each other. I must confess to having visited most of these restaurants during various trips to the US – and I usually plump for their most extravagant menu item. Next time, I’m sticking to a Subway salad bowl.
![The Kilojoules In American Fast Food Will Horrify You [Infographic]](https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/31/pdjjzoedjss4awsqxnm9.png?quality=75?quality=75)
[Via Flowing Data]
Comments
3 responses to “The Kilojoules In American Fast Food Will Horrify You [Infographic]”
Today in utterly inscrutable, meaningless graphs…
Article called “The Kilojoules In American Fast Food Will Horrify You”
Everything in article talks about calories, only time Kilojoules is used is in the title.
#Journalism
Eh, it’s no worse than it is here. Most of the subway stuff on that seems comparable to Australia. McDonalds too. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised by that chart. Most of it is under 600 cal (2500KJ). I expected it to be waaaaay higher.