Fast food portions haven't changed since 1996, study finds

The US Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston” conducted the study, which also found that fast food portions appeared not to expand in size during the time frame studied. Still, lead study researcher Alice H. Lichtenstein, of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, “said fast food companies should not focus on small, medium and large sizes as much as calorie counts and nutrients.” For example, a large cheeseburger meal inclusive of regular soda and French fries, depending on the restaurant chain, could provide anywhere from “57% to 88% of a person’s daily calorie recommendations.” “at some fast-food chains, calorie counts have gone down over 18 years; at others, they’ve gone up,” according to research published Dec. 31 in the CDC’s journal Preventing Chronic Disease. After scrutinizing “nutritional information for all of the cheeseburgers, French fries, grilled chicken sandwiches and nondiet sodas sold between 1996 and 2013 at three leading fast-food chains,” researchers also found that “fat and sodium in...menu items vary greatly from chain to chain.” http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/fast-food-portions-haven-changed-1996-study-article-1.2062318