Fitness buffs, gym rats and self-professed nutrition know-it-alls may want to brush up on their favorite fast food chain's nutrition information.
A new study found that almost 70 percent of people are unable to pick the most fattening item from a menu at various eateries.
A study commissioned by the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) asked residents to choose the item with the least calories, least salt, most fat and most calories out of a group of items from popular fast food and restaurant chains.
Not a single person of the 523 polled answered all four questions correctly, less than one percent got three of the four correct and only five percent answered half the questions correct, according to the study. More than two-thirds of the participants -- 68 percent -- got all four questions wrong.
"I have a doctorate in public health, and I failed this quiz," said Harold Goldstein, executive director of CCPHA, in a press release. "And common sense does not help either. Who would think that a large chocolate shake at McDonalds has more calories than two Big Macs?"
Others who have knowledge of nutrition are not surprised by the study's findings. Julia Ello-Martin, a professor of nutrition at Penn State, said because of the limited information consumers have, the results were what she expected.
"It really wasn't surprising when I looked at the questions they used in the poll," Ello-Martin said. "[There was] limited information in the questions; [there was] no information about portion sizes to help people compare, but that's often what people are given."
The study also asked participants if they would back a law forcing fast food restaurants and chains to put their nutritional information on menus and menu boards. Eighty-four percent of Californians polled agreed. California ranks 23rd on the United Health Foundation's 2006 list of healthiest states, with 22.7 percent of its population obese, according to a 2006 Trust for America's Health. By comparison, Pennsylvania ranks 28th on the list, with 25.3 percent of its citizens obese.
"California has a perceived active lifestyle," said Chip Harrison, head strength and conditioning coach at Penn State. "There is a perception that there are beaches and bike-riding, and the same doesn't hold true for Pennsylvania."
Harrison said he likes the idea of posting nutritional information, but he said he isn't sure if a law is necessary to enforce it.
"More information is better than less if you can get people to understand the risk factors of being overweight and out of shape," he said. "Whether it is something that needs to be a law, I don't know."
Ello-Martin said she supports the idea of forcing restaurants to post nutritional facts, if nothing else than to serve as a shock-and-awe tactic.
"Not everyone will be interested or educated, but when you see something has 2,000 calories -- you may not know a lot about food or nutrition -- but 2,000 calories means something to you," she said. "It may influence the way you eat -- you may eat half of it, you may order something else, you may eat less later on."
In contrast, Ludwig Papp (freshman-nutrition) said people expect not to eat healthy at fast food places, and the real issue is how the food is made.
"The main problem about eating out at [fast food] restaurants is that people have no knowledge about what ingredients and methods of preparation the restaurant is actually using," Papp added.
