Eating fast food might have been one of the myriad factors affecting people's weight over the past 40 years. But, according to this new study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the calorie content of fast food hasn't appreciably changed in 12 to 13 years. From the abstract:
Spanning 1997–1998 and 2009–2010, the number of lunch/dinner menu items offered by the restaurants in the study increased by 53%. Across all menu items, the median energy content remained relatively stable over the study period. Examining specific food categories, the median energy content of desserts and condiments increased, the energy content of side items decreased, and energy content of entrées and drinks remained level.
Conclusions
Although large increases in the number of menu items were observed, there have been few changes in the energy content of menu offerings at the leading fast-food chain restaurants examined in this study.