This Is Officially The Unhealthiest Fast Food Chain In America Right Now
The site set out to find the unhealthiest fast food in America by reviewing "nutrition data, menu gimmicks, and marketing tactics at major chains," to determine the biggest offenders—and the results might surprise you. According to World Atlas, the top 10 unhealthiest options "routinely serve meals that can eclipse daily calorie limits in a single sitting while encouraging visits through bargain pricing and around-the-clock service." Sitting pretty at the top of the list? Wendy's.
Both the chain's burgers and beloved Frostys are calorie-dense, with some of its promotional meals exceeding daily calorie, sodium, and fat recommendations in one fell swoop. But how did the rest of America's most iconic chains fare? Well, you can feel relatively good if you're a devout fan of Burger King, Shake Shack, or Arby's, which didn't make it to the top 10. Here's how the rest shook out.
Top Ten Unhealthiest Fast Food Chains In America
Wendy's: The Triple Baconator meal clocks in at over 2,000 calories, and the chain's deals and late-night hours encourage frequent overindulgence.
Sonic: With massive portions and sugary drinks, like the 44-ounce Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Master Shake, Sonic packs an alarming calorie and sugar punch.
Taco Bell: Its loaded burritos and combos sneak in sky-high calorie and sodium levels.
Dairy Queen: Blizzards and fried combo baskets often push a single meal past the 2,000-calorie mark.
KFC: A three-piece Extra Crispy combo delivers about a full day's worth of salt, saturated fat, and calories in one go.
Quiznos: Oversized subs like the Classic Italian hit about 1,300 calories and pack in excessive sodium, making it a heavy nutritional load.
McDonald's: A standard Big Mac meal can hit 1,300 calories, thanks to its fries and soda pairings.
Smashburger: Stacked burgers like the BBQ Bacon Cheddar burger, plus decadent shakes, make this chain a caloric heavyweight.
Little Caesars: One pepperoni pizza—marketed as an everyday meal—can supply more calories and salt than most people should consume in a day.
Chick-fil-A: Meals like the fried chicken sandwich with waffle fries quietly deliver major calorie counts, but not as high as others on this list.
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Miami Herald
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Wendy's wins an honor no restaurant wants
The pandemic and its afterburn decimated restaurants. Only one sector has been a bright spot: fast food. Fast-food joints like McDonald's, Chick-fil-A, Wendy's, and Taco Bell are still popular, thanks to convenience and value. We Americans love our fast food, but that convenience comes at a cost not reflected in the price tag. Don't miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet's free daily newsletter When you look at the nutritional data from many of the most popular fast-food chains, what you see is alarming, especially when you consider that 19.7% of children ages 2-19 years in the U.S. are obese. But the problem isn't just calories. Fast food contains fat, sodium, and added sugar that contribute to serious health problems like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Those fries, Frostys and bacon-laden burgers are definitely delicious, but a single meal from a fast-food chain often contains more calories than a person needs for a whole day. If you're trying to decide between a handful of your favorite spots, you might want to check out World Atlas' recent comparison of fast-food chains. They found that when it comes to unhealthy menu items, a couple of chains stand out from the rest. In their ranking, World Atlas looked at the nutritional data from nearly a dozen popular menu items. The survey factored in calories, saturated fat, sodium, and sugar. According to the findings, Wendy's is one of the unhealthiest chains in the U.S., but the legacy fast-food chain has plenty of company. Sonic Drive-In, Popeyes, McDonald's, Five Guys, Dairy Queen, and Carl's Jr. are also on the list of the worst for you. While Wendy's has made an effort to use and promote fresh ingredients, like its "Fresh never frozen beef" promise, and offers a variety of green salads prepared daily, its signature sandwich, the Baconator, rings in at more than 900 calories. When packaged with an order of medium fries and a medium Frosty, the tally jumps to than 1,600 calories. Related: McDonald's Snack Wrap causes alarming shortage The fat and sodium levels in this one meal are above daily recommended limits, yet Wendy's marketing embraces indulgence. Slogans like "You know you want it" and "Baconator. Resistance is futile," give off a "We know you can't help yourself" kind of energy. It's hard to beat the quick-service convenience and the fact that the Wendy's Baconator meal is just $12 (where I live in Nevada). A similar meal - bacon cheeseburger, fries, chocolate shake - at a sit-down restaurant like Red Robin will set you back more than $24. The bottom line is that fast-food chains are thriving, even as concerns around Americans' overall health grow. The one thing all the names on the unhealthiest list have in common is fiercely loyal fan bases, and appearing on lists like World Atlas' doesn't appear to hurt business much. Wendy's posted $2.9 billion in sales Q1 2025, down only slightly from the same time in 2024. Quick-service restaurants, including fast food chains, are popular and profiting because they offer value pricing and digital ordering and convenience. Customers also rate fast-food restaurants higher in terms of satisfaction than they do full-service restaurants. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) 2025 report indicates that customer satisfaction with quick-service restaurants is higher than that of full-service restaurants. It can also be difficult for healthier restaurant chains to compete with the fast service and extended hours offered by national chains. So, even though healthier chains like Sweetgreen and Cava are popular in urban markets, traditional fast-food brands still dominate everywhere else. Turns out we want our food fast and cheap, no matter how many calories are in the bag. Related: McDonald's secures honor no restaurant wants The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Yahoo
This Is Officially The Unhealthiest Fast Food Chain In America Right Now
Every once in a while, hitting up the drive-thru or ordering your favorite indulgence from a fast food chain just slaps. A late-night cheeseburger and fries (obviously dipped in ice cream) is basically the stuff of dreams. Of course, I try to relegate myself to only a few treats a year (something that's become progressively harder as an editor at Delish). Fast food doesn't have a particularly healthy rap, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it from time to time. However, some chains are worse offenders than others. World Atlas to the rescue! The site set out to find the unhealthiest fast food in America by reviewing "nutrition data, menu gimmicks, and marketing tactics at major chains," to determine the biggest offenders—and the results might surprise you. According to World Atlas, the top 10 unhealthiest options "routinely serve meals that can eclipse daily calorie limits in a single sitting while encouraging visits through bargain pricing and around-the-clock service." Sitting pretty at the top of the list? Wendy's. Both the chain's burgers and beloved Frostys are calorie-dense, with some of its promotional meals exceeding daily calorie, sodium, and fat recommendations in one fell swoop. But how did the rest of America's most iconic chains fare? Well, you can feel relatively good if you're a devout fan of Burger King, Shake Shack, or Arby's, which didn't make it to the top 10. Here's how the rest shook out. Top Ten Unhealthiest Fast Food Chains In America Wendy's: The Triple Baconator meal clocks in at over 2,000 calories, and the chain's deals and late-night hours encourage frequent overindulgence. Sonic: With massive portions and sugary drinks, like the 44-ounce Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Master Shake, Sonic packs an alarming calorie and sugar punch. Taco Bell: Its loaded burritos and combos sneak in sky-high calorie and sodium levels. Dairy Queen: Blizzards and fried combo baskets often push a single meal past the 2,000-calorie mark. KFC: A three-piece Extra Crispy combo delivers about a full day's worth of salt, saturated fat, and calories in one go. Quiznos: Oversized subs like the Classic Italian hit about 1,300 calories and pack in excessive sodium, making it a heavy nutritional load. McDonald's: A standard Big Mac meal can hit 1,300 calories, thanks to its fries and soda pairings. Smashburger: Stacked burgers like the BBQ Bacon Cheddar burger, plus decadent shakes, make this chain a caloric heavyweight. Little Caesars: One pepperoni pizza—marketed as an everyday meal—can supply more calories and salt than most people should consume in a day. Chick-fil-A: Meals like the fried chicken sandwich with waffle fries quietly deliver major calorie counts, but not as high as others on this list. You Might Also Like Insanely Easy Weeknight Dinners To Try This Week 29 Insanely Delicious Vodka Cocktails Solve the daily Crossword
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Is Chick-Fil-A unhealthy? Here's where this Georgia chain ranks among others
Loved by millions and born right here in Georgia, Chick-fil-A has long held a reputation for top-tier service, signature chicken sandwiches, and a place in the hearts (and diets) of Southerners. But according to a new report from World Atlas, Georgia's homegrown fast-food giant might be less heart-friendly than fans would hope. A recent analysis by World Atlas assessed menu nutrition profiles and found high levels of calories, saturated fats, sodium, and sugar across offerings from each chain. See where Chick-Fil-A ranks next to industry staples like Wendy's, McDonald's, and Taco Bell. Top 10 unhealthy fast-food restaurants in the US Wendy's Sonic Taco Bell Dairy Queen KFC Quiznos McDonald's Smashburger Little Caesars Chick-fil-A The report underscores broader public health concerns in Georgia and nationwide. Georgia ranks among the top 20 states with the highest obesity rates in children and adults, according to CDC data. "An 'original chicken sandwich' with medium waffle fries delivers ~ 750 mg sodium, about one-third of a day's limit, and 800 calories, while sugary lemonade and milkshakes push totals sky-high," World Atlas wrote. "The chain dialed back its 'No Antibiotics Ever' pledge in 2024, though its 2026 cage-free-egg goal remains." Who founded Chick-fil-A? Chick-fil-A started in a small diner in Hapeville, Georgia and is now known across the country for making great chicken. The trio behind Chick-Fil-A is the Cathy family and siblings are Bubba, Dan, and Trudy. The first location opened in 1967 at Atlanta's Greenbriar Mall. The chain has more than 2,800 restaurants across the U.S. and in Canada and Puerto Rico. Vanessa Countryman is the Trending Topics Reporter for the the Deep South Connect Team Georgia. Email her at Vcountryman@ This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Is Chick-fil-A really healthier? World Atlas says no. Solve the daily Crossword
