Worst Fast Food of 2010

Posted on Dec 20th 2010 2:00PM by Martha Edwards

You think holiday foods are bad for you? Sure, indulgent items like eggnog and pecan pie will warrant a few extra hours at the gym, but nutritionally speaking, they're angels compared to some of the shocking fast food creations that have hit the market this year.

While the U.S. has an ongoing obesity crisis, companies like KFC and Friendly's have been working to trump each other in the battle for most indulgent menu creations. The sandwiches seem to mock anti-obesity campaigns across America with single sandwiches that equal an entire day's worth of calories.

Check out the worst fast food offerings of 2010:

Eater.com

BK's Pizza Burger. This nine-inch burger is not for the faint of heart -- it has four patties plus more cheese, pepperoni and marinara sauce than you can shake a stick at. No wonder it has more than 2,500 calories -- in case you're wondering, that's pretty much an entire day's worth of calories in one burger. It's not surprising that BK had to divide it into slices.

YouTube.com

IHOP's Cheesecake-Stuffed Pancakes. Eating pancakes for breakfast is one thing; eating pancakes stuffed with dessert and served with a side of bacon, hash browns and two eggs is quite another. And at 1,250 calories, IHOP's Pancake Stackers, which were a featured menu item in spring, provided a lucky diner with half of one's recommended daily calories in one meal -- and that's all before lunchtime.

KFC

KFC's Double Down. What do bread and fried chicken have in common? They serve the same function, thanks to KFC. The Double Down, which consists of bacon and cheese between two pieces of fried chicken, changed the way we think about sandwiches -- and not for the better. KFC did try to avoid controversy by releasing a grilled version of the Double Down, but with more sodium, no veggies and only marginally fewer calories, even the grilled Double Down falls short of being a menu item that can even remotely be considered nutritious.

Friendly's

Friendly's BurgerMelt. We thought the Double Down was bad until we saw this one. It's your typical burger, but instead of a bun, the patty is enveloped by two grilled cheese sandwiches. Which is why the nutritional content comes as no surprise: 1,500 calories and 79 grams of fat.

Denny's

Denny's Fried Cheese Melt. Even die-hard cheese lovers might find this to be over the top. Earlier this year, Denny's released a fried cheese melt, which is basically a grilled cheese sandwich with mozzarella sticks baked inside. Come on, do you really need deep-fried cheese in your cheese sandwich? What's worse, it comes with fries. At 1,260 calories, it's only slightly lower in calories than the BurgerMelt, but it should still be off limits.

Check out the gallery below for more over-the-top fast food creations:

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Outrageous Fast Food

Domino's BreadBowl Pasta, 3-Cheese Mac-N-Cheese, whole dish

Calories: 1460
Fat: 56 g
Sodium: 2840 mg

You know it's mac and cheese and you know it's surrounded in calorie-loaded carbs, but did you know this deceptive dish counts as two servings? And that's probably why this order puts you near your daily fat allowance and way past the recommended daily salt intake. If you have the willpower -- eat one serving, or half the bowl!
*Note: The nutrition information isn't available on Domino's Web site. AOL Health requested the information from Domino's directly.

Rachel Been, AOL

Getty Images North America

Outrageous Fast Food

Domino's BreadBowl Pasta, Chicken Alfredo, whole dish

Calories: 1400
Fat: 50 g
Sodium: 2140 mg

If you're craving chicken alfredo, and you happen to be at Domino's, consider ordering their bread-less version. In comparison it contains a lighter 600 calories, 29 fat grams and 1080 mg of sodium.

*Note: The nutrition information isn't available on Domino's Web site. AOL Health requested the information from Domino's directly.

Outrageous Fast Food

Quiznos Tuna Melt, large

Calories: 1760 calories
Fat: 133 g
Sodium:2120 mg

If you want to stick to the government's health guidelines, eat this over the space of two days or you'll go overboard on fat. And hold the dressing on this one -- it'll save you 370 calories and 40 fat grams. Yikes!

Outrageous Fast Food

Wendy's Premium Fish Fillet Sandwich

Calories: 470
Fat: 24 g
Sodium: 930 mg

Don't let the "premium" and "fish" in the name fool you into thinking this new order is lean. For a truly lighter option from Wendy's try the Grilled Chicken Go Wrap, which contains 260 calories, 11 fat grams and 760 mg of sodium.

Outrageous Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday's Boston Blue Burger

Calories: 1466
Fat: 98 g
Sodium: Not available

This burger contains more than a day and a third's worth of fat grams -- or a fat content equivalent to four meals. It also contains about three-fourths of a day's worth of calories, and who knows what Ruby Tuesday's doesn't want you to know about the sodium content!

*Nutrition Information varies by location.

Outrageous Fast Food

Dunkin' Donuts Waffle Breakfast Sandwich

Calories: 390
Fat: 23 g
Sodium: 1000 mg

While this bad boy doesn't compare to the train wreck of a breakfast platter from McDonald's (see slide 22), do you really want to eat nearly half a day's worth of sodium for breakfast?

Outrageous Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday's Veggie Burger

Calories: 1007
Fat: 53 g
Sodium: Not available

Okay, this is a tough one to understand. Store-bought veggie patties like those available from Garden Burger, Boca Burger and Morningstar Farms, usually amount to about 100 calories and 5 grams of fat without any fixings. Which begs the question, just what kind of fixings is Ruby Tuesday's adding in? To be fair, this meat-free version is lower in calories and fat than most of the other burger options available from Ruby Tuesday's.

*Nutrition Information varies by location.

Outrageous Fast Food

Ruby Tuesday's Kids' Mini Turkey Burgers and Fries

Calories: 873
Fat: 46 g
Sodium: Not available

If you're watching your weight while eating out, you might think that the kid's menu is a safe place to order from. That's not necessarily the case at Ruby Tuesday's. While the kids' minis are certainly lighter than their adult counterparts, they also contain about 70 percent of the fat adults should consume in a day.

Note: Dietary recommendations for calorie, fat and sodium intake are not available.

*Nutrition Information varies by location.

Outrageous Fast Food

Hardee's Monster Thickburger

Calories: 1420
Fat: 108 g
Sodium: 2770 mg

This monster tops out your daily fat and sodium. Talk about scary!

Outrageous Fast Food

Burger King Steakhouse Burger

Calories: 950
Fat: 59 g
Sodium: 1950 mg

This new BK burger packs half the calories and nearly all of the sodium and fat you should have in one day. If you eat it, don't even think about ordering a side of fries. A small order would tack on an extra 340 calories, 17 fat grams and 590 mg of sodium.

Outrageous Fast Food

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20 Comment

Tags: BK pizza burger, burgermelt, calories, dennys friendlys, double down, fast food, fried cheesemelt, ihop, kfc, pizza burger, worst fast food, worst foods

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Paige Gersten 12-21-2010 @ 12:41AM

I was surprised that all of my favorite foods are included in this list. :( Oh my realized just now that I've been feeding my body with unhealthy foods. Thanks for sharing.

Blurgle 12-21-2010 @ 8:28PM

Gee..."Barbara" the Spambot is posting one of those "Colon cleanse" spams. Very dangerous product, only an idiot clicks on a spammer's link/url anyway but such a product is the worst thing one can do to one's body. Amazing how they keep changing the name of the product too, I remember about a year ago this was "Power Colon Cleanse". Now, does that sound like a legit product if they have to do THAT to keep selling it?

Oh, and in before people have a hissy fit and claim these people are playing food police. :P The idea is they are just giving suggestions, they aren't running up to you and forcing you to not eat any item posted here. If you don't like that they post suggestions and nutritional value of each meal there's an easy way to avoid that. Don't read their blog.

BTDT 12-21-2010 @ 8:52PM

Most won't listen, but having been through by-pass surgery I can assure you these sandwiches just aren't worth it.

JACKIE 12-21-2010 @ 9:25PM

To be honest, none of these dishes even sound that appetizing. The way we've been eating lately any one of those dishes would serve both of us plus left overs.

Jim 12-21-2010 @ 10:44PM

No wonder we're a nation LOADED with people who are nothing short of FAT PIGS. Why would anyone in their right mind even order this crap? I don't blame the fast food companies as much as I blame the stupid idiots who would even think about putting this garbage into their bodies in the first place. It's common sense, people: garbage in, garbage out.

kat 12-22-2010 @ 6:27AM

DITTO! Many of the comments on here appear to be missing the point somewhat! You shouldn't be eating these farcical meals. Just look at the colours of it all: beige, brown, yellos, white. Where are the rich colours of VEGETABLES!!!!!!!!! (sorry am I swearing here?). You wouldn't catch me eating this rubbish EVER. Not even once a year. GROW UP WORLD!

KITZER 12-21-2010 @ 10:52PM

One of these days, I AM going to have the 'Grilled Double Down'!! Granted, I will NOT be consuming it all in one sitting, what could be a better combo than CHICKEN ~ BACON ~~ CHEESE!!!

Paul 12-22-2010 @ 12:02AM

In honor of Jim I am going to have one of each of these over the next two days, if they are still available.
Some people like to enjoy their food, just as Jim enjoys lashing out at people online to relieve insecurity-induced stress.

Also, the Double Down shouldn't be on any of these lists. It's stupid to be outraged at this. The ONLY reason it is thought of so badly is that it is missing a bun. Throw two bun halves on the thing and you have a double chicken sandwich and nobody notices it. I wouldn't say you are being the food police, but listing this is bandwagon/false hysteria.

It has about the same calories as a large McDonald's fries. Get over it.

lacey 12-22-2010 @ 1:40AM

no wonder why america is @#$%ing fat.

joella 12-22-2010 @ 4:58AM

Corporate America is why the average American is FAT! Example: You have to be at work at, say 7a.m. You arrive on time, work all day efficiently. You take a lunch, because you skipped breakfast but eat lite. It is now 3:15 p.m., you are supposed to leave at 3:30 p.m. The Boss drops something on your desk that you have to get done TODAY. You spend another 1 and 1/2 hour doing what could have been done earlier. You are stressed! It is now 4:45 p.m.
You have to rush to the daycare to get kids before they close and begin charging at quarter intervals, ($15.00 every 15 minutes you are late). More stress! By the time you get home, who wants to cook. So pizza, chicken, etc.. is dinner. Why? Because corporate America wants to make bucks. It has been proven through the ages starting with slavery, take advantage of the average citizen and you will succeed. The Boss left on time had a nice probably healthy home cooked meal. The worker and family had to scarf down fast food.

barb 12-28-2010 @ 9:41PM

america is fat because of hp, dell, e machine, nintendo.wii. they sit to much and are not active,thats what makes you fat.

SkyBlue 12-22-2010 @ 2:22AM

There's not one thing wrong with these food items, unless you're choosing to eat them every day. Once in a while, as a treat, they're OK. On a regular basis, you're killing yourself.

kat 12-22-2010 @ 6:32AM

you are only fooling yourself, sorry! WHY would you want to eat them at all? IF you got into healthy living in the truest sense - it would never occur to you to eat them - you'd simply walk on by. I am not trying to be sanctimonious, but it is a bit like smoking. If you don't smoke and love living a healthy life - you'd never even go close to it, and the smell is abhorrent. Fast food, if you live a good life, is the same. NO VALUE.

Megan Brese 12-27-2010 @ 9:02PM

This is why i refuse to even try such a thing. I would probably like it too much haha. It's better not to know.

Megan Brese 12-27-2010 @ 9:08PM

also some of these restaurant dishes do have a lot of calories but how many people actually eat their entire meal when they go out?

deew1950 12-28-2010 @ 7:25AM

thank goodness we dont have meals like this in our take aways here in the UK....I would be the size of a house !!

icare-thinkwithaconscious 12-28-2010 @ 9:57AM

Thank goodness I'm vegetarian! About Ruby Tuesday's veggie burger.. don't really care for it since they changed it from a regular "burger" to a few mini "burgers"... I don't see the point of that. Though, I have made a special request to have a regular size burger made which then only falls apart. I think they should go back to the drawing board. I think Fuddruckers has the best veggie burger.

cajun 3-18-2011 @ 8:19PM

I could feel my arteries hardening just reading the article. In fact I am sure I gained weight. I think I better head off to the gym!!!

barb 12-28-2010 @ 9:31PM

the reason america is fat is not as much to do with food as it is sitting at the computer, sitting at play stations, wii's, nintendo ds, tv, movies. kids sit in the house because parents arent home playing all these games and watching tv, stop blaming food and send them out to play ball, or play something, get them moving and sitting less and stop blaming foods for what is your fault.