Fries Remain Unhealthy Option

Sept. 4 -- The bottom line: french fries are not health food.

That's what nutrition experts are reminding the public, after news the nation's biggest fast food chain will change the fat in its fries.

McDonald's said Tuesday it plans to introduce in all of its 13,000 restaurants a new cooking oil that is less damaging to the heart. Although the total calories and fat content of the fries will remain the same, the company claims the oil will reduce so-called trans fatty acids by 48 percent and saturated fat content by 16 percent.

"I think McDonald's is making a good move, but one that may lead consumers to a false impression," says Chris Rosenbloom, chair of nutrition at Georgia State University in Atlanta. "That is, that french fries will now be a 'good food' and can be eaten with less guilt."

It's a food's total fat content that Americans must beware of, nutritionists warn. The American Heart Association, or AHA, for instance, recommends that no more than 10 percent of the day's calories should come from trans-fats and saturated fats combined.

A large order of McDonald's fries will still contain a whopping 26 grams of fat. Explains Cathy Nonas, registered dietitian in the obesity research center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital in New York. "Twenty-six grams of fat in a 2,000 calorie diet equals 12 percent fat if you had no other fat sources. ... Federal guidelines suggest 30 percent fat or less for the total day, so there is not a lot of fat grams left. Worse, there are still a lot of calories and the french fries often go with 'value' meals which are quite large, quite caloric and filled with fat and sugar."

And although the AHA contends that french fries aren't healthy, they say McDonald's is moving in the right direction.

"Clearly, fast foods have a reputation of providing more of the bad fats, so that the step in the direction McDonald's has taken is clearly a step to reduce the trans-fats, which are really included in the bad fats, for the consumer," says Dr. Robert Eckel, nutrition committee, AHA, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "But I've heard nutritionists say french fries are as bad as you can get."