Wendy's Revamps Menu

Category: Diet and Nutrition

Wendy's, the nation's third largest burger chain, has revamped its menu. The chain will switch to a healthier, non-hydrogenated cooking oil, as well as eliminate its "biggie" and "great biggie" beverage portion names. Although Wendy's will be using a healthier cooking oil, nutritional experts are concerned that the name change will encourage larger portion sizes.

Wendy's increased the portion size and calorie content of its soft drinks after the name change. The 'biggie' soft drink, now called a 'medium', tops out at 32 ounces. The 'great biggie' drink, now called a 'large', packs 100 more calories at 48 ounces. The new 'small' soft drink is 25 percent larger at 20 ounces.

"When something is called 'biggie', you know that it's big and maybe you shouldn't finish it," says Lisa Young, NYU professor and author of The Portion Teller. "That's a quart of soda for one person. My worry is that calling it 'medium' gives people the illusion they can drink without guilt."

However, nutritionists approve of Wendy's new cooking oil, a blend of corn and soy oils. The non-hydrogenated cooking oil will reduce harmful trans fats by 95 percent in Wendy's fried foods, including French fries and breaded chicken dishes. A large order of French fries will be reduced from 7 grams to 0.5 grams of trans fats and the breaded chicken sandwiches will contain zero grams of trans fats. Trans fats have also been removed from Wendy's salad dressings.

Trans fats raise bad cholesterol while lowering good cholesterol. A diet high in trans fats increases the risk of heart disease, obesity and certain cancers. However, the removal of trans fats does not guarantee a low-calorie, low-fat meal. Wendy's fried foods and salad dressings will still be high in fat and calories.


REFERENCES:
1. Horsley S. Wendy's Biggie Portion Gone in Name Only. NPR, June 20, 2006:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5498454

2. Wendy's is Changing to 'Healthy' Cooking Oil, or is It? Mercola.com, June 8, 2006: http://www.mercola.com/2006/jun/29/wendys_is_changing_to_healthy_
cooking_oil_or_is_it.htm

Posted by Elaine Gavalas on December 17, 2013 10:00 AM