Recessionary eating isn't always healthful eating, especially when it comes to the $1 value menus pushed by fast-food chains to keep sales growing through the economic slump, according to one health watchdog.
Jack in the Box's Junior Bacon Cheeseburger was ranked "the most unhealthful" value item available among the offerings of national fast-food chains, according to an analysis by dietitians with the nonprofit Cancer Project in Washington that is scheduled to be released today.
The $1 burger from San Diego-based Jack in the Box topped the ranking because of its hamburger patty and "hefty helpings of cheese and mayo-onion sauce," said Krista Haynes, Cancer Project staff dietitian.
The item contains 23 grams of fat, 860 milligrams of sodium, and bacon, a processed meat that Haynes said was associated with increased colorectal cancer risk.
Jack in the Box spokesman Brian Luscomb said the burger was a "great value for guests looking for a flavorful meal, but if you are looking for something else there are plenty of other great items on our value menu to choose from," including a chicken sandwich and a salad.
McDonald's new $1 McDouble sandwich and Irvine-based Taco Bell's 89-cent Cheesy Double Beef Burrito are among the other items singled out in the Cancer Project's report on the five least healthful fast-food value menu items.
Many of the selections from the inexpensive value menus are laden with the types of fats and processed and grilled meats that studies have linked to cancer and are among the least healthful items to eat, according to the group, which offers nutrition advice to cancer patients as well as information about nutrition and cancer.
"A lot of people underestimate the impact food can have on your health," Haynes said.
Grilled and processed meats are linked to a variety of cancers, said James Felton, associate director of the UC Davis Cancer Center.
"But with grilled meats, it is the details that count. The carcinogens are dependent on how you cook the food. The faster it is cooked and the higher the temperature, the more you are going to get," Felton said.
The popularity of these inexpensive selections has risen as the economy has deteriorated, said Darren Tristano, a restaurant industry analyst at Technomic Inc. in Chicago, especially among economically disadvantaged and middle-income households.
