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Abstract
The study aimed to compare nutrient content of 822 and 924 fast-food items at two-time points 2015 and 2019, respectively. Nutrient profiles for most of the fast-food items did not change significantly between 2015 and 2019. In 2019, 97% of the fast-food items (per 100 g) did not meet at least one of the reference criteria. Pizza (median serve 649.3 g) items had the highest median energy (5860 kJ), total fat (56.5 g), saturated fat (24 g) and sodium (3168 mg). Shakes (median serve 401 ml) had the highest median total sugar (44.5 g). Firmer legislations on fast-food outlets may be required to support availability of healthier food options.
Keywords: Fast-food, nutrient content, fast-food outlets, obesity, overweight
Introduction
The global prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults, was 39% (1.9 billion) and 13% (650 million), respectively in 2016 (1). Australia is exceeding these global trends and according to the 2017-2018 Australian National Health Survey, more than two thirds (67%) of the adult population were overweight, and almost one-third (31.3%) were obese. Consequently, Australia is one of the top 10 most obese nations globally (2, 3).
It is well established that there are several risk factors associated with the development of overweight and obesity such as genetic predisposition, socio-economic factors, energy imbalance, sedentary lifestyle and western-style dietary patterns (increased consumption of ultra-processed, processed foods, fast-foods and take-aways) (4). The estimated cost of obesity to the Australian economy in 2011- 2012 was equal to $8.6 billion, of which about $3.8 billion were direct costs and $4.8 billion were indirect costs from chronic diseases, diabetes, heart disease and cancers (3). Furthermore, the economic burden of obesity has been projected to rise to $87.7 billion by 2024-2025 (3).
Fast-foods have been proposed as one of the determinants of obesity (5). A time series analysis between the years 1999 and 2008 in 25 high income countries has reported a direct association between the number of annual fast-food purchases (mean purchase from 26.61 to 32.76 transactions per capita) and BMI (mean increase from 25.8 to 26.4 kg/m2) (6).
In addition, fast-food consumption has been rapidly increasing due to convenience, affordability, diverse menu choices, palatable flavour, and taste (7). A recent cross sectional study (n = 3,578) reported that 61.2%...