McDonalds U.S. Profits Surge

McDonalds Profits Surge on U.S. Sales

By: Trisha Cook

Big Mac is making a come back

Fast, tasty yet unhealthy food still has U.S. consumers lining up to order, despite numerous exposes and documentaries.

Despite the Fast Food Nation exposes and the Super-Size Me documentaries that have exposed the evils behind the fast food burger and fry meal- McDonald’s Corp. revenues are up 9 percent from a year earlier.
McDonald’s Corp is in its fifth straight quarter of increased profits in the U.S. since snapping out of a slump last year, reports the American Press.
McDonald’s attributes part of the profit surge to its focus on better food and service and new menu items. The McDonald’s website even offers a ‘Nutritional Calculator,’ which allows consumers to calculate the content of calories, fat, trans fat (also known as trans fatty acid), carbohydrates and fiber.
According to the ‘Nutritional Calculator’, a lunch consisting of a small diet coke, medium French fries with 1 ketchup package and a Big Mac holds 940 calories, 49 grams of fat, 2.5 grams of trans fat, 100mg of cholesterol and 93 grams of carbohydrates.
According to a health calculator created by University of Maryland Medicine, (http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/fat.asp) a 22 year old female, 5 foot 8 inches with a light amount of regular physical exercise, should limit her fat intake to 72 grams of fat per day.
Trans fat is partly heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Researches also believe that trans fat has a negative effect on ones immune function, reproduction and location according to www.toronto.ca/health .
Not only are fast foods and processed foods full of trans fat, a high percent of calories from fat, but also there is no nutritional value in the burgers and fries.
“It’s all dead food,” says Milena Roccaforte, a Toronto based holistic nutritionist. “There is no nutritional content and it’s drenched with trans fat.”
Over 40 percent of Canadian’s dining out money goes towards fast food.
Although the knowledge of how unhealthy fast food is, McDonald’s still manages to reel in consumers with their recognizable aroma that can be detected from blocks away.
To help learn more about how to balance a nutritious meal while eating fast food, go to http://www.toronto.ca/health/pdf/nm_fast_food_circuit.pdf .


Links: www.mcdonalds.ca
McDonalds Stock value info: http://cbs.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/newsarticle.asp?siteid=mktw&sid=3047&guid=%7B363F3CAE%2D65DB%2D458D%2D8CD4%2D0829DB8A9DDF%7D&symb=