Earlier this year, the Government introduced calorie counts on menus as part of a bid to cut obesity in the UK.
As of April 2022, information about the amount of calories in non pre-packed food and soft drinks must be displayed for customers. People are encouraged to make “healthier” choices - even in fast food restaurants.
For some, this may mean opting for a side dish instead of a main, so you can still have a treat. Fast food restaurants usually offer a wide range of dipping sauces, too.
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Interested to find out which fast food chain has the unhealthiest side dish and dip, Jackandbeyond.com collected the nutritional information of calorie, sugar, and fat intake per side dish and dip provided by the UK’s seven biggest fast-food chains.
With a variety of chicken and dough balls options to choose from, Domino’s is the chain with the most calorific side dishes with a calorie average per side dish of 531 calories. The most calorific side from Domino’s is Chick ‘n’ Mix with 772 calories - the highest among all side dishes reviewed.
Pizza Hut, averages 433 calories per side dish - just under 100 calories less than Domino’s, on average. Loaded Garlic Bread with Bacon is Pizza Hut’s most calorific side, coming in at 580 calories.
McDonald's ranks as the chain with the lowest average calories for all side dishes considered, averaging just 198 calories per side. The chain’s most calorific side is Chicken Selects, which contain 359 calories.
As well as having the highest calorific average, Domino’s also has the highest fat content, with 23.36 grams of fat per side dish on average. Chick ‘n’ Mix is Domino’s most fatty side with 21.2 grams of fat per 100g, exceeding the NHS suggested label as “high fat” food by nearly 3 grams.
Analysis also revealed Pizza Hut’s sides are the most sugary, averaging 5.17 grams of sugar per side dish. Their vegan side Mini Corn on the Cob brings you more than 28 grams of sugar, nearly hitting the daily sugar intake of an adult (30g) in one go.
When it came to dips, KFC 's have the most calories, with an average of 85 calories per dip. However, when it came to the single dip with the most calories, Nando's took the top spot - its Garlic PERinaise contains 176 calories.
Despite comparably low calories, dips from McDonald's have the highest sugar content of 10.24 grams on average, which equals to 2.45 teaspoons of sugar each.
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