Tell your patients: A new study finds each chain restaurant meal provides on average more than half of the recommended calories for one day, and lots of fat and salt.
 
The study data for the research letter appearing in the May 13 JAMA Internal Medicine  is from Canada -- which just makes it more alarming, as a 2007-2009 Centers for Disease Control study found that the United States has 10% more obese people than its neighbor to the north.
 
Researchers from the University of Toronto analyzed meals from 26 “sit-down restaurants” (SDR) chains that had 10 or more locations, and got nutritional averages from “3507 different variations of 685 meals, as well as 156 desserts from 19 SDRs…”
 
The average meal contained 1,128 calories, or 56% of the average daily calorie recommendation for human life. The average meal also contained 89% of the recommended daily dose of fat and 60% of the recommended amount of cholesterol.
 
“With respect to sodium,” say the authors, “more than 80% of meals exceeded the daily adequate intake level [1500 mg], with more than 50% exceeding the upper tolerable intake level [2300 mg].”
 
In a separate but related study in the issue, researchers from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington, D.C. found that while the sodium content in U.S. processed foods went down slightly between 2005 and 2011, “the sodium content in 78 fast-food restaurant products increased by 2.6 percent.”