High fat and poor nutritional content is only part of the problem with eating fast food regularly. Eating food on-the-go also influences your attitude toward food. When you eat “fast”, the purpose of a meal changes from enjoying the food and loading up on nutrients, to getting full quickly, regardless of nutritional content.

Fast-food consumption also affects our children’s attitudes towards food and their understanding of what constitutes a meal. If you regularly eat take-out fast food as a family meal, or frozen convenience products that attempt to emulate the fare of fast-food outlets, keep in mind that these foods and eating habits will be the basis of your children’s “nutritional education”.

If you do eat fast food regularly, or even if you only eat it on occasion, remember that you don't have to go for calorie-loaded fries and burgers – you can make wiser choices.

• Read the nutritional tables. Many fast-food restaurants now have nutritional information for their menu items available in brochure, poster or website format. Read it before you order. To be well-prepared, become familiar with the nutritional content of the items at your favorite fast-food restaurants.
  
  
• Check The CalorieKing Calorie, Fat and Carbohydrate Counter. The 2008 edition of the book has over 200 fast food and restaurant listings. Look at the fast-food menu items to assess the calories, fats and carbs before you order.
  
  
• Beware of upsizing! Although you might get a bigger bite for your dollar when you up-size, just remember you’re getting an up-sized calorie load for your body along with it. Before you place your order, consider how hungry you really are and how many calories and grams of fat that up-size will add!