Hospital meals less healthy than Big Macs: study

 

A Big Mac burger is healthier than 75 percent of NHS hospital meals, a recent study conducted in the UK has revealed.

The study examined twenty five different meals provided by an NHS food supply chain to find that sixty percent of hospital food contained more salt than the popular McDonald’s burger. Seventy five percent had more saturated fat.

The survey was carried out by Sustain, a campaign group demanding that the government bring compulsory minimum food standards into the NHS.

“Without standards, many meals will remain unhealthy and unappetizing,” said Alex Jackson, a Sustain member. “It’s staggering to think sick patients could be better off eating at McDonald’s.”

The study comes after a bill on transforming hospital food was discussed in parliament for the first time earlier this week.

One case in the study showed that a bowl of curry contained six times more fat than a KFC zinger burger set menu, while another pasta meal served at the hospital contained saturated fat three times the daily recommended amount for an average person.

The study showed that forty percent of the meals contained more saturated fat than a nine inch pepperoni pizza.


By Sim Guk-by
Intern Reporter

(simgukby@heraldcorp.com)