SOUTH AFRICA: Fast Food Meals Hurting South African Kids

If you have visited South Africa, your first observation would be how weighty every South African is. The weight problems among SA kids have been attributed to poor diets and not enough physical activity.

Because South Africans has a significant weight problem, with around one quarter of the population being obese, most notably among South African women, where 38% are obese, and 70% regarded as overweight, South African children were the third most obese in the world.

One of the biggest contributors to unhealthy eating is fast food, packed with saturated fats, and high carbohydrate and salt content. South Africa has well over 4,500 local and international fast food franchises in the country, with more brands expected to open up outlets in the future.

Previous data compiled by BusinessTech showed that some of South Africa’s worst offenders provided meals that took up half of an adult’s daily kilojoule needs – with some stretching far past that.

These are the worst meals available from SA fast food outlets for your kids.

It keeps me wondering aloud ” Do they enjoy being overweight?

South Africans love their fast-food, so much so that we’ve eaten our way to becoming one of the most obese nations in the world.

The Lancet issued research by the Global Burden of Disease in 2014 listing the obesity ratings of 188 countries across the globe – and South Africa ranked highly, as one of the most obese nations.

According to the research report, 38.8% of all men over the age of 20 are considered overweight and obese – of these, 13.5% are categorised as obese.

For women, the figures are even worse – with 69.3% of women over the age of 20 considered overweight and obese, of which 42% obese.

While these are not the highest stats in the world (an ‘honour’ which belongs to nations such as the USA, and Mexico) this does make South Africa by far the fattest country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Fast food, fatty meals

One of the most commonly cited reasons for South African’s growing obesity problem is the ‘westernisation’ and urbanisation of the population.

Fast-paced urban lifestyles don’t leave much room for physical activity, and increasingly put people into contact with fast-food, which often carries high fat, sugar and salt content.

While bodies vary, based on normal BMI the average man should ingest around 2,400 Calories (or kilocalories) a day, and the average woman around 2,000 Calories.

These meals listed below are the most fattening items from a number of popular South African fast-food chains which, in some cases, could fill the recommended daily intake (RDI) quota in one meal.

BusinessTech counts the calories of some of South Africa’s most loved fast-food meals.