When it comes to weight issues, the quickest culprit to blame is the calorie. Losing weight and eating right can be hard when there are so many faster, less expensive, and more convenient options available, like fast food. But for those who watch what they eat and what they spend, here’s an interesting infographic that shows the calories per dollar (CPD) of some of our favorite fast food items.
Check out the CPD after the jump:
Hey great post. They should use this in schools to educate children about eating JUNK food. It's just too easy to buy this food at this price…. a never ending battle to reduce the amount of junk we eat.
they should take the prices off the menus and just put the CPD instead, then you can order the #207 or the #170
I turn my nose up at overweight people, I hate that my healthcare costs are high because of obesity in this country. That said, to be fair, this is why poor(ish) classes are disproportionately overweight per capita. It's not just education, it's calories/dollar. A family with median income can't feed their family with the fruits, vegetables and whole grains they need. They find food much cheaper/calorie in the cereal aisle, in a container of fries, and so on. Aren't subsidies being given to the wrong industries? Corn instead of produce?
I'm not quite sure if this is valuable information to anyone??? Does this matter to anyone? Seriously, if you eat fast food you get calories, so what? I really don't get it. Please enlighten me why this info is of value?
Now if this article and so-called info graphic compared CPD of fast food with healthy food, then we'd have a story, but otherwise this article and info-graphic are about as valuable as Subway 6" Meatball Sub.
Dear author, give me some meat here. a followup???
I just don't get it.
Oh, I thought this was meant for bang-for-buck kind of comparison, kids. I mean, per dollar sort of thing, that's what's implied. Anyway, I'm a teenage boy who weighs 250lbs (don't worry, I'm 6'7", I even out) and I like to save money at fast food places. I'm a big dude, so I'm going to be dealing with needing to eat a lot for the rest of my life. My mom can get away with 600-800 calories for a full lunch, but I'm looking more at 1500+ personally.
I'm a dollar menu kind of person, and usually only go for the $1 hamburgers and stuff. The McDouble at McDonalds, the Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger at both Wendy's and Jack in the Box, or their chicken sandwiches.
But anyway, I don't know if it's a new item or I just noticed it (it was being advertised in the window one day), but my local Jack-in-the-Box has a thing called the "Big Cheeseburger". It's a 1/4 lbs patty with a sesame seed bun, two slices of cheese, and a ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard mix (no veggies at all). It's essentially half of a $3.50 Ultimate Cheeseburger, making it a great value.
Anyway, in Washington they display the calories of each item on the menu, so I can see what I'm getting every time. So this has made me realize this is the winner in the CPD category. If you're starving and can only eat once with $3 in your pocket, get 2 or even 3 Big Cheeseburgers at Jack in the Box. Because they're 650 calories a dollar.
tl;dr
$1 Jack in the Box "Big Cheeseburger" = 650 calories FFS
lol.
Great chart!
I'm a bit surprised at how they "merely" clocked in at around 200 calories per dollar. I can think of some candy bars locally that have almost 330 calories and come for a dollar – and they go down a lot faster than a big mac, or large fries. I can easily imagine someone eating 2 or 3 of them without realizing it, while it would be exceptional for someone to eat a second double whopper. (Actually, in my case, it's exceptional for me to even be able to finish the regular whopper)
I remember doing something similar to this in college, trying to stretch my very limited food budget to get up to 1500 calories a day. I ended up spending 2 years eating nothing but crap food because I couldn't afford anything decent, and my "kitchen" was a bathroom sink with a semi-functioning microwave (enough to heat things up to a lukewarm temperature, but it couldn't cook anything).
By the way, the Burger King double cheeseburger is 580 calories and will set you back $1.07 after tax. It's one of the best deals I could find for something with meat in it. Ramen and rice are still a bit cheaper but you can't eat those all the time.
Um… what's your point, exactly?
"It's way too easy to buy this food at this price."
No it isn't. If you're poor, then do what I do: get a rice cooker for $10 and cook some damn rice — which is about $1.50 per pound or so (1 pound of uncooked rice = 1550 calories). Then go around and walk off any extra calories you ate.
If you don't like rice, try pasta. You can easily find it for $1 per pound if you shop around and wait for sales.
This isn't about price, it's about sheer laziness and stupidity.
This is a great example of GIGO (garbage in, garbage out).
Calories per dollar is a completely useless measure. Two sandwiches can have the same calories but one will be $4 and one will be $2. Guess what – per dollar, one has twice as many calories. Yet both have exactly the same amount.
You are what you measure… in this case stupidity…
How about the Jack-in-the-Box "Big Cheeseburger"? Goes for $1.29 at all locations in my area, and with 646 calories we're looking at a winner here… CPD is just over 500!!!
you should also add grams of saturated fat per dollar to this infographic. i double whopper with cheese might give you more bang for your buck, but it will also give you clogged arteries.
This is a great list. Now I know how to save money! nah nah nah nah naaa naa, I have perfeecccttt health!
Excuse my ignorance, but what does calories per dollar tell you?
If you spend a lot of money on something with a lot of calories, e.g. Starbucks, you're at a ratio of x, say 1 for example. If you spend a little bit of money on something with a few calories, you can be at the same ratio.
The second scenario is much better, but the ratios are the same. So what does this really mean?
Uhh people shouldn't be counting just calories. You need energy to live, you need a certain amount of calories. People should be more worried about fat grams and how much processed sugars are in foods. Unfortunately, our world is full of ignorant idiots who do not realize the importance of nutrition and foods and avoid calories and carbs while they ingest high fructose corn syrup and whatnot. On top of which, people fail to recognize the importance of regular exercise. Humans are animals– we are meant to be active. Who cares if you had 3000 calories one day, or 2000 the other? It only matters if you are lazy and do not use the energy properly.
How do these compare to little debbies oatmeal cream pies? a pack of twelve is like $1.50 and theyre 140 calories each… tha'ts like 1100 calories per dollar!!
i actually use CPD all the time when im broke and im hungry, good to know that two dollars can get you a days worth of food!
So a 12 inch has a similar CPD as a Big Mac?
Crazy.
I think I got fatter reading this post.
I want to know what a $1 McDonalds double cheeseburger has for Calories. There was a time when I didnt have much money, and one or two of those could get me through a whole day. Literally a lifesaver.
Fat requires the expenditure of 9 calories per gram of fat whereas carbs require 4 calories per gram of carb. These calorie per dollar ratios are only high because the listed foods all have high fat content. So if you are financially troubled and want to get good value in terms of your caloric intake, eating these foods is a seemingly decent idea until you realize you look down and realize can't see your lower extremities.
The CPD numbers above would be meaningful if they were compared against carb rich and protein rich foods.
Clearly we need to raise the price of junk food so that only rich people can be fat. : P Where I live, In Australia, Junk food is NOT cheap. It is much much cheaper to eat fruit and veg and rice from the grocery store, you can not buy a hamburger for $1 ANYWHERE, it'll cost you at least 4, but everyone is still fat. It's not about money, it's about motivation, laziness, and the fact that junk food is designed to taste delicious and be addictive! pretty silly post if you ask me. People just need to be accountable for their own actions. People are not becoming overwieght because of a LACK of choice or money, but due to the POOR choices they make.
I love the frozen pizzas from dollar tree. 600 calories per dollar!!! I'm a skinny college student and been trying to gain weight for a while… this might just be the answer.
Man, my grandmother was from Sicily and she made the most amazing meatballs I ever tasted, like you had died and gone to meatball heaven. Sadly, she didnt leave a recipe for us so I've been trying to figure it out on my own… slowly working my through the meatball recipes here, I still cant figure out what her secret ingredient was though!!!