Fast Food Items Highest In Trans Fat - The 88 Least Healthy Foods

image descriptionPosted by ACalorieCounter image descriptionOctober 25th

One of the absolute worst ingredients your food could possibly contain is trans fat. Maybe you've heard of it? If not, here's a quick run down of some of the horrible things that studies have shown may be caused by a diet high in trans fat:

  • Coronary Heart Disease (Raise bad cholesterol AND lower good cholesterol)
  • Stroke
  • Diabetes

There then exists some (albeit less) evidence that trans fat may also cause:

  • Cancer
  • Obesity
  • Liver Dysfunction
  • Infertility

Like I said, it's one of the worst ingredients your food can contain. And, guess what? Fast food is pretty much the most common place you'll find this evil type of fat. Fast food is also the place you'll find the highest amounts of it.

Knowing this, I looked over the nutrition facts of literally every single item from the menus of McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, A&W, Arby's, Hardee's, In-N-Out Burger, Jack in the Box, Little Caesars, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Sonic, Subway, Taco Bell, Wendy's, White Castle, Popeyes, Del Taco, Carl's Jr., and Dairy Queen to put together a list of the 88 fast food items highest in trans fat.

Keeping in mind just how terrible trans fat is and all of the terrible things it can cause, I have given this the very catchy nickname of "The 88 Fast Food Items Most Likely To Kill You." When you look over this list with the understanding that you should be eating 0 grams of trans fat per day, you'll realize that my little nickname really isn't that much of an overstatement. So, without further ado...

The 88 Fast Food Items Most Likely To Kill You:

  1. White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings - Sack
    Trans Fat: 30 grams
  2. White Castle Fish Nibblers - Sack
    Trans Fat: 16 grams
  3. KFC Chicken Pot Pie
    Trans Fat: 14 grams
  4. Burger King Hash Browns - Large
    Trans Fat: 13 grams
  5. White Castle Chicken Rings - 20 rings
    Trans Fat: 13 grams
  6. Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Large
    Trans Fat: 12 grams
  7. Jack in the Box Bacon Cheddar Potato Wedges
    Trans Fat: 12 grams
  8. White Castle Clam Strips - Sack
    Trans Fat: 12 grams
  9. Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket 6-piece
    Trans Fat: 12 grams
  10. White Castle French Fries - Sack
    Trans Fat: 11 grams
  11. Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Medium
    Trans Fat: 10 grams
  12. Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries - Large
    Trans Fat: 10 grams
  13. Jack in the Box Onion Rings (8)
    Trans Fat: 10 grams
  14. Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries - Large
    Trans Fat: 10 grams
  15. White Castle Onion Chips - Sack
    Trans Fat: 10 grams
  16. Dairy Queen Chicken Strip Basket 4-piece
    Trans Fat: 10 grams
  17. Burger King Hash Browns - Medium
    Trans Fat: 9 grams
  18. Jack in the Box Fish & Chips - Small
    Trans Fat: 9 grams
  19. Dairy Queen Large Onion Rings
    Trans Fat: 9 grams
  20. McDonald's Large French Fries
    Trans Fat: 8 grams
  21. Burger King French Fries King Size
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  22. Domino's Garlic Dipping Sauce
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  23. White Castle Onion Rings - Sack
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  24. Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries - Medium
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  25. Jack in the Box Sampler Trio
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  26. Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Bites (16)
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  27. Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries - Medium
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  28. Jack in the Box Spicy Chicken Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  29. Dairy Queen Regular Onion Rings
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  30. Boston Market Pastry Top Chicken Pot Pie
    Trans Fat: 7 grams
  31. Arby's Apple Turnover
    Trans Fat: 6.5 grams
  32. Burger King BK Chicken Fries 12pc
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  33. Burger King French Fries Large
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  34. Burger King Sausage, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  35. Arby's Cherry Turnover
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  36. White Castle Chicken Rings - 9 rings
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  37. White Castle Clam Strips - Regular
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  38. White Castle Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (10 sticks)
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  39. Jack in the Box Chicken Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  40. Jack in the Box Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  41. Dairy Queen Large Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard
    Trans Fat: 6 grams
  42. A&W Large Fries
    Trans Fat: 5.5 grams
  43. McDonald's Baked Apple Pie
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  44. Burger King Sausage Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  45. McDonald's Medium French Fries
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  46. Burger King Ham, Egg, & Cheese Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  47. Burger King Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  48. Burger King Hash Browns - Small
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  49. White Castle Onion Chips - Regular
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  50. Jack in the Box Natural Cut Fries - Small
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  51. Jack in the Box Seasoned Curly Fries - Small
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  52. Jack in the Box Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  53. Jack in the Box Original French Toast Sticks (4)
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  54. Jack in the Box Sausage Biscuit
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  55. Dairy Queen Large French Fries
    Trans Fat: 5 grams
  56. Burger King BK Chicken Fries 9pc
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  57. McDonald's Chicken Selects Premium Breast Strips (5 pc)
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  58. Boston Market Chocolate Cake
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  59. KFC Chicken and Biscuit Bowl
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  60. Burger King Onion Rings King Size
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  61. Burger King French Fries Medium
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  62. Sonic French Toast Sticks (4)
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  63. Jack in the Box Sourdough Ultimate Cheeseburger
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  64. Jack in the Box Stuffed Jalapenos (7)
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  65. Jack in the Box Blueberry French Toast Sticks (4)
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  66. White Castle Fish Nibblers - Regular
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  67. Dairy Queen Med. Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  68. A&W Onion Rings
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  69. A&W Crispy Chicken Sandwich
    Trans Fat: 4.5 grams
  70. Burger King Tendercrisp Chicken Sandwich
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  71. McDonald's Hotcakes (2 pats margarine & syrup)
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  72. Burger King Onion Rings Large
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  73. Burger King Cini-minis
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  74. White Castle French Fries - Regular
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  75. White Castle Homestyle Onion Rings - Regular
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  76. White Castle Chicken Rings - 6 rings
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  77. White Castle Hot Chocolate Large
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  78. Arby's Cinnamon Twist
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  79. A&W Papa Burger
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  80. A&W Original Bacon Double Cheeseburger
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  81. A&W Original Double Cheeseburger
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  82. A&W Chili Cheese Fries
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  83. A&W Cheese Fries
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  84. A&W Chili Fries
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  85. A&W Kids Fries
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  86. Dairy Queen 1/2 lb. FlameThrower GrilllBurger
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  87. Jack in the Box Mozzarella Cheese Sticks (6)
    Trans Fat: 4 grams
  88. Jack in the Box Sausage Croissant
    Trans Fat: 4 grams

*NOTE* The above list shows every fast food item that contained 4 or more grams of trans fat per serving. There were TONS of items that contained less than 4 grams (anywhere from 0.5 to 3.5) but I decided on 4 grams as the cut off point for the WORST 88 foods. 3.5 grams of trans fat is still terrible, but the above 88 are the worst of the worst.

Fast Food Restaurant Appearances On This List

For added fun, I figured I'd add up how many times each fast food restaurant appeared on the above list. Here are the results:

  • Jack in the Box: 24
  • Burger King: 16
  • White Castle: 16
  • A&W: 10
  • Dairy Queen: 8
  • McDonald's: 5
  • Arby's: 3
  • KFC: 2
  • Domino's: 1
  • Sonic: 1
  • In-N-Out Burger: 0
  • Subway: 0
  • Taco Bell: 0
  • Wendy's: 0
  • Pizza Hut: 0
  • Popeyes: 0
  • Little Caesars: 0
  • Papa John's: 0

Of the fast food restaurants that appeared 0 times on this list...

  • Wendy's did have items that contained up to 3.5 grams of trans fat.
  • Taco Bell did have items that contained up to 3 grams of trans fat.
  • Popeyes did have items that contained up to 3 grams of trans fat.
  • Pizza Hut did have items that contained up to 2 grams of trans fat.
  • Subway did have items that contained up to 2 grams of trans fat.
  • Little Caesars did have items that contained up to 1.5 grams of trans fat.
  • In-N-Out Burger did have items that contained up to 1 gram of trans fat.
  • Papa John's did not have any items that contained any trans fat. Every item had 0 grams.

The following fast food restaurants did not include trans fat content in the nutrition information provided on their web site. Every other nutrient was listed except trans fat. These restaurants were therefore not included in the above list.

  • Hardee's
  • Del Taco
  • Carl's Jr.

In addition, as far as I was able to tell, some fast food restaurants didn't provide any nutrition information on their web sites whatsoever. These restaurants were also obviously not included in the above list.

  • Nathans
  • Roy Rogers
  • Blimpie
  • Kenny Rogers Roasters
  • Quiznos

Trans Fat FAQ

How much trans fat are we supposed to eat per day?

The American Heart Association recommends a maximum of no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day. Not per meal or per food, but per day total. And, get this. They also say that there is enough naturally occurring trans fats in some meat and dairy products that most people already reach this maximum 2 grams without the additional consumption of the industrially manufactured trans fats contained in the foods on the above list. So, to sum up, if you care at all about your health and enjoy being alive, you should be eating 0 grams of trans fat per day.

So does this mean we should never eat fast food ever?

In a perfect world, pretty much. I mean, you know it's junk. Besides trans fat, there's the always fun stuff like saturated fat, calories, and sodium to also think about. It really is the type of food that should never be eaten... ever. Sure, there are some better choices you can be making at these types of restaurants. And, if you're going to eat this stuff, you should definitely be making those choices. For starters, avoiding the 88 foods on this list would be a fantastic idea.

Is this information all current? When was it put together and when was it last updated?

This list was originally created in October 2007, and last updated in November 2007. I'm thinking of updating the list once or twice a year to keep it all up to date. When I do update it, it will be mentioned right here.

I found this list useful. Do you have any other similar fast food content on this site?

You bet I do. This list is actually part of a series of really big fast food articles I have put together. Feel free to check them out: Fast Food Items Highest In Calories and Fast Food Restaurants And Nutrition Facts Compared.

Where did you get all of this nutrition information from?

All of the nutritional content (trans fat) used in creating the above list was taken directly from the official web site of each fast food restaurant.