According to food service industry estimates, at least 30% of Americans (children included) eat fast food every day, and most of us eat it between one and three times a week – whether we admit it (or are proud of it) or not.
You don’t have to be a nutritionist to know that fast food – whether it’s a burger at McDonald’s, a carne asada bowl at Chipotle, or a fried chicken sandwich at Popeyes – isn’t particularly good for you. While some items are obviously less harmful than others, almost anything you can get to grab-and-go is high in calories, sodium, and saturated fat.
What might not always occur to us, however, is that the drinks we get at these establishments can be as unhealthy as many of the solid food items offered.
To determine the unhealthiest drink on the menu at 20 of the most popular fast-food chains in the country, 24/7 consulted nutrition charts on the chain websites. We judged unhealthiness first of all by the calorie count of the largest size offered. When more than one item had the same number of calories, we factored in sodium and total sugar.
It’s perhaps not surprising that eight of the 10 unhealthiest items we found were milkshakes or milkshake-like beverages. And it should be noted that add-ins for these items, and for the elaborate coffee drinks on the menus at chains like Starbucks and Dunkin’, can up the calorie counts even further.
What might be surprising is that four drinks that sound sort of healthy – fruit punches and flavored lemonades – made this list. And it’s probably a safe bet that most of us don’t realize how high in sodium some beverages can be. A large peanut butter shake from Sonic Drive-In, for instance, comes in at 1140 mg – which is 133 mg more than a Big Mac.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you should choose low- or no-calorie drinks in place of these treats, however. Here are 10 reasons you will never want to drink diet soda again.
Here is a list of the unhealthiest drink at your favorite fast-food chain:
20. Chipotle
- Drink: Apple Juice (regular)
- Calories: 240
- Sodium (mg): 10
- Total sugar (g): 52
19. Taco Bell
- Drink: Wild Strawberry Cream Delight Freeze (large)
- Calories: 240
- Sodium (mg): 55
- Total sugar (g): 58
18. Popeyes
- Drink: Fanta Strawberry (regular)
- Calories: 300
- Sodium (mg): 95
- Total sugar (g): 81
17. KFC
- Drink: Code Red Mountain Dew (large)
- Calories: 430
- Sodium (mg): 125
- Total sugar (g): 115
16. Subway
- Drink: Blue Sky Lemonade (large)
- Calories: 440
- Sodium (mg): 135
- Total sugar (g): 108
15. Wendy’s
- Drink: Blueberry Pomegranate Lemonade (large)
- Calories: 450
- Sodium (mg): 45
- Total sugar (g): 110
14. Jersey Mike’s
- Drink: Tropicana Fruit Punch (giant)
- Calories: 453
- Sodium (mg): 94
- Total sugar (g): 120
13. Raising Cane’s
- Drink: Barq’s Root Beer (large)
- Calories: 460
- Sodium (mg): 140
- Total sugar (g): 116
12. Jimmy John’s
- Drink: Barq’s Red Cream Soda (large)
- Calories: 460
- Sodium (mg): 180
- Total sugar (g): 119
11. Starbucks
- Drink: White Chocolate Mocha (without whipped cream), 2% milk (venti)
- Calories: 510
- Sodium (mg): 330
- Total sugar (g): 74
10. Burger King
A Dayton, OH, unit of Burger King.
- Drink: High-C Fruit Punch (large)
- Calories: 530
- Sodium (mg): 115
- Total sugar (g): 132
9. McDonald’s
- Drink: McFlurry with M&Ms (regular)
- Calories: 640
- Sodium (mg): 200
- Total sugar (g): 83
8. Arby’s
- Drink: Strawberry Shake (limited time offer) (large)
- Calories: 730
- Sodium (mg): 380
- Total sugar (g): 109
7. Chick-Fil-A
- Drink: Cookies & Cream Milkshake (large)
- Calories: 750
- Sodium (mg): 580
- Total sugar (g): 97
6. Whataburger
- Drink: Chocolate Malt (large)
- Calories: 920
- Sodium (mg): 780
- Total sugar (g): 166
5. Dunkin’
- Drink: Peppermint Mocha Swirl Frozen Coffee with Cream (large)
- Calories: 1170
- Sodium (mg): 280
- Total sugar (g): 182
4. Jack in the Box
- Drink: Oreo Cookie Shake with Whipped Topping (large)
- Calories: 1170
- Sodium (mg): 560
- Total sugar (g): 105
3. Five Guys
- Drink: Milkshake with Oreo Crème (regular)
- Calories: 1250
- Sodium (mg): 435
- Total sugar (g): 110
2. Sonic Drive-In
- Drink: Peanut Butter Shake (large)
- Calories: 1340
- Sodium (mg): 1140
- Total sugar (g): 130
1. Dairy Queen
- Drink: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Pie Blizzard (large)
- Calories: 1440
- Sodium (mg): n/a
- Total sugar (g): n/a