McDonalds and Nutrition - an Oxymoron or Not?

The ever popular, omnipotent McDonalds fast food chain has been trying for a few years now to mend the fences with activists and public service groups who protest the chain's marketing of nutritionally void food. In the wake of lots of bad publicity, and a negative documentary profiling the adverse health effects McDonalds menu can have on ones health, the fast food giant is desperately trying to regain public approval. But is it working? And do most people care?

Well, the answer to one of those questions is that while most people who go to McDonalds know what they are getting, and don't mind that it doesn't offer much in the way of waist-conscious fare, the new company-initiated push for a nutritionally responsible menu and labeling seems to be falling on deaf ears for the most part.

For example, the fast food giant recently unveiled its new nutritional information packaging at the winter Olympic games in an effort to gain back some of the perceived public trust. Public trust that had been lost through a wave of Supersize critcism, a tell-all documentary (that really told us all what we already knew deep down anyways about consuming fast food) and an increasingly health conscious society.

Society now is starting to take notice of the overwhelming frequency of obesity, weight related disease and death. Diseases that have recently been directly linked to poor nutrition, oversized portions, lack of physical activity, and a society that looks at food as they look at money - the more the better.

McDonalds also has experimented with various healthier fare. They even had a promotion involving giveaways of pedometers with the purchase of a healthy salad. They are also currently offering a healthier alternative to the traditional but miserably unhealthy breakfast of Egg McMuffins and the new sugar soaked McGriddle, in the form of a tasty apple walnut yogurt salad. Ironically, this "healthy" salad is loaded with sugar and simple carbs, which is actually a hypoglycemic nightmare, but you gotta give it to them - they are trying to branch out and be more "nutritionally aware".

But does society really want them to or ask them to be more nutritionally responsible, or even be politically correct? Aside from the ever present protesters crusading for better food offerings to the general public, does the ACTUAL general public really want this - from McDonalds? I don't know about you, but when I go to McDonalds, which is very seldom since I do try to watch what I eat, I fully expect to get a very tasty Big Mac or Double Cheeseburger with a Super Size order of fries, enjoy every minute of this guilty pleasure, and then be on my merry way to eating healthy the next day.

That's it folks - it's all gotta be in moderation. As long as you are not abusing the conveniences and admittedly addictive culinary offerings of McDonalds, or you aren't trying to be the next Morgan Spurlock (the Director/Guinea Pig for the McDonalds documentary "Super Size Me"), you should be just fine indulging in fast food - once in a while.