Monday, September 27, 2010

Doctors Link Washington’s Heart Disease Rates to High Concentration of Golden Arches, Other Fast-Food Outlets

WASHINGTON - September 14 - A provocative fast-food commercial set in a morgue will air during The Daily Show and local news broadcasts Sept. 16. The ad, produced by the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), takes aim at McDonald's high-fat menu, with the goal of drawing Washingtonians' attention to the city's high rates of heart disease deaths and its high density of fast-food restaurants. "Our city's addiction to Big Macs and other high-fat fast food is literally breaking our hearts," says Susan Levin, M.S., R.D., PCRM's nutrition education director. "It's time to tackle the district's heart disease problem head-on. A moratorium on new fast-food restaurants could be a critically important step toward fighting this epidemic." A PCRM survey shows that Washington has more McDonald's, Burger King, and KFC outlets per square mile than eight other cities with similar population sizes. Offerings at these restaurants include high-fat, high-sodium products such as McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese Extra Value Meal, which has 61 grams of fat and 1,650 milligrams of sodium.

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