EAT HEALTHY; TRY FRIED CHICKEN (11-2003)

By now, everyone in the country who hasn't been living in a cave
has heard of Jared, the Indiana man who lost about 300 pounds by
eating nothing but Subway sandwiches for a year and doing a lot
of walking. Since the news broke, he's been on TV daily hawking
for Subway and touting the health virtues of the fast-food
chain's menu items.

They call it the Subway diet, and more recent TV spots have
depicted others losing significant weight, though not as
significant as Jared's weight loss, by doing the Subway diet.

Well, now another fast-food company is taking a cue from Subway
by touting its products as a healthful alternative to the
standard burger and fries. KFC, formerly known as Kentucky Fried
Chicken, is claiming that you can lose weight by eating its fried
chicken.

What's that? Fried chicken is now a health food?

The ads don't go so far as to make that claim, but they come
close. And it has stirred the ire of the most famous of the
nutrition advocacy groups, the Center for Science in the Public
Interest. The group filed a complaint with the Federal Trade
Commission, claiming the KFC ads are misleading the public. They
want the ads pulled.

The FTC has demanded that KFC provide proof of its claims or stop
making them.

But what are KFC's claims? Are they any more misleading than
Subway's ads?

In one commercial, a man walks up to another man leaning against
the back of a pick-up truck and flatters him on how good he
looks, asking him what he's been doing. The other man, with
chicken breast in hand dryly says, "Eating chicken."

The commercial goes on to say that a chicken breast has 40 grams
of protein and only 11 grams of carbohydrates, making it suitable
for those on a low-carbohydrate weight loss program. Other ads
claim that two of its Original Recipe fried chicken breasts have
less fat than a Burger King Whopper.

My question is, Why is the FTC making KFC prove its claims when
apparently nobody is complaining about all those Subway ads and
their health claims? The Center for Science in the Public
Interest has no problem with Subway, because many of its
sandwiches are low in fat.

Well, guess what? Jared, and all the other Subway dieters, lost
weight because they were on a low-calorie diet, period. Jared
claimed that he ate a six-inch turkey sub for lunch and a 12-inch
veggie sub with no cheese for dinner. That amounts to a little
more than 700 calories per day. Anybody can lose weight eating no
more than that, no matter what kind of food they eat.

KFC's commercial is correct in its claim that two of its chicken
breasts contain less fat than a Whopper. In fact, two chicken
breasts have only 760 calories. Eating one for lunch and one for
dinner, along with a side salad for the veggies, would be almost
equivalent to the Subway diet in terms of weight loss potential. 

But for those who have chosen to lose weight by following a low-
carb diet, the fried chicken option is the best choice. The fried
chicken replaces the highly-refined carbohydrates in the bread
with high-quality protein. Body builders may also prefer the
chicken to the sub because of its extra protein.

Unfortunately, the FTC, the USDA, and the CSPI are still stuck in
the 1970s with its fat-is-bad mantra. Yes, fried chicken has more
fat than a veggie sub. But a sub has far more refined
carbohydrates, which may be even more deleterious to one's health
over the long haul.

And for those who don't mind pulling the skin off, a fried
chicken breast is even better, having only three grams of fat
(less than a turkey sub) and no carbohydrates.

Fried chicken may not be health food, but for those who have
chosen a high-protein, low-carb lifestyle, it can be a healthy
alternative to the highly-refined carbohydrates that sandwiches
provide. 

With the latest research indicating that low-carb diets are,
indeed, healthy and safe, the FTC and the CSPI should reevaluate
their criteria for denigrating food products.