Health

Airline Food High In Fat

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

January 31, 2002 / 8:43 AM EST / CBS

Airline meals already have bad reputations, and now a new survey by eFit.com found that many airline meals are high in fat. Charles Platkin, president and CEO of eFit.com talked to the Early Show.

EFit.com, the Online Health and Fitness Network, conducted a survey of in-flight meals from 15 airlines and found that the meals are unusually high in fat and calories. EFit.com President and CEO Charles Platkin talked about the survey and what passengers can do to eat healthy while flying.

Efit.com surveyed 15 of the top airlines and asked for their coach and first-class dinner menus and recipes. Most of the airlines were unwilling to provide with their own nutritional breakdowns of their meals. Nutritionists at eFit.com analyzed the menus to find out just how healthy or unhealthy dining in the sky really is.

They found that the average in-flight coach dinner has about 1,054 calories, roughly the same as downing a Big Mac, medium fries and strawberry sundae at McDonald's. They estimated that the average in-flight dinner with a whopping 52 grams of fat, 8 grams more fat than a meal at McDonald's.

Most airlines told eFit.com that they didn't have the resources to provide nutritional breakdown on all the meals they prepare. Efit.com nutritionists did their own nutritional analysis using a software package commonly used by dietitians. The results include estimates of total calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat and sodium.

According to the survey, no one airline stood out in terms of offering very healthy or very unhealthy meals, the numbers themselves spoke volumes. In the big picture, there’s no escaping the fact that once you’re 30,000 feet in the air, you face some definite nutritional challenges.

You can determine your own fate when it comes to eating healthy in the air, according to Charles Platkin. Your best bet, by far, is simply to order a special meal when you’re making your reservation. Most airlines offer as many as two-dozen menu options for nutritional, medical or religious needs, ranging from low-fat/low-calorie, vegetarian, low-sodium, gluten-free, non-lactose, low protein to Kosher, Hindu and many more.

All you have to do is to give the airlines at least 24 hours' notice, and they should be able to accommodate your request. Most of these meals have nutrition information available upon request (some even place a nutrition information card on your tray when your meal arrives), so be sure to ask if you need the specifics.

Airlines surveyed include Northwest, United, US Airways, America West, Delta, Continental, TWA, Qantas, American Airlines, British Airways, Midwest Express, JAL, Virgin Atlantic, Air France and Lufthansa, and Virgin Atlantic.