Dal prof says KFC glorifies unhealthy eating

Double Down may be worse than advertised

Torey Ellis, staff contributor

The Double Down may be even unhealthier than advertised, say health experts. According to Dr. Sara Kirk, Canada Research Chair in Health Services Research at Dalhousie, the Double Down is “a symptom of a society that has lost contact with the food they’re eating.”

The Double Down, which was introduced in Canada a month ago and has since been taken off the menu, consists of bacon, cheese and  sauce between two pieces of breaded chicken.

KFC’s Nutrition Information lists 540 calories, 30 grams of fat and 1740 mg of sodium for the sandwich, less than some other KFC products.

However, “I just look at it and think it must be more,” says Dr. Sara Kirk, Canada Research Chair in Health Services Research at Dalhousie.

“Originally, there were concerns that the calorie count was wrong,” says Kirk.  “Deep fried chicken, bacon, processed cheese; essentially it is unhealthy. Not more than other fast food, but very unhealthy.”

King’s student Tyler Duffy agrees. “The chicken alone is bad enough, using it for bread is just overkill,” he says, though he claims he’s “no health freak.”

“That’s just too much for your taste buds to handle,” he says.

Fellow student Lauren Curnow says that eating a Double Down is “like taking a bite of concentrated heart attack,” but also says she might eat one again.

Virginia Raftus, manager at KFC Quinpool, says the sandwich has been “extremely successful”.

“Even before it came out in Canada we had people coming into the store asking if we had it, when we would have it,” she says.

Raftus says that most people buying the sandwich are male, likely students.  “Most people that young can eat anything,” she says. “I mean when I was younger, I could eat more things and get away with it.”

Raftus says that eaten a treat, the Double Down isn’t bad for your health. “As long as you don’t abuse it.”

“That’s all fine,” says Kirk to those sorts of views. “But how many people are really eating these things just as a treat? It’s not a treat anymore. Nothing is a treat anymore. We have these things every day.”

“This is not an example of a healthy balanced product,” she says.  “Companies like KFC and Burger King, they almost like to glorify the unhealthiness.”

Other products at KFC advertise almost twice the calories, like the Classic Sandwich with 1010 calories and 22 g fat.

“We’re going to cost the health industry so much more if we don’t stop eating like this,” says Kirk.

The Double Down was taken off the Canadian menu Monday after its first month of sales, a practice that Raftus says is standard for any new product. She says supplies will likely last another week.