Interesting McDonald's survey

Just thought this was interesting, and wanted to share:

Yesterday, I was asked to participate in a videotaped survey about McDonald's. During the interview, I was shown pictures of McDonald's foods, asked to identify them, and tell who I thought would eat them, and under what circumstances.

One of the pictures was of a McDonald's Filet of Fish sandwich (I think that's what it's called.) It was a square fried piece of fish, with a slice of cheese and a big glob of tartar sauce, and a big bun.

I said that it looked like something someone would order who was dragged to McDonald's by friends, and didn't really want to be there. And someone who didn't care about their weight, as it is obviously horrible for you (processed fried fish, cheese, globs of tartar, big white bun.)

The interviewer was surprised with my answer. He said I was correct that it's really bad for you, but that most interview participants had said that they thought DIETERS would eat the filet of fish, because fish is healthier than red meat!!!!! He said many of them had said that when they are watching their weight, they will go to McDonald's for a Filet of Fish!!!

It's just so hard to believe what people really think about food!!!

Thu. Jul 12, 12:17pm

Well, it is fish, even if it is some kind of refrozen mystery fish. I guess people just have the idea that fish is good for you, which it is. They don't realize how bad the white bread, grease, tartar, and cheese are.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 1:13 PM

WOW! Scary...scary & sad. Thanks for sharing, interesting!

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 1:15 PM

Where can I take this survey?
Can you eat the food afterward??

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 1:18 PM

That just goes to show how misinformed so many dieters are. When I go to McDonald's, I'll order a salad (and only use half the dressing) and maybe a fruit & yogurt parfait for dessert. I KNOW there are better things out there to eat, but not at McDonalds.
When I joined PT (over 2 years ago!!), I thought I was pretty well informed about diet and exercise - and I was, to a certain extent - but I've since learned so much more!
Could this all be so simple as to just TELL people what they ought to be doing? Really - who considers the filet-o-fish a diet food??

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 1:23 PM

This makes my stomach hurt just thinking about it. But seriously....who would go to McDonalds and eat a Filet -O-Fish when they are on a diet. McDonalds is McDonalds. Even the surveyor, which i'm assuming may have been an employee of McDonalds, knows its bad!

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 1:24 PM

Most people who answered that survey probably ate at McD's themselves, and they probably ate burgers. For a lot of people, fish=diet and bad taste=healthy, so they just assumed it was there for the dieters.

I remember craving those things like crazy when i was pregnant. LIKE CRAZY

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 1:27 PM

Ewww filet of fish is so grossssss.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 2:05 PM

Elderly people order the Filet O Fish from what I have noticed.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 2:06 PM

what's with all the threads that have an underlying tone of stereotyping lately? it's getting annoying.

if mcdonalds offered a fish sandwich in a wrap with shredded lettuce and if the fish was broiled or poached instead of breaded and fried, i'll bet they would sell a lot. who ever heard of orange american "cheese" on fish anyway? yucko.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 2:15 PM

Hm...I'd have answered vegetarians. Probably because the only person I know who who orders a Filet o' Fish is a vegetarian, and it's been on the menu since before baby-boomers discovered low-fat dieting.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 2:54 PM

Vegetarians! Ofcourse! I was a vegetarian for 4 years and that's what I ordered most. So did my cousin. At the time I thought it was a healthy choice, but a lot of people don't know much about what is healthy and what isn't, why do you think like 60% of Americans are overweight? Now I know better, but only because I invested time and energy in finding out. Not because the information was readily available.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 2:57 PM

OP here -

I often sign up on Craigslist or FindFocusGroups.com to do focus groups, b/c they usually involve an hour of work and $75+ in cash. This one was half an hour, in my office building, and said it was for $25. So I signed up. Money is good. Turns out, it was a $25 McDonald's gift certificate! Oh well...

I did actually eat there for lunch yesterday, and got a ton of food for around 500 cals (my lunch budget), and was full for a decent amount of time. Not healthy, by any means, but not such a huge hamper to my weight loss, and, well, free.

I had 1 cheeseburger, w/o most of the bun, a small fries, an apple dippers w/ no caramel, and a diet coke. Truly a McDonald's meal, not a salad, etc., but yeah, around 500 cals.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 2:58 PM

i am a vegetarian (and have been one for over 20 years). why do you call yourselves vegetarians even though you eat fish?

hey op: thanks for the explanation about how you got involved. i often see those offers but never followed any up because i thought they were bunk. nice to know there are some legitimate ones.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 3:02 PM

There are different stages of vegetarianism. Yes, you can still be a vegeratrian and eat fish, dairy, and eggs. I hate these pointless battles. Look it up. I also hate when people consider themselves high and mighty because they are vegetarians - like they are doing the world some good. (Yes, I was guilty of it at one point). But it's time to get over yourself.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 3:25 PM

actually, by definition, a vegetarian does not eat any animal flesh, including fish. you can call it whatever you want to, obviously, but you are not being accurate. i am not looking down from any pedestal i climbed up, i'm just pointing out that if you eat fish you are not a vegetarian, at least not by definition. it's like saying, "i don't drink alcohol. but i drink beer." you don't want to go around saying one thing but then doing another, do you? seriously, i meant no offense.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 3:44 PM

That's called veganism.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 4:01 PM

Actually...have you guys heard the term lacto-ovo vegetarian? It means that a person eats dairy, milk & cheese & eggs. Basically, animal by-products but no actually meat. I bet there's more fancy words out there to describe the various kinds of "vegetarians".

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 4:07 PM

actually, a vegan does not eat any animal by-product, such as dairy or gelatin. vegetarians, by definition, may include dairy in their diets.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 4:09 PM

Stop getting huffy, whoever the vegetarian is. You're not special because you chose the bovine diet.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 4:31 PM

I'm a vegetarian, I'm not huffy at all, I choose not to eat meat, but I don't care who does. I find people THINK vegetarians think we are better but I never come across that way because I don't talk about it, I just don't eat meat. But then someone will offer meat and I refuse, they ask why, I tell them, and they feel guilty or something and lash out. I have nothing against meat-eaters but it seems like I get so much crap for being a vegetarian from some people.
No, I'm not special because I'm a vegetarian, but you don't have to insult me. I know the comments are not directed at me, but no one said they were better than anyone else, and I'm sick of the bad rap.

This got way off topic! Anyways, would it be better to eat crappy fish than the burger since fish is usually better?

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 5:00 PM

I think eating a plain (no cheese, no sauce) hamburger is much better than the filet-o-fish, which is deep fried and full of fat.

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 5:55 PM

Im not a vegetarian, but I would still choose the filet over the burger. Have you no idea what they put in that burger? It's guts, brains, ligaments, and dirty meant that had most likely been on the floor mixing with rat droppings.

BTW, I'm writing this as I eat dinner. :)

Thursday, July 12, 2007, 6:43 PM

just playing devil's advocate

How do you know they aren't putting guts, brains, ligaments, and dirty meat into the filet o fish?

Friday, July 13, 2007, 11:52 AM

has anyone read "fastfood nation " ? a great book & kind of puts you off wanting to eat fast food burgers !

Friday, July 13, 2007, 3:46 PM

I'm not vegan or vegetarian but I'm a waitress and it drives me INSANE when people say "I'll have the haddock. I'm a vegetarian." They're aren't "types" of vegetarians. You hear "lacto-ovo-vegetarian" often because a lot of people assume that vegetarianism and veganism is the same thing. It's not. Once and for all, here it is.

VEGANS-don't eat any animal products! no dairy, no eggs, no meat, no whey, no casein, etc.

VEGETARIANS-don't eat the flesh of any living creature-including fish.

PESCATARIANS (or Pescetarians)-avoid all animal flesh except for fish.

If you eat fish, or poultry, but not beef or pork-you are not a vegetarian. I hate to burst anyone's bubble, or definition of themselves, but really if you are eating fish and calling yourself a vegetarian, you will come off as a moron. Eat whatever you want, but make sure you know what you are talking about before you label yourself. In case you don't believe me, that vegetarians don't eat fish here are a few links with definitions of vegetarianism. If you want a label my dears, you are a pescatarian, not a vegetarian!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism
http://www.primusweb.com/fitnesspartner/library/nutrition/vegetarian.htm#types%20of%20vegetarians

Link

Saturday, July 14, 2007, 12:34 AM

12:34-- I do agree with your definitions 100%, but as most veggies out there have experienced... When I was a vegetarian, I would inform the waiter or hostess, at which point they would say, "Do you eat chicken?" or "But is turkey okay?" Uh, NO... I'm a vegetarian! "But you can have chicken broth, right?" That would be CHICKEN. I would venture to say the majority of people who aren't vegetarians themselves or know someone well who is, just don't get it.

Saturday, July 14, 2007, 1:52 AM

11:52

Because they do not slaughter fish in a slaughter room, where the people walk around in boots up to their thighs as to avoid the guts on the floor from getting on their clothes. Didn't you know that when a large anumal dies (including humans), the bowels release whatever it is they were holding, and they shit all over themselves. When cows are killed, they shit themselves, and fall thrashing in their own shit until finally they die. You learn something every day. Check out PETA'a websites, they have candid videos.

Saturday, July 14, 2007, 9:46 AM

Thank you 12:34, you rock!

Saturday, July 14, 2007, 2:34 PM

To the Friday, July 13, 8:10pm poster:

White bread may not be entirely bad (though many posters here will disagree), but it is not good because it does not deliver much nutritional value. It is a simple carb that is quickly broken down by the body into sugars, which do two things:

First, they cause a spike in blood sugar, giving you a "burst" of energy, which is quickly followed by a drop in blood sugar that will leave you more tired than you were before.

Second, they are metabolized more quickly than other food sources (proteins, fats, fibers, complex carbohydrates), so they are quickly digested, leaving you hungry again soon after.

White bread is also bleached, processed, etc. Some people care, some don't.

In short, white bread is basically just empty calories. It will not keep you full, it will not give you energy (except in the very short term), it will not give your body any of the nutrients it needs to run more efficiently. To me, for the most part, it is a waste of calories. I'd rather eat something that will keep me full longer, b/c I don't have that many calories to "spend" per day, and I don't like being hungry!

Monday, July 16, 2007, 11:43 AM

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