Fast food portions and calorie content: How Australia measures up

A customer samples a doughnut at the opening of the Krispy Kreme doughnut store at Harrods in London, October, 3, 2003. Reuters/David Bebber

Fast food isn’t the same around the world. A Whopper in Australia does not only have subtle flavour and size difference, but it also has different fat content.

The data collected by ComparetheMarket.com.au shows how different food products from the same fast food chains differ from one country to the next. As it has learnt, Australia’s fast food products aren’t necessarily the most calorific in the bunch, but they still have sizeable amount.

The nutritional data were gathered from the establishment’s online menu in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Hong Kong, Portugal, Columbia, Singapore, Indonesia and Canada.

The first product assessed is KFC’s Original Recipe Burger. With 181g, Australia’s version has second to the lowest calorie content at 398, only trumped by New Zealand’s 211g at 377 calories. Germany and Canada are tied at 520 calories, though Canada’s has more in terms of portion at 216g, compared to Germany’s at 207g.

Japan’s McDonald’s medium French fries is the biggest at 135g. It also has the most calorie content at 454. Australia has the lightest in terms of portion at 104g, but it also has the second highest calorie content at 368.

Australia, once again, has the second highest calorie content in Hungry Jack’s Whopper. It registers at 693 calories at 280g. Again, Japan has the highest calorie content at 750, though it has lighter portion at 278g. At just four grams lighter, France’s Whopper has the lowest calorie content at 597.

A 6” Italian BMT at Subway is the biggest in Hong Kong at 228g and with 426 calories. France’s is 2 grams lighter with 414 calories. Australia’s, on the other hand, is lightest at 213g with 377 calories.

Australia’s Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut has the highest calorie content at 254. UK’s follows at 222 calories, with Indonesia’s version at third place with 200 calories.

Boost’s All Berry Bang smoothie has the biggest Original portion in Australia at 610ml. Compared to Portugal’s and UK’s, Australia’s Original and Regular size aren’t so bad at 349 and 266 calories respectively. However, the Kids size at 350ml has the highest calorie content at 209.

Here’s Compare the Market’s infographic of fast food portions around the world.