Methodology

To identify the fast food items with the most calories, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the nutritional content of every food item on the menus of about 20 fast food restaurant chains in the United States. Some of the items on the list are offered only regionally.

Only food items intended for consumption by one person in a single sitting were included. McDonald’s 50-piece Chicken McNuggets, for example, was excluded.

We also excluded from the list whole meals. For instance, Monterey Melt Whatameal, which contains nearly 2,000 calories, was excluded.

Of food items that are the same type but come in different flavors or sizes, we only considered the one with the highest amount of calories. For example, the large version of Krystal’s Hand-Spun Milkshakes Oreo is on the list, but not the medium or small size, or the vanilla or strawberry-flavored milkshake, which have fewer calories.

Nutritional values were taken from the nutritional information posted on the official website of the varying fast food chains, with few exceptions. In those cases, calorie counts, as well as the amount of sodium, fat, sugar, and cholesterol were drawn from Nutrition Charts or Fast Food Nutrition.