Most unhealthy fast-food cheeseburger revealed: new analysis

Don’t go bacon your heart.

Cheeseburgers are a beloved food to many, but some cheeseburgers are better for your health than others.

A new analysis from telehealth medical provider PlushCare has revealed the most unhealthy cheeseburgers from 16 fast-food chains.

The team of researchers analyzed the nutritional value by consulting the nutritional menu for calories, sugar, saturated fat and sodium values, then cross-referencing the Department of Health’s nutrient profiling method to score relative unhealthiness of each item.

Findings showed that Five Guys has the unhealthiest cheeseburger, scoring 50 unhealthiness points. According to the official site, it clocks in at 980 calories, 55 grams of fat and 1,050 milligrams of sodium.

Whataburger and Smash Burger tied for second place with a unhealthiness score of 42, and Carl’s Jr. came in fourth place with 37 unhealthiness points.

Culver’s was the least unhealthy cheeseburger option with a score of 17, and perhaps surprisingly, McDonald’s and Burger King tied for the second to last least unhealthy option, both with a score of 18.

Top most unhealthy fast-food cheeseburgers (in order from most to least)

• 1. Five Guys: Cheeseburger (50 points)
• 2 (TIE). Whataburger: Jalapeño & Cheese Whataburger (42 points)
• 2 (TIE). Smash Burger: Classic Smash (42 points)
• 4. Carl’s Jr.: Famous Star with Cheese (37 points)
• 5. Sonic: Sonic Cheeseburger (36 points)
• 6. Wendy’s: Dave’s Single (34 points)
• 7 (TIE). Shake Shack: Single Cheeseburger (30 points)
• 7 (TIE). Fatburger: Medium Original Fatburger (30 points)
• 9. Steak ‘n Shake: Single with cheese (26 points)
• 10 (TIE). In-N-Out: Cheeseburger with onion (25 points)
• 10 (TIE). Dairy Queen: Original Cheeseburger single (25 points)

Five Guys also had the least healthy fries (28 points), followed by Steak ‘n Shake in second place (19 points).

Again, McDonald’s fries were toward the bottom, second to last on the unhealthy least, with a score of 7. In-N-Out fries were the least unhealthy (6 points).

Top most unhealthy fast-food french fries

• 1. Five Guys: Regular Five Guys Style (28 points)
• 2. Steak ‘n Shake: Medium French Fries (19 points)
• 3 (TIE). Bojangles: Seasoned Fries (18 points)
• 3 (TIE). Smash Burger: French Fries (18 points)
• 5 (TIE). KFC: Secret Recipe Fries (17 points)
• 5 (TIE). Carl’s Jr.: Medium Natural Cut Fries (17 points)
• 5 (TIE). Shake Shack: Regular Fries (17 points)
• 8 (TIE). Jack in the Box: Medium French Fries (15 points)
• 8 (TIE). Sonic: Medium Groovy Fries (15 points)
• 8 (TIE). Fatburger: Skinny Fries (15 points)

Research found that McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets are the least unhealthy chicken nuggets (18 points).

The most unhealthy chicken nuggets were from Popeye’s with 30 points, followed by Arby’s in second place (29 points) and Shake Shack in third (26 points).

Top most unhealthy fast-food chicken nuggets

• 1. Popeyes: Nuggets 8pc (30 points)
• 2. Arby’s: Premium Nuggets 9pc (29 points)
• 3. Shake Shack: Chicken Bites (26 points)
• 4. Burger King: Chicken Nuggets 8pc (25 points)
• 5 (TIE). Jack in the Box: Chicken Nuggets 8pc (22 points)
• 5 (TIE). Chick-fil-A: Nuggets 8pc (22 points)

Fatburger’s vanilla shake is the unhealthiest with 63 points — eight points more than Sonic’s vanilla shake in second place with 55 points.

The least unhealthy vanilla shake is at McDonald’s, with 26 unhealthiness points.

Top most unhealthy fast-food vanilla shakes

• 1. Fatburger: Vanilla Shake (63 points)
• 2. Sonic: Medium Vanilla Shake (55 points)
• 3. Five Guys: Base Vanilla Shake (51 points)
• 4. Carl’s Jr.: Vanilla Shake (50 points)
• 5. A&W: Regular Vanilla Shake (47 points)
• 6. DQ: Vanilla Shake (44 points)
• 7. In-N-Out: Vanilla Shake (43 points)
• 8. Jack in a Box: Vanilla with whipped topping (42 points)
• 9. Steak ‘n Shake: Regular Vanilla Shake (41 points)
• 10. Whataburger: Medium Vanilla Shake (39 points)

When it comes to chicken sandwiches, Popeye’s is the most unhealthy with 39 points. In second place is Fatburger, followed by Zaxby’s in third.

Once again, McDonald’s is at the bottom of the unhealthy list, coming last at just 14 points.

Top most unhealthy fast-food chicken sandwiches

• 1. Popeyes: Chicken Sandwich Classic (39 points)
• 2. Fatburger: Crispy Chicken Sandwich (38 points)
• 3 (TIE). Zaxby’s: Signature Sandwich with Zax Sauce (37 points)
• 3 (TIE). Smash Burger: Classic Smash Crispy Chicken (37 points)
• 5. Bojangles: Bo’s Chicken Sandwich (36 points)
• 6. Church’s Texas Chicken: Chicken Sandwich Original (35 points)
• 7. Raising Cane’s: Chicken Sandwich (33 points)
• 8. Burger King: Original Chicken Sandwich (31 points)
• 9. Whataburger: Whatachick’n Sandwich with mayonnaise (30 points)
• 10. Sonic: Crispy Chicken Sandwich (28 points)

Based on these findings, McDonald’s lovers can cut themselves some slack.

There are worse options out there.