The Facts And Fats Of Life

Attention fast food-oholics - everything you always wanted to know (or will ever need to know) about fast foods is yours for the asking or, rather, the reading in the recently published, "The Fast Food Guide" ($4.95, Workman).

Written by the self-appointed overseer of what goes into what we eat, Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D., executive director of the consumer-oriented, Washington-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), and Sarah Fritschner, a nutritionist and food editor of the Louisville Times and Courier Journal, this 255-page softcover book tells you how the chains began (with Ray Kroc's first McDonald's in 1955 in Des Plaines, Ill.), why they are successful (two-income families, more leisure time with more money to spend, convenient locations and standard menu items), how nutritious their meals are (not very, for the most part) and what we can expect in the future (more fast food eateries, some replacing neighborhood restaurants, and many offering ethnic cuisine).

Did you know that:

* The chains spent more than $1 billion for TV advertising in 1985 with McDonald's leading the pack at over $300 million?

* That Burger King is turning $110,000 recreational vehicles into restaurants-on-wheels to "bring the restaurant to the people"?

* In order to make it easier for the customer to satisfy his need for instant gratification, Wendy's set up shop next to the popular gorilla cage at the Columbus, Ohio zoo?

In addition to such interesting trivia, the book contains some very usable information about what's in the fast food meal we gulp down.

The authors list calories, fat and sodium content of the items served by the various chains, and include their newly devised "gloom" factor. This is a rating system to help you identify foods especially high in the potentially harmful additives, salt, fat and sugar. Men should limit their gloom points to about 100 per day, women and children to between 75 and 85. The higher the ''gloom" rating the more offending substances the food contains. Feasting on a Burger King meal of regular fries and a chocolate shake brings your "gloom" rating to 111 points (1571 calories) for just one meal.

Of course, you can make less gloomy choices. For example, the same chain offers a hamburger and a glass of whole milk giving you only 27 gloom points in 432 calories. Add a salad with low fat dressing and you'll increase the fiber and nutritional value, not gloom points.