The Most Unhealthy Fast Food Cheeseburger Isn't From McDonald's Or Burger King

Even with the recent emphasis on protein, nobody is expecting health miracles from their fast food cheeseburger. But if you're looking to treat yourself — or you just need a quick bite — McDonald's and Burger King aren't your worst options. From a nutrition standpoint, your basic fast food cheeseburger is going to be pretty similar in most places. You'll be getting between 15 and 20 grams of protein, and maybe a gram or two of fiber from the bun (though you'll need more fiber each day for a proper diet). But what it takes to get you those macros actually can vary quite a bit, with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration recommending that sodium, sugars, saturated fat and trans fat are the main things to limit in your diet. And when you go by that measure, Jack in the Box — a struggling chain that's unlikely to make a comeback — performs the worst.

Our evaluation looked at major fast food burger chains that have a footprint in most regions of the country. This cut out a few big names that are still mainly local to one section of the U.S., like Whataburger and In-N-Out. The eight chains that qualified were Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, Sonic, Five Guys, Jack in the Box, Hardee's/Carl's Jr., and Culver's. At each, we looked at the nutrition info for the most basic cheeseburger you can get. Some chains like Five Guys and Hardee's/Carl's Jr. have much larger burgers, so the nutrition info we gathered was based on a 300-calorie serving. Jack in the Box was not the runaway worst option, but it has the highest levels of nutrients to avoid on average. Burger King was a close second.

Trans fat is generally considered the worst offender for fast food nutrition, as your body doesn't need it at all. At the aforementioned 300-calorie serving, one cheeseburger from Jack in the Box has .93 grams of trans fat, which is almost 50% of your daily recommended maximum. The second highest was Hardee's, at .87 grams. Jack in the Box also had the second highest level of sodium at 778 milligrams, behind only Burger King's 810 milligrams. Its saturated fat levels were roughly in-line with the average, and it did have slightly less sugar than other burgers.

Burger King's is the second-most unhealthy fast food cheeseburger for us because it has the most sodium, as well as the most sugar at 7 grams per 300 calories. However, the fact that it has no trans fat (only an average level of saturated fat) while only having slightly more sodium and sugar than Jack in the Box kept it from the number one spot. As for saturated fat, Five Guys and Culver's were tied for the worst offenders, even accounting for their larger burgers. Both chains had about 7.5 grams per 300 calories. That is almost 60% of the daily recommended intake given by the American Heart Association. However, those two chains were also among the lowest in both sugar and sodium, making them less of a concern overall.

If you already have a balanced diet, these fast food cheeseburgers aren't going to be a huge problem when eaten in moderation. But if you're watching your numbers, maybe consider something other than Jack in the Box — especially when customers also rank it as the worst American burger chain.