The most fattening fast-food meals in South Africa in 2024
South Africa has several fast-food outlets, with some extremely unhealthy meals on offer.
South Africa is currently facing an obesity crisis, with over half of South African adults (over 20 million) being overweight or obese.
The World Health Organisation said that being overweight or obese can lead to serious health consequences, including cardiovascular disease (mainly heart disease and stroke), type 2 diabetes, musculoskeletal disorders like osteoarthritis, and some cancers (endometrial, breast and colon).
In South Africa, the rise of obesity has been linked to increased access to cheap, energy-dense food.
With this in mind, we’ve looked at the most fattening meals for sale in South Africa using data from retailers’ websites.
We only looked at meals individuals could eat, with meals primarily designed for sharing not included. We have included a per-slice calculation for pizzas, but we tend to finish a whole pizza by ourselves.
Although several data points can be measured to determine a food’s healthiness, we have primarily focused on kilojoules, as they are the official unit for measuring energy in South Africa.
Generally, for those who eat more kilojoules than they use, their body will store it as fat and vice versa. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 8,700kJ for an adult, but this varies from person to person.
Overall, Debonairs’ Triple-Decker Topped Meaty pizza is the fattest meal in South Africa, at 15,420.67 KJ, or 177.24% of one’s RDA.
Below are the fattening meals at some of the most popular fast-food chains in South Africa, including their fat, sodium, and carbohydrate content:
KFC – Large Fully Loaded Box Meal With Colonel Burger And No-Sugar Soda Fountain
| Total kilojoules | 5 181 |
| Fat (g) | 41.6 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 160.0 |
| Sodium | 2 662 |
| RDA | 59.55% |
Fishaways – Platter for One (fried) with chips
| Total kilojoules | 6 045.88 |
| Fat (g) | 100.56 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 97.15 |
| Protein (g) | 39.42 |
| RDA | 69.49% |
Simply Asia – Peanut Cream Curry Duck
| Total kilojoules | 6 461.77 |
| Fat (g) | 79.1 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 167.4 |
| Sodium (mg) | 2 158.5 |
| RDA | 74.27% |
Wimpy – Mixed Grill Breakfast
| Total kilojoules | 6 661.2 |
| Fat (g) | 120.1 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 53.8 |
| Sodium (mg) | 1 865.1 |
| RDA | 76.57% |
McDonald’s – Large McFeast Meal
| Total kilojoules | 7 280.16 |
| Fat (g) | 100.6 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 141.6 |
| Sodium (mg) | 1 618 |
| RDA | 83.68% |
Burger King – Texan BBQ Bacon 3.0 meal
| Total kilojoules | 7 507 |
| Fat (g) | 111.2 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 99.2 |
| Sodium (mg) | Not stated |
| RDA | 86.29% |
Steers – Beef Mighty King Combo
| Total kilojoules | 8 739 |
| Fat (g) | 139.18 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 131.49 |
| Sodium (mg) | 6 172.32 |
| RDA | 100.45% |
Roman’s Pizza – Chicken Mayo and Feta Pizza (Pan Base)
| Total kilojoules | 9 815 |
| Per slice | 1 227 |
| Fat (g) | 108.7 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 214.4 |
| Sodium (mg) | 5059.6 |
| RDA | 112.81% |
Debonairs – Triple-Decker Topped Meaty
| Total kilojoules | 15 420.67 |
| Per slice | 1927.58 |
| Fat (g) | 161.93 |
| Carbohydrates (g) | 346.7 |
| Sodium (mg) | 5 682.05 |
| RDA | 177.24% |
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