'Curries more fattening than pizzas'....?

2 Jul 2008, 0006 hrs IST, IANS
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Curries more fattening than Chinese food or pizzas. (Getty Images)
Having an Indian meal may be Britain's favourite culinary pastime, but researchers say curries are more fattening than either Chinese food or pizzas.

A single meal of Indian curry has been found to have more fat than what is recommended for the entire day. In a comparison of Indian, Chinese and pizza takeaways, researchers found that an average Indian takeaway contained 23.2gm of saturated fat, 3.2gm more what than a woman should eat in a day.

The popularity of curries among Britons prompted the late minister Robin Cook to describe Chicken tikka masala as Britain's national dish. However, the study comes amid mounting concern because the genetic make-up of South Asians means that they are at a higher risk group for heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Indian takeaway meals are known for their liberal use of oil and ghee, not only in curries but also breads. The researchers found that a naan contained more calories than a chicken tikka masala .

The research was conducted by Which magazine, which tested the takeaways for calorie, sugar, saturated fat and salt content and rated each meal against the recommended daily allowance in Britain. Researchers found Chinese takeaways, despite having lower saturated fat content, contained nearly three times as much sugar as an Indian meal. One portion contained more than 19 teaspoons of sugar.

The report found that the fat content in pizzas from popular fast food chains differed from information on their websites.
Four such cheese and tomato pizzas tested by 'Which' contained at least 50 per cent more fat per 100gm than stated on the website.

Neil Fowler, editor of Which , said, "We don't want to be killjoys when it comes to takeaways, but we would like people to be aware of just how much of their daily food intake comes in just one meal. Highlighting healthier options is useful, but ultimately we want consumers to have much clearer information about fat, sugar and salt levels.

Takeaway outlets in Britain are not legally required to give nutritional content of their food, making it difficult for people to know about the calorie or salt content.