McDonald Corp. CEO Don Thompson said he eats at McDonald’s “every single day” and still managed to lose 20 pounds during the past year.
“I think balance is really important,” Thompson said via AP. Thompson, 49, credited regular workouts and an active lifestyle for his weight loss. He noted that Europeans walk a lot more than Americans do, which is probably why there are far fewer obese Europeans than Americans.
“We don’t sell junk food. We provide high-quality food. It’s real beef, it’s real chicken, it’s real tomatoes, real lettuce, real fruit, real smoothies, real dairy, real eggs, and we do it in a way that is also affordable.”
Thompson didn’t provide details on his diet or workout regimen, but echoed comments made by McDonald’s executive chef, Daniel Coudreaut, who said McDonald’s food isn’t unhealthy and shouldn’t be blamed for the U.S. obesity epidemic.
“I don’t see anything on the menu that’s unhealthy,” Coudreaut said in 2012. “I’m sure I could eat a 2,000-calorie meal at Thomas Keller’s French Laundry [restaurant].
“I feel that if we were to close our doors of all of the McDonald’s tomorrow, the obesity problem would not go away.”
Similarly, Muhtar Kent, the CEO of Coca-Cola, has said it’s unfair to blame soda manufacturers for the skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes. “It is incorrect and unjust to put the blame [of obesity] on any single product, any single category of food,” he said.
While eating healthy foods and working out are important, most fitness and diet experts agree that portion control is responsible for 80% to 90% of weight loss.
