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Some of McDonald’s most popular menu items – Big Mac, fries, and Quarter Pounder – are higher in sugar, salt and calories than they were several decades ago, The Sun reports. Despite recent commitments to offering “more balanced” options, McDonald’s food is reportedly less so when compared to nutritional values in a 1989 company pamphlet.

According to The Sun, McDonald’s fries are saltier and more calorific, with an increase of 24 per cent and 42.8 per cent respectively over the past 30 years. The protein content in Chicken McNuggets, and “most” McDonald’s burgers – including the Filet-O-Fish and Big Mac – has decreased. Meanwhile, the amount of sugar has up to tripled.

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The Quarter Pounder with Cheese, for example, is 285 per cent higher in sugar than it was in 1989. And the level of sugar in the Big Mac has surged by 221 per cent, The Sun reports. “These figures truly are shocking,” Graham McGregor, chairman of the charity Action on Sugar, reportedly said.

In response to The Sun’s findings, a spokesperson told the Daily Mail that McDonald’s menu “has evolved in many ways including portion size, breadth and nutritional content,” and therefore it’s “very difficult” to draw comparisons between today’s menu and that of 1989.

A spokesperson for the fast-food giant told The Sun: “For more than 30 years, we have provided clear nutritional information at point of sale and on tray liners.” Adding that nearly 90 per cent of the chain’s typical menu items contain fewer than 500 calories.