'Curries more fattening than Chinese food and pizzas'
London, June 29 (IANS)

Having an Indian meal may be Britain's favourite culinary pastime, but researchers say curries bought over the counter are more fattening than either Chinese food or pizza takeaways. A single meal of Indian curry has been found to have more fat than what is recommended for the entire day. The popularity of curries among Britons prompted the late minister Robin Cook to once describe the Chicken Tikka Masala as Britain's national dish.

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 study comes amid mounting concern because the genetic make-up of South Asians means that they are 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 naan breads. The researchers found that a naan bread contained more calories than a chicken tikka masala.

The research was conducted by 'Which' magazine, which tested the takeaways for the 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 some fat content in pizzas from popular fastfood chains such as Pizza Hut and Domino's differed from information on their websites. Four Domino's cheese and tomato pizzas tested by 'Which' contained at least 50 percent 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," he added.

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.