Gadling

Thanks to our healthy friends and sister site, That’s Fit, I just stumbled upon this awesome article out of the Seattle Times focusing on the nutritional value of those in-flight snack packs. You would think with cheese, crackers, peanuts and an occasional cookie one wouldn’t shoot their entire diet to hell, but beware!!! (Cue horror music.) If you thought the danger was in flying you were wrong – it’s in the honey roasted nuts! The story in the Seattle Times notes both Delta and U.S. Airways have the lowest health score, for more reasons than high in calories. The system is based on factors like how helpful the airline was in providing information, the cost of the snack pack (if any) and the exercise equivalent to burning off the calories found in each pack. Let’s take the Delta snack pack for example since it ranks the absolute worst. According to their info you’d have to walk 197 minutes to burn off the 766 calories found in Delta’s bag of treats. That’s a lot of walking for so little food.

On the upside, those flying with United need not worry so much as a frequent Delta or U.S. Airways flyer. United Airlines ranks tops. The snack packs offered on board are vegetarian friendly and trans-fat-free. Although the cost is $5, they have the largest selection of snack choices. Surprisingly, you’ll need to do a good amount of walking to burn off the calories found in an United pack (up to 231 minutes for munching on a Smartpack), but at least you’ll know that your balancing it all out.

I highly recommend reading this one if you’re trying to keep track of your diet every step and flight on the way to your holiday destination and beyond.