NORWALK, CT – A new study from researchers at the College of Applied Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign say that fast-food dining may be on par with sit-down restaurants when it comes to sodium and cholesterol consumption, Healthday.com reports.

"People usually view fast food as junk food, and blame it for serving an extra intake of calories, sugars and sodium," said study author Ruopeng An, adding, "That's often true when compared with eating at home. But we found that when the comparison is with full-service restaurants, fast food is not necessarily worse."

According to An, the news source writes that consumers who frequent fast-food and full-service restaurants take in, on average, about the same number of additional calories (nearly 200) and total fat (about 10 grams), compared to those who cook their meals at home.

To compare eating habits in different settings, researchers used U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data collected from 2003–2010. Nearly 18,100 American adults were asked on two occasions to describe the meals they consumed in the preceding 24 hours. Less than one-third reported having eaten at a fast-food restaurant during that time, while from one-fifth to one-quarter said they had eaten at a full-service restaurant, writes the news source.

The survey found that full-service restaurant meals were healthier than fast-food meals for certain key vitamins (B6, vitamin E, vitamin K, copper and zinc), as well as potassium and omega-3 fatty acids. However, regular restaurant meals scored the worst on cholesterol intake, while fast-food meals only contained an extra 10 mgs of cholesterol, the researchers said. Regular restaurants also contained 412 mgs of extra sodium a day, compared with fast-food's extra 300 mgs.

The researchers’ suggestion?  “We recommend that people consume their own food in their own home whenever possible,” An told the news source. 

Recognizing that's not always possible, Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, shared tips for eating healthier while dining out: "The first thing people can do when eating out is look for foods or entrees that include fresh, steamed, baked, or grilled vegetables and lean meats," she told the news source, adding, "Second, think small … Choose the small option when available, ask if a half portion is an option, or order a kid's sized meal."