One whole fried chicken has more than a day's worth of calories

Korean-style fried chicken (123rf)

One whole Korean-style fried chicken contains far more calories than the daily intake recommended by the World Health Organization, industry data showed Tuesday.

According to a survey of 24 products from the top 10 fried chicken franchises in Korea conducted by the Korea Consumer Agency, the calorie content of one whole fried chicken ranged from 1,554 to 3,103 kilocalories. The daily recommended calorie intake is 2,000 kcals for adult women and 2,500 kcals for men.

The chicken with the highest calorie count was Shocking Hot Sauce Chicken from NeNe Chicken, 3,103 kcals, while Pepper Crispy Chicken from Goobne Chicken had the lowest amount, 1,554 kcals.

The survey also looked at the difference in sodium content. The saltiest chicken was NeNe Chicken’s Soy Garlic Chicken, containing 513 milligrams of sodium per 100 grams. Kyochon’s Kyochon Original Chicken had the lowest sodium levels with 257 milligrams.

Among the surveyed products, NeNe Chicken’s Shocking Hot Sauce Chicken boasted the heaviest weight of 1,234 grams, while Kyochon’s Kyochon Original Chicken had the lowest weight with 625 grams.

Even if chicken franchises used raw chickens of the same size, the product's size and weight may differ depending on various factors, such as how thick a crispy batter is, the amount of seasoning, and length of cooking time, the KCA explained.

By Choi Jae-hee(cjh@heraldcorp.com)