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Burger King delivery service will give you one whopper of a waist line, nutritionists say

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See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.

By Colin Mixson

Brooklyn Daily

Brooklynites will soon get their Whoppers their way, right away, at their door — and to hell with their waist lines!

Six borough Burger Kings have begun offering a special text-in-your-order delivery service — because the drive-thru isn’t convenient enough — but nutritionists say the opportunity to have hamburgers ushered right to your front door will make Brooklyn’s biggest even larger.

“I think the home delivery concept, where you text your order in, is great — for the average, efficient person,” said Lisa Cohn, a health expert at Park Avenue Nutritionists. “But I think from the overall standpoint of healthy eating, the people already overweight and at risk of bad eating habits are just going to add insult to injury.”

Currently, three area Burger Kings — Coney Island Avenue near Avenue U, Fifth Avenue near 85th Street, and 86th Street near 21st Avenue — will offer drop-off service. Patrons will do a little less walking, but that’s not where the health danger lies, according to Cohn.

The paltry 20 calories-per-block the average person burns while walking pales in comparison to even a slim 500-calorie meal, let alone a 1,250-calorie Double Stacker meal with large fries and a coke. But the perils of delivery only end with physical decline — they begin in the mind.

“The danger is not from a calorie burning level, but from a psychological level,” said Cohn. “The person who wants to overeat, or create and perpetuate overeating and sedentary activity as a lifestyle, will fall into another opportunity to become housebound and lean towards a lifestyle that caters to obesity and overeating.”

And while walking doesn’t do much to kill calories, it does wonders for lowering your blood sugar, and helps to strengthen joints at risk of arthritis.

“People who are overweight and sedentary are more likely to have joint pain, and that makes them lazy,” said Cohn. “The benefit isn’t so much in weight loss, but it greases the wheels and makes your joints more healthy.”

Burger King acknowledges that its customers may get too used to its delivery service which, just like its food, is best enjoyed in moderation, according to company officials.

“Delivery is a luxury and there are delivery programs that have been successful, but obviously everything in moderation is okay,” said spokeswoman Helen Meyers.

The delivery service will be convenient, but it’s not free — the service costs $2, and only meals over $10 will be delivered.

Chauffeured Burger King fare will be stored in a special thermal heating device — the secret of which is closely guarded by the burger empire — which is designed to keep French fries both crispy and warm.

“I can’t tell you everything about how it works,” said Meyers. “It’s very special and a secret for Burger King.”

The delivery service comes at a time when Burger King is closing or remodeling borough franchises: a Burger King in Sheepshead Bay closed in February, and a second Burger King on Utica Avenue near Flatbush Avenue is closed and boarded up, but still listed as a restaurant on the company’s website.

Reach reporter Colin MIxson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.

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