New health survey rates airline snack food

Josh Roberts believes the best trips involve long hikes and muddy boots. His life goals haven't changed much since he was a kid: He still wants to be Indiana Jones when he grows up.

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Charles Stuart Platkin, writer of the syndicated “Diet Detective” newspaper column and founder of DietDetective.com, recently turned his attention to airline snack food. Platkin claims to have conducted a “health” analysis of the snack foods offered by many of the major domestic airlines, rating each carrier’s food offerings and assigning them a “Health Score.”

In an analysis of snacks provided by American, Delta, United, Continental, JetBlue, and US Airways, Platkin gives United top marks for having the “most variety and the most healthful choices,” while Delta and its $5 snack pack flunk the test with the lowest possible score. Rounding out the field, Continental and JetBlue rate highly (four out of five stars) while American and US Airways are given middle-of-the-road grades.

The lesson here? If you’re on a diet, airplane snack food is probably not your friend.

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