Are You Embarrassed to Carry a McDonald’s Bag?

We’d rather be seen with a Subway bag than with one holding a Big Mac, according to a new study by the footlong folks.

Subway asked 1,001 people which brand (among the following four) they were most embarrassed to carry around in public. The results, Business Insider says:

• Subway — 11 percent.
• Wendy’s — 14 percent.
• Taco Bell — 33 percent.
• McDonald’s — 42 percent.

Nearly half of the women (48 percent) and adults under age 35 (46 percent) didn’t want to be seen with a McDonald’s bag, BI says.

While some people are mortified at the thought, others expressed some degree of pride in being seen with a fast-food bag. Nearly 13 percent said they would be prouder with McDonald’s in hand than with bags from the other three. Sixty-two percent said they felt pride in carrying a Subway bag.

The results come just a week after new research at UCLA found that the average meal at Subway isn’t much healthier than one at McDonald’s, The Denver Post says. That study got nearly 100 young people (ages 12-21) to buy meals from the chains with their own money, and then hand over the receipts.

Researchers found that they ordered an average of 1,038 calories at McDonald’s and an average of 955 at Subway. The sandwiches at Subway tended to have more calories — 784 on average compared with 572 at McDonald’s — while McDonald’s tended to have much higher calorie counts for side items.

Are you embarrassed (or proud) to be seen with fast food, or a particular brand?