According to Danish researchers Stender, Dyerberg and Astrup, in a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine (April 13, 2006, pgs 1650-1652) the amount of trans fats in fast food like chicken nuggets and french fries is higher in the United States then other places in the world.   The differences were somewhat staggering. In Denmark and Germany, the amount of trans fat in a meal of nuggets and fries was 1 gram and in New York City it was 10 grams. The amount of trans fat used to cook in many European countries was 10 percent and in the U.S. it was 23 percent.

The journal Nature had a nice little synopsis in their April 20th, 2006 issue on page 975 of the Danish study. They point out that 50% of the food samples had levels of trans fats that increased the risk of heart disease, 38% of the fats used by KFC in the Czech Republic were trans fats and only 1% of the oil used in cooking contained trans fats in Spain. 

Bottom line here is that we, as consumers, need to step up our avoidance of places like McDonalds and KFC until they completely halt their use of trans fats. If we make better choices in our day to day lives, we can make a difference.