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Fast Food Study: Participants Offered $3500 To Eat Fast Food For 3 Months

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This almost sounds like a joke -- a study from Washington University in St. Louis is recruiting participants to eat only fast food for three months. They'll be paid $3,500 for their troubles, and enrolled in a weight loss program when the study finishes.

The researchers are hoping to study obesity, and why some overweight people develop diabetes and other diet cardiovascular risk-factors, while other people don't. By eating only fast food, the researchers are able to easily monitor the participant's food intake. Participants can choose from McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut.

The participants must gain five percent of their body weight during the course of the study. We're thinking that shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.

Curious if you're eligible? Watch the clip below.

Photo by Flickr user: dno1967b

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The Worst Fast Food Creations of 2011
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  • Domino's Stuffed Cheesy Bread

    Plain old stuffed crust? That's so last decade -- at least according to Domino's Pizza. Earlier this year, the chain rolled out a line of "Stuffed Cheesy Bread" that's full of "cheese, cheese, and more cheese." In fact, the breads -- which come in Spinach and Feta, Bacon and Jalapeño, and plain Cheese -- contain as much cheese as an entire medium pizza. Related: Most Bizarre Pizza Toppings Photo Credit: © Jeff Padrick/Klug Studio

  • KFC Cheesy Bacon Bowl

    A bowl can hardly contain "layers of your favorites" without including bacon. Or so was the logic at KFC, which added bacon as a limited-time topping to the chain's line of "Famous Bowls." How did they do it? Well, they took a 680-calorie combo of mashed potatoes, corn, Popcorn Chicken, gravy, and cheese -- then added bacon. Related: Fast Food You Can't Find in America Photo Credit: © brandeating

  • Starbucks' Trenta Drinks

    Fast-food excess is hardly reserved for food alone. Take Starbucks' Trenta-sized cups, the veritable Big Gulps of coffee consumption, which each contain 31 ounces of caffeinated brew to pour down your gullet. And if caffeine-induced twitching isn't enough of a health risk, consumers should be advised to pace themselves: The cups are actually larger than the typical human stomach. Related: How to Eat Well While Marathon Training Photo Credit: © Flickr/samantha celera

  • Denny's Maple Bacon Sundae

    What's more horrifying than an ice cream sundae that features vanilla soft serve, maple syrup, and bacon bits? An entire menu of creations based on the same bacon-centric principle. Denny's, however, has gone there: The chain's "Baconalia!" menu included that cringeworthy sundae, along with a triple-decker BLT, Bacon Meatloaf, and Bacon Flapjacks. Related: 20 Food Topics That Just Won't Die Photo Credit: © Flickr/Sam Howzit

  • Burger King Stuffed Steakhouse Burger

    If fast food has taught us one thing, it is this: Any food item can be stuffed inside any other. Burger King's Stuffed Steakhouse Burger, introduced earlier this year, is a prime example. Not content to simply put cheese atop a burger patty, the chain stuffed bits of Cheddar and jalapeño inside the beef, for "an experience you can see and taste in every bite." Related: Burger King to Debut New Fries Photo Credit: © Flickr/theimpulsivebuy

  • Pizza Hut's Big Dinner Box

    Pizza Hut's "epic-size" repast offers up two medium pizzas, eight wings, and five breadsticks -- in one convenient box! For the low prize of $20, ravenous diners might be tempted to scarf down the entire thing themselves, but please, make this one a family affair: The items in a single box are estimated to contain around 5,000 calories. Related: 10 Fast Food Favorites Made "Healthy" Photo Credit: © Flickr/Sam Howzit

  • Dunkin' Donuts Sausage Pancake Bites

    If you're craving a pancake and sausage breakfast, but just can't find the time, Dunkin' Donuts discovered a solution in 2011. An order of the chain's Sausage Pancake Bites offered diners three nuggets of flapjack dough that each enclosed a sausage link. A trio of nuggets also managed to enclose 20 grams of fat, more than most doughnuts. Related: McDonald's Menu Mash-Up Photo Credit: © Flickr/theimpulsivebuy

  • Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos

    Think outside the bun -- and the conventional taco shell. In an apparent bid to include as much junk as possible in a single meal, Taco Bell used California and Ohio residents as guinea pigs to test shells made entirely of Doritos' nacho-flavored chips. The cheesy delicacy might be introduced nationwide next year, when, presumably, the chain will also swaps burrito wraps for potato chips. Related: Chico's Tacos: A Love Story Photo Credit: © thatsnerdalicious

  • Friendly's Ultimate Grilled-Cheese BurgerMelt

    Why eat one sandwich, when you can eat three? The KFC Double Down may have replaced a burger bun with fried chicken, but this year, Friendly's managed to outdo even that monstrosity. They swapped out a cheeseburger's bread with two entire grilled cheese sandwiches. This gastronomical innovation, not surprisingly, is also a caloric nightmare: 1,500 per sandwich(es). Even that doesn't seem to be helping the company -- the 76-year-old family-dining brand filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Oct. 5, and is scheduled to be auctioned Dec. 22. Related: No Happy Ending for Friendly's Photo Credit: © Flickr/zombieite

  • Denny's Mac 'N Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt

    Leave it to Denny's to create a sandwich that has both mac 'n cheese and hamburger meat as ingredients...and sauce and more cheese. This gutbomb was part of Denny's "Let's Get Cheesy" menu, and cheesy it is indeed. We fear what the chain will come up with next, given that this calorie-laden meal has twice the calories as a stick of butter. Related: America's Best Buffalo Wings Photo Credit: Denny's

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