Good Morning, Robimeris!
There are many "sources" that spout off the following information
regarding fast food consumption, yet have no citation or back-up for
the claim:
"If you are an average American, you probably consume three hamburgers
and four orders of fries each week or an average of 159 fast food
meals each year."
Kathleen Aicardi, M.Ed., http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_2349558/cid_6
However, I noticed that this number is the same as one cited in a 2001
PBS Newshour Extra story that can be found at the following address:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june01/fast_food.html
A study published January 1, 2005 in "The Lancet:"
Fast-food consumption has increased in the United States over the past
three decades. "It's extremely difficult to eat in a healthy way at a
fast-food restaurant. Despite some of their recent healthful
offerings, the menus still tend to include foods high in fat, sugar
and calories and low in fiber and nutrients," said lead author Mark
Pereira, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at the University
of Minnesota. People need to evaluate how often they eat meals at
fast-food restaurants and think about cutting back, according to
Pereira.
One reason for the weight gain may be that a single meal from one of
these restaurants often contains enough calories to satisfy a person's
caloric requirement for an entire day.
Participants were asked during the physical examinations given as part
of the study how often they ate breakfast, lunch or dinner at
fast-food restaurants. Researchers found that the adverse impact on
participants' weight and insulin resistance was seen in both blacks
and whites who ate frequently at fast-food restaurants, even after
adjustment for other lifestyle habits.
Study participants included 3,031 young black and white adults who
were between the ages of 18 and 30 in 1985-1986. The participants, who
were part of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults
(CARDIA) study, received dietary assessments over a 15-year period.
CARDIA centers are located in Birmingham, AL, Chicago, IL,
Minneapolis, MN, and Oakland, CA.
According to the study, men visited fast-food restaurants more
frequently than women and blacks more frequently than whites. Black
men reported an average frequency of 2.3 visits per week in 2000-01.
White women had the lowest frequency, at an average of 1.3 visits per
week in 2000-01.
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/01/050104105659.htm
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aliciadenney-ga
Search strategy:
"fast food" consumes "average american" week
://www.google.com/search?q=%22fast+food%22+consumes+%22average+american%22+week&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official
2005 "fast food" average week
://www.google.com/search?q=+2005+%22fast+food%22+average+week&btnG=Search&hs=mfG&hl=en&lr=&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial |
