Now, in the 21st century, people all around the world are busy. Busy with work, school, sports, and other extra-curricular activities. So when it comes time to eat many people go to something quick and cheap to give them the fuel to make it to the next activity of their day. That is why many people turn to fast food when it comes time to eat. “The U.S., the birthplace of fast food, Americans eat fewer than 70 percent of their meals at home and less than a third of American families eat meals together more than twice a week, according to Emory University.” (Roizman) Has our society really become so busy that we are forced to eat out more then 30 percent of our meals? Or is there a solution to eating this cheap food with surprisingly high cost?
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That means the typical family spends more than half of what my household spends on our grocery bill on just fast food. 40% of adults eat out everyday because it is convenient to grab something and make the mistake of thinking it is cheap. People don’t realize how quickly this spending adds up and if they actually did the math they would realize they could spend much less on making a large dinner that would feed the whole family at home. For example, you may be able to go to a fast food place and get a whole burger and fries for two dollars but when you really think about it that two dollars is going to feed one person, one meal that most likely isn’t going to fill them up due to the fact that it is not a good, fibrous …show more content…
American spending on fast food has increased eighteen fold since 1970, Americans went from spending $6 billion to $110 billion annually in the last thirty years (Brownell and Horgan). In this time not only has Americans spending gone up so has our obesity rate. Obesity has become one of the most talked about pandemics next to smoking. More than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults are considered overweight or obese. Health care cost associated with obesity are $70-$99 billion per year in the United States. Overweight individuals have 36 percent higher inpatient and outpatient costs and 77 percent higher medication costs. (Brownell and Horgen 45) This is a hidden cost of eating fast food on the regular. Many think it is cheap but it can cost them their health down the line. Sometimes we do not even care what we are actually eating just as long as it looks and tastes good and that is something where we, as Americans, are
That means the typical family spends more than half of what my household spends on our grocery bill on just fast food. 40% of adults eat out everyday because it is convenient to grab something and make the mistake of thinking it is cheap. People don’t realize how quickly this spending adds up and if they actually did the math they would realize they could spend much less on making a large dinner that would feed the whole family at home. For example, you may be able to go to a fast food place and get a whole burger and fries for two dollars but when you really think about it that two dollars is going to feed one person, one meal that most likely isn’t going to fill them up due to the fact that it is not a good, fibrous …show more content…
American spending on fast food has increased eighteen fold since 1970, Americans went from spending $6 billion to $110 billion annually in the last thirty years (Brownell and Horgan). In this time not only has Americans spending gone up so has our obesity rate. Obesity has become one of the most talked about pandemics next to smoking. More than two-thirds (68.8 percent) of adults are considered overweight or obese. Health care cost associated with obesity are $70-$99 billion per year in the United States. Overweight individuals have 36 percent higher inpatient and outpatient costs and 77 percent higher medication costs. (Brownell and Horgen 45) This is a hidden cost of eating fast food on the regular. Many think it is cheap but it can cost them their health down the line. Sometimes we do not even care what we are actually eating just as long as it looks and tastes good and that is something where we, as Americans, are