Why Americans Eat Fast Food

My first attempt at a "why" question for my junior theme is, Why do Americans eat so much fast food even if they know the health risks associated with fast food? Just based on some background knowledge I have a few ideas but I hope to generate some new ones as I delve into research and also expand on the existing ideas that I have.

My first thought as to why Americans eat so much fast food is the simple fact that it is cheap, it tastes good, and it is available. According to this website, there are 14,000 McDonalds in the U.S. That comes out to 280 per state! Now I know that there are obviously more McDonalds in some states then others but it still is amazing how much a part of the fabric of our country McDonalds has become.

The second thought is that fast food is addicting. This WebMD page confirms this. Neal Barnard writes that "cheese, meat, chocolate, and sugar are addictive foods in the diets of millions of Americans." This could be one of the major reasons I give in my actual junior theme paper. Just like how Americans drink so much coffee because of the caffeine, Americans eat so much fast food because of the addictive qualities that are largely unknown by the general public.

The final reason that I have come up with as to why Americans eat so much fast food before I start my research is because of the fact that it is "fast." This is a little harder to quantify but my thinking is that there are more people working downtown then ever. Also a lot of those people get paid by the amount of work they get done, the amount they sell, etc. So it would behoove those workers to take shorter lunches. And this is where fast food restaurants come in. Workers can get a fast lunch and go back to business but the problem is then those workers get into a routine of eating fast food and that is the grounds for all the nasty health problems you hear about.