Americans cut back on fast food, but why?
| New York
Whether it鈥檚 the economy, public education about fast food, or first lady Michelle Obama鈥檚 Let鈥檚 Move campaign, Americans appear to be cutting back on fast food.
American adults are consuming about 11 percent of their daily calories from fast food in 2010, down from almost 13 percent in 2006, according to a from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While overall caloric intake has not changed for American adults, the drop in fast food consumption has coincided with a leveling of obesity rates among adults.
鈥淭he drop is significant, statistically,鈥� says one of the study鈥檚 lead authors, Cheryl Fryar, a health statistician with the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the CDC. 鈥淗istorically a lot of fast food has been high in fat, high in sodium 鈥� and frequent fast food consumption is linked to weight gain.鈥�
A separate report from the CDC found more good news among youths: American children and adolescents consumed fewer calories in 2010 than they did a decade before, the first decline in caloric intake among children in more than 40 years.
Americans have long had a troubled relationship with diet and weight 鈥� two-thirds of American adults are considered overweight or obese, and about 17 percent of youths are considered obese 鈥� and the CDC鈥檚 reports offered hope to many in the nutrition and health fields.聽
鈥淚t鈥檚 a trend in the right direction,鈥� says Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies, and public health at New York University. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 good news. This is a cause for mild celebration.鈥�
Among the studies鈥� findings:
鈥⒙燚uring 2007-2010, adults consumed 11.3 percent of total daily calories from fast food, on average, compared with 12.8 percent between 2003-2006.
鈥⒙燘lacks consumed more of their calories from fast food than did whites or Hispanics: 15 percent compared to 11 percent.
鈥� Young adults ages 20 to 39 also consumed higher rates of fast food than Americans 60 and over: 15 percent compared with 11 percent.
鈥⒙燳oung black adults ages 20 to 39 had the highest rates of fast food consumption; they got 21 percent of their calories from fast food.
鈥⒙燙alorie consumption for boys ages 2 to 19 dropped 7 percent between 1999 and 2010, from 2,260 calories per day to 2,100.
鈥⒙燝irls鈥� calorie consumption dropped 4 percent over the same period, from 1,830 calories to 1,760.
Though it鈥檚 difficult to pin down exactly what is behind the trend in falling fast food consumption, nutrition professionals say a number of factors could be at play.
For starters, public health efforts 鈥� like Mrs. Obama鈥檚 Let鈥檚 Move! campaign 鈥� may finally be sinking in.聽
鈥淭he take-home message is that public education messages to eat less [fast food] are working,鈥� says Lisa Young, a professor of nutrition at New York University. 鈥淲e are shifting toward healthier options.鈥澛�
Of course, it鈥檚 also possible that Americans are still going to fast food restaurants, but simply choosing lower-calorie menu items, now more widely available.
鈥淔ast food restaurants are beginning to provide a variety of healthier choices on their menus,鈥� says Ms. Fryar of the CDC.
Perhaps the most surprising factor, however, is the economy.
The average American bought about 152 meals at fast food restaurants in 2012, down from 158 in 2006, Harry Balzer, chief industry analyst at NPD Group, a market research firm, told .
This drop, Mr. Balzer told the newspaper, 鈥渋s mostly due to money because we never let our overall food costs rise faster than our incomes, and our incomes have been under pressure so we ate more meals at home.鈥�
Whatever the reasons behind the drop in fast food consumption, health and nutrition professionals are guardedly optimistic about the findings, but caution that Americans still have plenty of room to improve eating habits.
鈥淲e should still be eating a lot less, if any, fast food to reverse overweight and obesity trends in this country,鈥� says Samantha Heller, a registered dietician at New York University鈥檚 Center for Musculoskeletal Care. She advises Americans to cut in half the number of times they eat fast food.
A closer look at the data, she says, reveals some concerning trends.
鈥淲hen you look at the data and see how many overweight and obese 20- to 30-year-olds there are 鈥� and a higher percentage of them are eating fast food 鈥� the concern is they鈥檙e at risk" for a series of health problems that researchers link to diet.聽
The report also illustrates the progress yet to be made in food policy, says Dr. Nestle.
鈥淔ast food is still heavily consumed by young men and heavily marketed to African-Americans in low-income communities,鈥� she says, pointing to the high rates of fast food consumption among young, black men. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of targeted marketing going on to this population, and the results of the study show this marketing is effective.鈥�
The data provide insight into the limited accessibility of fresh produce and unprocessed foods in many urban settings, the relative affordability of fast food, and the need for more effective food assistance programs, she adds.
鈥淭hese are steps in the right direction,鈥� says Nestle. 鈥淏ut we need to be asking more questions.鈥�
