Living in a Junk-Food Jungle
Written by Michelle Albert
Is it any surprise that populations located near to fast-food restaurants tend to suffer the consequences of a high-fat diet?
UCLA’s Center for Health Policy Research conducted a survey plotting fast-food restaurants and convenience stores against the locations of the homes of 40,000 Californians. The Los Angeles Times covered the results, explaining,
It found the average California adult lives near four times as many fast-food restaurants and convenience stores as grocery stores and produce vendors.
"We're living in a junk food jungle," said Harold Goldstein, executive director of the Davis-based California Center for Public Health Advocacy, one of the study's authors.
Obesity rates were 20% higher in neighborhoods with five or more times as many fast-food outlets as produce vendors, compared with those with three or fewer, the study found.
The study underscores what we all intuitively know: living close to fast food increases the chances for its consumption. So what can we realistically do, if eating fast food continues to be an option? The first thing would be to analyze your choice of food and be careful about portion size and add-ons. An article by Todd G. Buchholz in the Journal of Controversial Medical Claims (yes, it exists!) highlighted one positive aspect of fast food.
Comparing the cost of protein obtained at fast-food restaurants to protein obtained at supermarkets, this study finds that fast-food restaurants provide reasonable value to the consumer, considering the cost of raw materials and the cost of time in preparing meals. In a survey of fast food chains and supermarkets in five southern California communities (where the fast-food chains and the supermarkets were located within the same towns), I compared the cost of purchasing a "marquee" hamburger, a grilled chicken sandwich, a fish sandwich, a sliced turkey sandwich, and a green salad. The results suggest that in some cases consumers can actually purchase a high protein meal at a fast food chain for less than the cost of buying the separate groceries at a supermarket and preparing the sandwich themselves.
If you are on a budget, and short on time, fast food may actually make financial sense. Whether or not it makes sense for your health is largely up to you. There’s no reason to beat yourself up about eating fast food, but keep your long-term health in mind.
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