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The dazzling spread of both fast food outlets
and snack products keeps them constantly "in your face." Fast
food outlets have become an international symbol of American
culture, and the industry is growing at an overwhelming rate
both abroad and at home. Today, Pizza Hut has more than 10,000
outlets in 86 countries; Subway, the submarine sandwich
specialty shop, has nearly 14,500 stores in 75 countries; and
the granddaddy of them all, McDonald's, has over 26,000
restaurants in 119 countries. The industry is also invading new
territories such as hospitals, schools, and mass merchandise
stores like Wal-Mart. With the increased popularity of take-out
meals, fast food is also invading the home, as well as turning
our cars and desks into dining rooms.
If you feel that junk food is constantly being
pushed on you, you're right. As any parent of young children
knows, candy and gum are displayed conveniently close to the
supermarket cash register. Fast food chains spend an average of
nearly $1 billion a year in television advertising. Junk food is
advertised as "fun food" and "cool" food, with the majority of
the advertising directed at children and teens. The fast food
industry openly competes for children's attention with offers of
toys, special cups, kid clubs, playgrounds, and Disney
videotapes. Surveys have told the industry's chieftains that
parents often let children make restaurant choices, and over 80
percent of the time, kids under 17 choose fast food.
But all this marketing effort would not work if
junk food did not fundamentally appeal to American needs and
lifestyles. There are probably some people who have never raced
out to buy a candy bar or a burger and fries after dealing with
a stalled car, angry boss, or irritable loved one. But most of
us have found solace in junk food in times of stress. If this
happens only occasionally, little harm is done. But if binging
on high fat, high sodium products is a common coping tool for
you, it is likely to become a source of physical stress itself.
Along with stress, time-pressure heightens the
appeal of junk food, known for its speed and convenience. The
snack and fast food industries thrive on impulse eating. Many
people today eat when they have a free moment, not at pre-set
meal times. Junk food allows you to eat without planning,
without dressing up, without making a lot of decisions,
sometimes without even getting out of your car. The menus at
fast food restaurants and products in convenience stores are
consistent, predictable, familiar, comfortable. They fit well
into our hurried, pressured lifestyles.
These trends are not likely to reverse
themselves. The results of the national low-fat eating campaign
are telling. According to the New York Times, Americans are
choosing to adjust, rather than fundamentally change their
eating habits. Few people are rushing out to stock up on
vegetables and grains. "Instead," says the Times, "there has
been a stampede to buy packaged foods emblazoned with a 'no fat'
or 'low fat' label." Indeed, for many this is now the only seal
of approval needed, regardless of the product's other
ingredients—or lack of them.
We have become dependent on the convenience, and
even nutritionists now accept the fact that snacking, or
"grazing" (eating five or six small meals, rather than three
square ones a day) can be a healthy eating pattern. Snacks are
necessary for growing children, who receive 25 percent of their
daily caloric intake from snacking. But what you eat, and how
much, does make a difference. Low-fat snacking is associated
with lower weight, lower serum cholesterol, and better blood
glucose control. But Americans tend to reach for high-fat
snacks: we now get 40 percent of our daily fat intake from
snacks. |
