From McDonalds to Burger King, Taco Bell or Chick-fil-a, fast food restaurants are part of our daily lives and have become indispensable. The variety of fast food restaurants lead to the fact that America is number one in eating the most fast food in the world. 

But why are Americans so obsessed with fast food? 

First of all, fast food is really cheap compared to a sit-down restaurant. McDonalds gets the most money out of all fast food restaurants in the USA. 

The McDonalds company makes 6 billion dollars in a year. A McDonalds meal can be purchased for $5.99, which includes a burger, a large fry, and a soft drink. 

Going to a grocery store and buying vegetables doesn’t just take a longer time; vegetables are also way more expensive. 

Besides that, it is really quick. In most cases, you get your food in less than 10 minutes, so you don’t have to spend a long time in a kitchen to prepare food. Therefore, you don’t even have to leave your car. 

More than 20% of all Americans (which is an amount of 65.8 million people) eat fast food at least once a week. 

Another point that leads to fast food popularity is the fact that you can eat your food anytime and anywhere you want to. That means you’re not bound to opening hours, which makes you more flexible. 

Since you simply eat fast food with your hands, you can eat anywhere you want to. 

Because of the cheap price, many people start eating fast food more often. They save more money going to a fast food restaurant than spending more time in the kitchen and cooking for themselves. 

A good looking burger and a cheap price leads to the fact that Americans spend $1,200 a year on fast food.

But even though fast food is so popular, it is a big problem that people eat a lot of it. It is a very easy way to gain weight and get overweight. 

Once you get used to eating fast food a lot, it is not that easy to let go. Fast food itself made up 11% of calorie intake in 2010. 

The market uses that for their businesses. With gift cards or special offers, they try to get even more people to eat fast food. The drive-through invention makes it even harder to resist getting fast food. You just order what you want and you are ready to go.

Another point is the location of fast food restaurants. In most cases, all fast food restaurants are in the center of the town where most people are. After a long day of work, you pass by all these restaurants on your way home and, of course, you will stop at your favorite fast food restaurant so you don’t have to cook when you get home. 

But where did this obsession come from? 

The obsession with fast food started years ago after World War II  when interstates were built. The people were moving to the city suburbs, and when women finally started working more, there was a place where you could grab food quickly, which was very advantageous. 

That’s why the first fast food restaurants were built on the roadside of the highways. Over the years, fast food became more and more popular, and the location of these restaurants spread out to the cities.

To conclude, the fast food obsession is really hard to resist. The variety of fast food restaurants lead to a higher rate of overweight people. 

Furthermore, it is way cheaper than a healthy meal, which is not advantageous for those trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.