Guess Where 11 Percent of Your Calories Comes From? Fast Food
Put down that Whopper Jr.: New data released by the CDC found that adults in the U.S. get 11 percent of their daily calories from fast food. The good news is, this is down (slightly) from 13 percent in 2003 to 2006, the last time the feds tracked our fast-food-eating habits. The bad news is, at least one expert interviewed by the Associated Press said 11 percent seems “implausibly low.” Blerg.
About 11,000 adults were surveyed for the study, which asked about their eating habits in the previous 24-hour period. Among the findings: that those of us in our 20s and 30s eat more fast food than the 65-and-older crowd (fast food accounted for 15 percent of calories for the former and just 6 percent for the latter); that African Americans eat more fast food that white Americans; and that young black adults consumed the most overall, getting 21 percent of daily calories from fast food.
As the AP article notes:
The study didn’t include the total number of fast-food calories, just the percentage. Previous government research suggests that the average U.S. adult each day consumes about 270 calories of fast food — the equivalent of a small McDonald’s hamburger and a few fries.
What do you think? Does the average 11 percent seem high or low to you? Share in the comments.
