Laura L. Smith, Your Copywriter http://laurascopywritingpage.com/ Phone: 586-273-7446

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Fast Food—“The Silent Killer”

Dear Fast Food Diner:

Are you unknowingly allowing the fast food industry to kill you?

The fast food industry is a booming business with profits in the billions with hundreds of thousands of

restaurants serving up generous portions of cheap and

easily assessable fast food throughout the United States.

This over abundance of fast food has contributed to

America's health problems.

The increasing incidence of illnesses from the "silent

killer" ingredients in fast foods has jumped

exponentially over the last ten years. This due in part to

the cheap availability, convenience, and access to the

hundreds of thousands of fast food restaurants spread

out across America.

Information will be presented that will show how

certain ingredients in fast foods can cause illnesses such

as heart disease, hypertension, and atherosclerosis. Also

presented are statistics and data on obesity rates in

adults and children and how one acquires food borne illness from eating fast food. Additionally, included is

information on how a person can make better fast food choices when dining out.

Included in this report is a ten question survey was administered to 28 people done via email and at Macomb

Community College, Michigan. The results demonstrated that food choices of the participants with bachelors,

masters, and PhD educations were as diverse in comparison as the participants with high school and some

college educational levels.

This report also contains primary research data collected from outside sources and secondary research from

books, peer review articles, government, academic, and other informational web sites.

I trust this information will be beneficial and informative to you the next time you visit your favorite fast food

establishment for that quickie meal. After all, it’s your arteries and waistline that really need a break today from

the fat.

Sincerely,

Laura L. Smith, Author

...

Introductory Remarks

"Tell me what you eat: I will tell you what you are," said the French food philosopher Jean Anthelme Brillat-

Savarin. This saying fits in with the modern day fast paced-eat on the run-dining habits of the American people.

There was the time back in the day, before the drive through, the Golden Arches, and supersizing—when most

people cooked and ate meals at home. However, that has all changed with the over abundance of fast food

restaurants.

These time saving Mecca's make it inexpensive, quick and convenient for busy students and time crunched

working parents to grab a transfat, cholesterol, sodium laden quick lunch and/or dinner instead of cooking meals

at home. This behavior in turn has contributed to the exponential explosion in the obesity rates, heart disease,

hypertension, and type II diabetes.

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Additionally, because fast food is cheap and accessible—it has created an entire class of the most vulnerable

victims of the fast food craze. These are the children who as young as ten are developing diseases such as type II

diabetes and hypertension, which normally is considered a middle aged to senor adult problem.

America loves fast food—and fast food loves America. However, that mindset is leading Americans on a death

march to an early grave and a “supersized” coffin.

Fast Food: The American Way of Life—Defining Fast Food and its History

According to Merriam Webster Dictionary online, fast food is defined as—

“Of relating to or specializing in food that can be prepared and served quickly. Designed for ready

availability, use, or consumption, and with little consideration given to quality or significance.

The original fast food restaurant on record is White Castle. In 1916, a Wichita, Kansas professional cook,

Walter Anderson, created the first version of the hamburger by "flattening a ball of ground beef, frying it with

onions on a hot griddle."

In 1921, Anderson partnered up with Edgar Waldo "Billy" Ingram, a local real estate and insurance agent and

incorporated the White Castle System, Inc.

The Count of Fast Food Restaurants America

According to the 2002 US Census Bureau Statistics, there were 500,370 limited-service eating places under the

Employers with and without payroll. The census definition of limited-service eating places is—

“This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in providing food services where

patrons generally order or select items and pay before eating. Most establishments do not have

waiter/waitress service, but some provide limited service, such as cooking to order—i.e. per special

request—bringing food to seated customers, or providing offsite delivery”.

The Fast Food Dining Trends

Americans love affair with their cars and fast food drive-through's has contributed to the current fast food dining

trends.

According to the Keystone Foundation Centers 2006 report on Away-From-Home Foods: Opportunity for

Preventing Weight Gain and Obesity—

“Approximately one fifth of restaurant meals were purchased from a car—drive-through or curbside—

in 2005, up from 14% in 1998”.

And if American's decided to park and walk a few feet inside to order—the top five most popular foods ordered

in restaurants in 2005, for consumption on-site or take out, were—

Men preferred hamburgers, French fries, pizza, breakfast sandwiches, and side salads

Women preferred "hamburgers, French fries, pizza, side salads, and chicken sandwiches

Students ages 18 to 24 preferred French fries, hamburgers, pizza, Mexican foods, and chicken sandwiches

Children under age 6 preferred French fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, hamburgers, and ice cream

Between 2003 and 2004 diners increased their consumption of the following foods—

Chicken nuggets/strips and chicken sandwiches

Cappuccinos, other gourmet coffee beverages, diet soft drinks, bottled water, and milk

Burgers and French fries

Main dish salads

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Mexican food

And between 2003 and 2004 diners "decreased their consumption of—

regular soft drinks

Chinese/Asian/Indian

food

side dish salads

regular coffee

Alcoholic beverages

seafood

toast/sliced bread

frozen sweets

cakes

pies

breadsticks

Another area of growth in the restaurant business is providing more "grab-and-go" snacks along with

regular meals during the afternoon and late at night. The report also brought up that—

“A household's demand for food away from home depends in part on its income and its

demographics. It seems that single people and multiple adults without live at home children tend

to spend more.

Additionally with workforce changes such as the rise of two-income families and women working outside

the home—

“Have fueled the drive for take-out meals, drive-through's, and convenience in food preparation.

According to Pew Research 2006, the percentage of people who eat fast food weekly was—Men—

41%...Women—35%... Ages: 18 to 29 yrs—59%... 30 to 49 yrs—46%... 50 to 64 yrs—32%... 65 and up—

19% (Taylor & Paul, etal. 4).

Tolchinsky 2009, reports in her Food Dining Survey Results and Conclusions survey that the

men and women percentages above fall in line with the primary research survey results being that 12 of

the 28 survey participants who ate fast food between 1 to 6 times a week was 43%. However, 15 or 54%

of participants preferred to eat fast food only once a month and 1 participant ate fast food once a year.

The Reasons People Choose to Eat Fast Food

Tolchinsky 2009, reports that nutritional value tended to not be a consideration in the consumers choice

of fast food. Out of the 28 participants in the research survey 11 cited taste and 17 cited convenience as

opposed to 3 citing nutritional value as reasons for their fast food choices.

Additionally, according to the 2006 Keystone report the reasons were—Consumers cite the taste, value,

size of portions, and temperature of food as reasons for their increasing satisfaction with major chain

restaurants, whereas satisfaction with independent restaurants has declined slightly in recent years.

Fast Food: Obesity with Every Bite

America is fat and getting fatter. The widespread

availability of cheap fast food has contributed to

American's obesity epidemic. We see the obesity in

shopping malls, theaters, churches, schools, on airplanes,

and in the fast food restaurants.

People like to “supersize" their portions. Coventry, 2004

said—

“We have become so used to being fat, that we may

have accepted it as our new national identity. A

women's size 14 in the 1940’s is a size 10 today. The

average airline passenger now weighs almost 21

pounds more than in 1995...and the extra-wide

coffin business is taking off”.

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The American Heart Association (AHA) is very concerned with the obesity epidemic and on their body

composition tests web page there is a formula to find out what one's body mass index (BMI) is. BMI

assesses your body weight relative to height and is an indirect measure of body composition because it

correlates highly with body fat in most people.

To calculate your exact BMI value, multiply your weight in pounds by 703, divide by your height in

inches, then divide again by your height in Inches. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight

and a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.

Also according to the AHA 2009 risk factors statistical fact sheet, the following information shows the

high rate of obesity in America.

Children ages 2 to 19—23.4 million are overweight and obese

BMI-for-age at or above the 85th percentile of the 2000 COC growth charts—12.3 million

males and 11.1 million females.

Americans age 20 and older—the following are overweight or obese with a BMI of 25.0 and

higher

Non-Hispanic whites—72.4% of men and 57.5% of women

Non-Hispanic blacks—73.7% of men and 77.7% of women

Non-Mexican Americans—74.8% men and 73.0% women

Fast Food Silent Killers—Saturated Fats and Sodium

Saturated fats are those which include transfat and cholesterol. According to the AHA—

“The main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol from saturated fats is found mainly in foods

from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk,

cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2% milk. Plant foods that contain

saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical

oils), and cocoa butter”.

The AHA also recommends—

“Healthy people should stay under 2,300 mg of salt per day and African Americans, middle-aged

and older adults and people with high blood pressure, should stay under 1,500 mg per day”.

Truth is—since Americans eat a lot processed and canned foods regularly they can exceed 2300 mg

of hidden salts easily in a day.

A Few Other Sources of Transfats and Sodium—Plaque

Fast food restaurants are not the only killer source for transfats and sodium. According to the Center for

Science in the Public Interest, 2009, the following restaurants are on their list of the worst foods for

calories, transfats, and sodium—

Olive Gardens—Tour of Italy Homemade lasagna… Light Breaded Chicken Parmigiana and

Creamy Fettucine Alfredo—1,450 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat, and 3,830 mg of sodium

Chipotle Chick Burrito—1050 calories, 17.5 g saturated fat, 2610 mg of sodium which is equal to

two 6" Subway Steak and cheese, plus a scoop of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey Ice cream

Starbucks Venti (20 oz) Caffe Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream—410 calories, 10 g of

saturated fat…

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Cold Stone Creamery 12 oz. Gotta Have it Founder's Favorite with a softball-sized mound of ice

cream, pecans, brownie pieces, fudge, and caramel—1,600 calories and 42 g of saturated fat.

How Those Unhealthy Ingredients Affect Your Health

According to the American Heart Association’s Know Your Fats—

“Eating a diet of Transfats raises your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels and lowers your good (HDL)

cholesterol levels which increase your risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and type II

diabetes”.

Clinical studies have shown that transfatty acids tended to raise total blood cholesterol levels.

Some scientists believe they raise cholesterol levels more than saturated fats. Transfatty acids also tend to

raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol when used instead of cis-fatty acids or

natural oils. These changes may increase the risk of heart disease.

The other disease that trans and saturated fats cause is atherosclerosis which can lead to heart attack,

stroke, or even death.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services—

“Atherosclerosis (ath-er-o-skler-O-sis) is where plaque which is made up of fat, cholesterol,

calcium and other substances in the blood builds up on the insides of your arteries. Eventually, as

time progresses, the plaque hardens which narrows the arteries restricting blood flow that can

lead to heart attack, stroke and possible death”.

And according to Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins 2009—

“Accompanying heart disease, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and type II diabetes, can be a

lifetime of taking medications such as—angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors,

glycoprotein lib/Ilia inhibitors, nitrates, beta-adrenergic or calcium channel blockers,

antiplatelets, antilipemics, and antihypertensive drugs”.

The sodium content in fast foods contributes to high blood pressure according to The Professional Guide

to Diseases, Ninth Edition on hypertension—

“Risk factors for hypertension include family history, race (most common in blacks), stress,

obesity, a diet high in saturated fats or sodium, tobacco use, sedentary lifestyle and aging”.

Plus Lewin & Alexandra 2009, report that children are also at risk for high sodium consumption from

dining on fast foods. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest comments report on the

United States Department of Agriculture web site—

“A high-salt diet in childhood is associated with higher blood pressure in children that likely will

lead to increased risks of hypertension, strokes, and heart disease later in life”.

Additionally—The Institute of Medicine recommends that children's recommended sodium dietary

adequate intake of sodium should be—

“1,000 mg/day for children aged 1 to 3… 1,200 mg/day for children aged 4 to 8… and 1,500

mg/day for children aged 9 to 13”.

Furthermore—some researchers have attributed the rise of kidney stones in children to the excess of salt

in children's diets.

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To illustrate just how much salt is in the fast food diets of children, the report gave an example of a

McDonald's children's meal. This meal consisted of a—double cheeseburger, small French fries, and a

12 oz. fountain drink which adds up to “1,340 mg of sodium!

That 1340 mg of sodium is just 160 mg short of the daily recommended amount of salt for a 13 year

old…

Plus… in all probability—the fast food meal is either the child's lunch or dinner—and the 1340 mg of sale

either has been or will be exceeded at the end of day.

Bottom line, it is too much sodium for a 13 year old!

Healthy Eating of Fast Foods

A statement from the McDonalds web site reads—“Many nutrition professionals agree that McDonald's

food can be part of a healthy diet based on the sound nutrition principles of balance, variety, and

moderation”.

Here is a sample meal from the Nutrition Spotlight part of the web site—

Premium Grilled Chicken Classic Sandwich... vanilla reduced fat ice cream cone… and 12 oz

orange juice—710 calories. Total fat: 11 g—17%... Saturated fat: 4.5 g—22%... Cholesterol: 80

mg—27%... Sodium: 1710 mg—71%.

To see if this is considered healthy, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,

(DHHS) Healthier You Dietary Guidelines—

“It is recommended that people consume less than 2,300 mg (approximately 1 tsp of salt) of

sodium per day and eat less than 10 % of calories from total fats on a 2000 calorie diet”.

The sodium content of the McDonald meal falls under the guidelines—but only by 590 grams.

According to the DHHS fat recommendations—

“10% of a 2000 calorie daily diet-the total fat in the meal is 17%, which goes over by 7% of the

10% DHHS recommendations.

Too, in all probability the percentage of fat will be exceeded by the end of the day due to the eating of

other meals.

According to Smith—Even though McDonalds considers their "grilled chicken sandwich" healthy—it did

not correlate with the primary research survey for this report. The survey showed 27 out of 28 participants

liked hamburgers as oppose to 12 out of 28 participants liking grilled chicken sandwiches.

In the Keystone report 2006, it states that—

“Men and women preferred hamburgers with no mention of grilled chicken sandwiches. But

students 18-24 preferred chicken sandwiches”.

Additionally, on the AHA web site under the Tips for Eating Out—they do recommend eating a grilled

chicken sandwich with lettuce, pickle, and onion—but hold the mayo.

Making Healthy Fast Food Choices

One can educate themselves on making wiser fast food choices several ways such as visiting the fast food

dining establishments web sites and looking at the nutritional information according to their dietary

preferences and limitations.

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According to the Help Guide Organization, Healthy Fast Food Tips for Making Healthier Fast Food

Choices, the following, is suggested:

Practice portion control—as many fast food restaurants serve enough food for several meals in the

guise of a single serving.

Forgo the high-fat dressing and fried toppings when ordering salads—but instead opt for fresh

veggies, grilled toppings, and a lighter dressing.

Menu items usually high in calories and sodium are listed as—deep-fried… pan-fried… basted…

batter-dipped… breaded… creamy… crispy… scalloped… Alfredo… and au gratin or in cream

sauce. Opt for dishes with more vegetables and leaner meats.

Drink water with your meal instead of colas which contain hidden calories. A 32-oz regular cola is

about 425 calories—so a better alternative would be ordering unsweetened iced tea with lemon.

When ordering a sandwich forgo the calorie-and fat-packed salad dressings, spreads, cheese, sour

cream, and other similar toppings. Instead ask for a packet of ketchup and or mustard to control how

much you put on your sandwich.

Ask for special ordering if a menu item is not prepared as healthy as you would like it… Opt for

vegetables and main dishes without the sauces… For your salad, request olive oil and vinegar or the

dressing "on the side so you can add small amounts at a time. Request food be broiled or steamed

instead of being cooked in oils or butter.

Resize portions since the average fast food meal can have up to as much as 1000 calories or more.

This can be done by not supersizing or by ordering a side salad instead of fries… Consider splitting a

meal with a dining partner—or take home part of the meal since many restaurants single serving

portions are more like two meals… If you cannot pass up the deserts, resize by sharing.

Monitor the salt since restaurant food tends to be very high in sodium. Sodium is a major contributor

to high blood pressure.

Stay away from buffets—because people tend to overeat to get their money's worth. However, if

you find yourself at a buffet chose the fresh fruits, salads with olive oil & vinegar or low-fat

dressings, broiled entrees and steamed vegetables. Try waiting 20 minutes after the first round to

make sure you are still hungry before making that second trip.

Eat mindfully—Take your time and savor each bite by chewing your food thoroughly. Being

mindful also means not eating on the run and stopping before you are full. Take time to let your body

register that you have eaten. Mindful eating relaxes you, so you digest better, and makes you feel

more satisfied.

If you think of eating out as a special occasion, or you know you want to order your favorite meal at a

nice restaurant—make sure your earlier meals that day are extra healthy. Plan ahead to practice

moderation, maintain good nutrition and diet control which will lead to a relaxing and enjoyable dining

out experience.

Food Safety—Not So Safe. Food Handling in Fast Food Restaurants

When consumers enter into a fast food restaurant to dine—they take for granted that the establishment is

following health department guidelines to insure food safety, cleanliness of the facility and the workers

following good personal hygiene.

According to the Minnesota Department of Health on prevalence of risky food handling practices in

restaurants that serve hamburgers—

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“Food borne infection with E. coli 0157:H7 continues to be a significant public health problem

in the United States causing an estimated 62,458 illnesses and 52 deaths per year. Outbreak

investigation and evaluation of sporatci E. coli cases have identified eating hamburger as a

leading cause of infection and recent studies have found that eating in a table service restaurant

is also a risk factor for infection with E. coli”.

Additionally the report also stated the following:

64% (147 of 228) of restaurants reported never measuring the temperature of fresh ground beef when

it is delivered to the facility.

50% (190 of 383) of restaurants reported that they never measure the final cook temperatures of

hamburger.

Only 1% (5 of 384) of restaurants reported "always" or "sometimes" purchasing irradiated ground

beef: 29% (110 of 384) reported that they had never heard of irradiated ground beef (Bogard & etaI

1).

In the study it did state two ways of lessening your chances of getting E. coli 0157:H7 when dining out in

restaurants:

“Brown color is not indication of thoroughly cooked meat. If served an undercooked hamburger

request an entire new hamburger—including the bun and vegetables—instead of relying on the

restaurant to further cook the patty. The cook might put the re-cooked patty back onto the old

bun, which will still contain the juices from the undercooked burger”.

Since E. coli is killed by a temperature of 160 degrees—a fast food diner can use a digital instant-read

meat thermometer to check the temperature of the thickest part of the burgers meat.

And What about Hand Washing?

The hand washing practices in fast food restaurants did not seem to fare much better. According to a 2005

article in Food Protection Trends—

“The majority of reported foods borne illness outbreaks originate in food service establishments

and that case control studies demonstrate that when people dine outside the home there is the risk

factor of acquiring a food borne illness”.

This is due in part to most outbreaks of food borne illnesses in food service establishments were attributed

to food workers' improper and unsafe food preparation and hand washing practices.

The article included factors impacting hand washing practices in which food workers stated their hand

washing practices. Some of the reasons given were…

Too few sinks or sinks inconvenient to the work area

Time pressure because of high business volume or inadequate staffing

Were not able to take time to wash hands because of large orders to prepare

Frequent hand washing made hands chapped and raw

Workers who used gloves washed their hands less, perhaps because they assumed that they did not

need to wash their hands if they wore gloves.

The article did mention about positive steps restaurants took to remedy the above mentioned problems by

doing the following—

Encouraging hand washing by ringing a bell every hour

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Requiring workers to record every hand washing in a log

Expectations of reciprocal treatment from other food workers, "If I expect that of somebody else, I

expect that of myself'

Food safety education and training on proper hand washing practices

Workers being aware of appearing sanitary to customers, especially in kitchens where workers can

be seen by customers.

Additionally, if a customer sees unsanitary practices—they can always request to speak to the manager or

ask the worker to go wash their hands.

In Conclusion

In this report information was presented to show how fast food is unhealthy in several areas. “Silent

killer” ingredients such as transfats, saturated fats, sodium, and cholesterol can lead to hypertension,

clogged arteries, and heart disease according to the AHA.

Also, the single serving portions of food served at fast food establishments, can sometimes be enough for

two people. (More food = more calories = more fat). And according to the Minnesota Department of

Health study, the incidences of poor food handling and hand washing lead to food borne diseases.

Information was also offered to show that the consumer does have resources such as the American Heart

Association, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest

to educate themselves on how to make wiser food choices when dining out.

However, as shown in the survey at the end of this report by Smith—despite educational levels, and

health conditions—28 of the participants made their food choices based on taste and convenience… Only

three participants took nutrition into account.

And finally—we see the result of what fast food can do to the body every time we are out in public. It is a

three letter word called FAT which is not only under our skin—but is according to the AHA building up

in our arteries and killing us. Bon Appétit.

Food Dining Survey Results and Conclusions

Smith distributed a ten question survey to 28 participants—17 people at Macomb Community College

and to 11 people from outside sources. The purpose of survey was to assess a correlation on their fast

food dining preferences and the following topics.

Results—Despite educational levels, health conditions and food borne illnesses, the participants still ate

fast food anywhere from once a week to once a month. When the participants ordered burgers and the

other sandwiches, the majority preferred vegetables to mayonnaise and cheese. The first number is the

amount of people—the second number is the percentage of total participants.

1. Your educational level:

a. High school—4/14%

b. Some college—19/68%

c. AA—1/4%

d. Bachelors—3/11%

e. Masters PHD—1/4%

2. At what age did you start to eat fast food?

a. 1-5 years—15/55%

b. 6-10 years—7/25%

c. 11-15 years—4/14%

d. 16-20 years—1/4%

3. What percentage of meals do you eat at home weekly?

a. 25-50% of the time—5 /18% b. 51- 75% of the time—9/32%

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c. 75-95% of the time—14/50%

4. When you eat away from home, do you prefer:

a. Fast food—4/14%

b. Casual—16/57%

c. Fine dining—6/21%

5. How often do you eat fast food?

a. 1 time a week—7/25%

b. 2-6 times a week— 5/18%

c. Once a month—15/54%

d. Once a year—1/3%

6. Are those fast food choices based on:

a. Nutritional value—3/11%

b. Taste—11/39%

c. Convenience—17/61%

7. Do you have any of the following health conditions? (Check all that apply)

a. High blood pressure—2/7%

b. Cholesterol—3/11%

c. Diabetes—1/4%

d. Heart conditions—1/4%

8. Do you still eat fast food despite your health conditions? Yes—4/14% No—1/7%

9. Have you had a food borne illness related to fast food? Yes—3/11% No—8/29%

a. If so what type? Stomach flu—1 Food poisoning—2

b. Did it require medical care? No—3/11%

10. Which types of these fast foods do you prefer to eat?

a. Fried burgers—10/36% Single—9/32% Double—5/18%

b. Broiled Burgers—17/61% Single—12/43% Double—9/32%

Condiments preferred

Mayonnaise—7/25%

Cheese—11/39%

Lettuce—17/61%

Tomato—14/50%

Pickle—10/36%

Onion—13/46%

c. Grilled chicken sandwiches—12/41% Fried chicken sandwiches—13/46%

With condiments—

mayonnaise 9/32%

cheese 8/29%

lettuce 16/57%

tomato 12/43%

pickle 6/21%

onion 10/36%

d. 6" Sub sandwiches—15/54% 12" sub sandwiches—8/29%

With condiments—

Mayonnaise—10/36%

Cheese—14/50%

Vegetables—16/57%

oil dressings—11/39%

no dressings—5/18%

e. Large French fries—2/7% medium French fries—9/32% small French fries—10/36%

f. Prepared salads—18/64%

creamy dressings—9/32%

light dressings—6/21%

no dressing—2/7%

g. Plain baked potato—17/61%

w/butter—11/39%

sour cream—11/39%

cheese—9/32%

bacon toppings—7/25%

h. Fried chicken breast—14/50% leg—5/18% thighs—0 wings—1/4%

i. Baked chicken breast—10/36% leg—5/18% thighs—2/7% wings—1/4%

j. Taco (meat, lettuce, cheese)—20/71% with sour cream—10/36%

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k. Bean burrito (cheese, beans, onions)—16/57% with sour cream—5/18%

l. Nachos (chips, cheese, ground beef w/ sour cream—10/36%

m. Pizza: Thin crust –17/61% Deep dish— 8/29% Stuffed crust—4/14%

Toppings:

sausage—10/36%

Pepperoni—14/50%

extra cheese—6/21%

bacon—7/25%

onions—8/29%

black olives—4/14%

mushrooms—11/39%

green pepper—8/29%

ground beef—1/4%

How many slices? 63 or 2.25%

Conclusions: The correlation of the participant's higher educational level did not tend to influence their

food choices. The food choices of participants with bachelor degrees, masters, and PhD—were the same

as the participants with high school, associates, and some college educational levels.

a. Masters/PhD—1 survey participant—

Fried burger/single/double with mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and pickle

Fried chicken sandwich with mayonnaise, lettuce, and tomato

Small French fries

6" or 12” sub with no dressing.

Prepared salad with light dressing

Baked potato with butter, and sour cream.

Pizza/thin crust with cheese. Two slices.

b. Bachelor degree—4 survey participants—

Doubled broiled/fried burger with lettuce, pickle, tomato, and onion

Chicken sandwiches/grilled fried with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion

6" or 12” sub with vegetables and oil dressing

Fried and baked chicken

Prepared salad with light dressing

Plain baked potato with bacon toppings

Taco with meat, lettuce, and cheese

Bean burrito with cheese, beans, onions

Nachos with cheese, ground beef, and sour cream

Pizza, thin crust, mushrooms, hamburger

Pizza/thin crust/deep dish w. sausage, pepperoni, bacon, onions, black olives, mushrooms,

green pepper—three slices

Pizza was the most popular fast food with the participants eating 63 slices

Six participants who had health conditions of high cholesterol and blood pressure, diabetes and a heart

condition still ate the following fast food—

fried burger/double with mayonnaise, cheese, tomato

Grilled/fried chicken sandwich with cheese, tomato

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6" or 12” sub sandwich with mayonnaise, cheese, oil dressings

Fried and baked chicken

Taco with meat, lettuce cheese, and sour cream

Pizza—deep dish with bacon. pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, green pepper

Three of the survey participants chose fast food based on nutritional value... One person ate fast food once

a year... The other two participants ate fast food 1 or more times a month.

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