Britons 'love fast food more than Americans'

[T_i_B]

Source: Daily Telegraph

America's reputation as the home of fast food is under threat from the British, who are more addicted to burgers, chips and pizza than any other nation in the world.

Despite fears over an obesity epidemic, a survey has found that Britain's relationship with junk food has become even stronger than that enjoyed by the US, traditionally known for its devotion to all things deep fried.

A poll of 9,000 people in 13 nations found almost half of British respondents would be unable to give up fast food.

Some 45 per cent of those surveyed in the UK agreed with the statement "I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up", while 44 per cent of Americans said they would be unable to shun burgers, pizzas and chicken wings.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=C4XPUPRPWQ4LHQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/02/nfast102.xml

[Greeby]

1. I only have the stuff once in a blue moon

Say if I'm at Euston in the late evening, about to head back from a concert or whatever, and I really feel the need for some of that greasy crap

[Lorien]

12. I only eat it when there's no other choice

like when I've been on the road all night evacuating from a major hurricane and nothing else is open...so that's about once every three years or so. I'm a pretty good cook and I have a pretty restricted diet, so I feel somewhat ill after consuming tasteless fast food. Other than the greasiness and lack of flavor, I'm always amazed by how SALTY it is. I'll bet that a lot of people who eat fast food regularly would lose quite a bit of weight if the restaurants would just halve the amount of salt they dump in that stuff.

[Lisa]

16. with you on the salt thing!

It's amazing how much salt there is in processed food, in general. I haven't been going to fast food places in recent years (partly because my budget is pretty cramped), and when I do have pizza or a sub, I can really taste the salt. The other day I bought some canned soup, and was astounded that 250 ml had nearly 800 mg of sodium.

I don't use much salt when I cook -- the one box I have has lasted me for more than a decade.

Another reason why I've gone off fast food is that I live a few doors down from a McDonald's, and watching them unload all the boxes of frozen stuff off the truck ... that just emphasizes to me how prefab it all is.

[NashVegas]

2. Feh

Most traditional restaurants close after lunch, until they re-open for dinner. Fast food? Open all the time. Fast food will do if you need something at 2:30.

[Finite]

3. I'll confess

to having a Burger King every once in a while.. you do see some proper fat bastards in London though.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

9. Welcome to DU, Finite!

Good to have you aboard. :hi:

[rocktivity]

4. I ate at a McDonalds in London and it made me sick

when I realized it cost me the equivalent of fourteen American dollars.

x(
rocknation

[jakem]

5. had to be better than the wimpy's burger i ate in delhi...

ech. smelled liked forex condoms if anyone remembers those...

(and i do like lamb, but ugh!)

[DCKit]

6. Fish and Chips: the original fast food.

If I had a fish and chips shop in my neighborhood, I'd be there at least once a week. Guess it's time to make some fish and chips.

[non sociopath skin]

7. Find this hard to believe.

It's the sheer QUANTITY of junk food I see people eating when I'm in the States that phases me.

We do fish and chips maybe once a month and I enjoy the odd packet of crisps while Mrs Skin is partial to cookies and muffins. Otherwise we eat pretty healthy. We never fry stuff at home, for example.

It's the beer and vino that lets us down, I'm afraid!

:evilgrin: :toast:

The Skin

[SoCalDem]

26. People forget that the "standard" sized original fast-food meal

was a 6 oz coke, a burger the size of (or smaller) than today's kiddie burger and a very small fry..

All for about 50 cents

..................
When this boomer was young:

potato chips were for picnics & special treats
soda pop was an occasional treat
ice cream was for birthdays and special occasions
a serving of cookies was 2 or 3 of homemade cookies
there were NO fast food joints
meals were at home 3 times a day (in summer)
twice during school times
occasionally we ate out at a real restaurant..but rarely

kids played outside & rode bikes & played hide & seek & jumped rope & played hopscotch & hiked ..

there was no tv, no computers, no video games

kids went to bed early


and the fat kid was a rarity..

[Algorem]

8. butt we have more hamburger-shaped people than they do

take that,redcoat mofos

[CBHagman]

10. Lovely ambiguity in the headline.

It would suggest that our British neighbors cherish a Happy Meal more than they do their allies to the west. :rofl:

[Nihil]

11. Good catch!

:toast:

[MGKrebs]

13. Of course they would. It's not crunchy.

Is there any crunchy British food? I think not.

[Cronus Protagonist]

14. Bad teeth does that to you.... no cold salads either

Can't eat cold salads or crunchy shit if youre teeth are all rotted away or you are wearing dentures.

[MGKrebs]

21. Ah, it's a chicken and egg thing.

So to speak (neither being crunchy).
The soft food might have CAUSED the bad teeth.

[Cronus Protagonist]

29. Not really, it's the awesome candy and sticky buns that rot the teeth

Long before anyone reaches adulthood. I should know, I'm British and I don't have the problem, mainly because I, unlike 90% of my compatriots, take care of my teeth.

[T_i_B]

27. Pork Scratchings.

Lovely stuff.

[BigDDem]

15. I was in London several years ago and kissed the ground

when I finally saw a McDonald's (which I normally hate.)
The food in the UK is terrible. Every time we would open a restaurant
door the smoke would pour out like a chimney.
Oh, and the God awful food is expensive, big time.

[Cha]

25. That's what I've always

heard and read..that the British cuisine is not that appetizing to some. Americans don't really have a cultural diet so maybe it's easier for the Brits and Yanks to go fast food.

My food is slow and organic for my health but back in the '70's I ate my share of junk food until the health revolution came along and I jumped on that wagon and pretty much stayed here.

[treestar]

17. It must be portion size

Brits must know when to quit - I was there recently and they no way have as much of an obesity problem as the U.S. does

[ThePowerofWill]

18. Nothing wrong with it once and a while.

Problem is these days you have people, even whole families live on this crap. Yeah it's crap, some of it tasty crap though. Point it is supposed to be more of a treat, or something you do when traveling, or pressed for time.

I know folks who eat it 2-3 times a day. I don't see how you could live any length of time eating that much junk. Let's not even mention how cheap this food has gotten, making it even more attractive. I was scared at one time the fast food lobby was going to get it's wish in Washington, which is to allow them to accept food stamps. Thats just wrong.

[Lisa]

19. exactly -- if you can clearly remember the last time you went into one of those places ...

... that's better than if you are eating there so often that the days all tend to blur into each other.

Also I'm starting to think that the "cheapness" of the food is questionable. If you make up a big batch of chili and freeze it in portions, that's several dinners. I added up the cost of the ingredients, and it was actually less than buying it each time at the local fast food joint. Plus there is way less fat and salt in it. I used to eat out when I was working long hours and too tired to cook (or shop for stuff), but now I go for my freezer stash. I still go out sometimes, but it's more as a treat, or to socialize.

Thanks for bringing up that thing about the corporations and the food stamps. Can you believe the nerve of those lobbyists?

[T_i_B]

28. Pressed for Time

Point it is supposed to be more of a treat, or something you do when traveling, or pressed for time.

Well that's the thing about fast food. It tends to be quick and convenient, which is why people often go for that over cooking up something vaguely healthy themselves.

[Acadia Blue]

20. They will get fat like Americans.

[damntexdem]

22. I don't blame them. As bad as fast food may be, in recent years it has been more lovable ...

than Americans.

;-)

[Savannah_H]

23. Quite True

And they can prove by their obesity rate....

[krabigirl]

24. Might be true. Lived there for a while, ex-boyfriend had chips (fries) every night. :)