Why Do People Choose Fast Food Over Home-Cooked Meals?

  • Thread starter Thread starter wolram
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Food
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the reasons why individuals opt for fast food over home-cooked meals, exploring various perspectives on convenience, taste, cooking skills, and societal trends. It touches on personal experiences, cultural shifts, and health implications related to fast food consumption.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants suggest that busy lifestyles lead people to choose fast food, questioning whether those meals can be considered "proper" food.
  • Others express a strong dislike for the taste of fast food, with one participant noting that it often tastes like "trash" but still consumes it for convenience.
  • One participant shares a positive experience with a specific fast food item, claiming it is fast, delicious, and relatively healthy.
  • A historical perspective is introduced, comparing modern fast food to the hunting habits of early ancestors, suggesting a deep-rooted preference for easily accessible food.
  • Concerns are raised about the lack of cooking skills among younger generations, with one participant recounting their experience teaching a student how to cook, emphasizing the ease of preparing home-cooked meals.
  • Several participants discuss the impact of sedentary lifestyles and distorted portion sizes on obesity rates, noting changes in fast food serving sizes over time.
  • One participant mentions that fast food items often contain high calorie counts, questioning the value of such meals.
  • Another participant humorously reflects on the absurdity of portion sizes and marketing tactics in supermarkets, suggesting they encourage overeating.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a mix of agreement and disagreement regarding the taste and health implications of fast food. While some share negative views on fast food, others defend certain items as convenient and enjoyable. The discussion remains unresolved on the overall impact of fast food on health and society.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference personal anecdotes and observations, which may not represent broader trends. There is a noted lack of consensus on the nutritional value and cultural significance of fast food versus home-cooked meals.

  • #31
Contrapositive said:
Can you maybe provide a source for this claim? I find it very hard to believe a salad and chicken have more fat than a Big Mac.
I believe it.

Here is Applebee's grilled steak caeser salad (no pasta or wine)

1295 Calories
82.5 grams of fat
743 calories from fat

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-meals-entree-grilled-steak-caesar-salad-w-toast_f-Y2lkPTQyNDkmYmlkPTM4JmZpZD0xMTk4ODAmcGFyPSZrZXk9QXBwbGViZWVz.html

Big Mac
540 calories
29 grams of fat

http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #32
Contrapositive said:
Can you maybe provide a source for this claim? I find it very hard to believe a salad and chicken have more fat than a Big Mac.

A ceaser salad covered in cheese and olive oil, chicken with a sauce full of cream and butter and restaurant portions are bigger than fast food portions ( only the fries and soda are supersize ).

I see the same thing, girls order the ceaser salad or baked potato (with butter and sour cream) instead of fries because they are on a diet.
 
  • #33
Contrapositive said:
Can you maybe provide a source for this claim? I find it very hard to believe a salad and chicken have more fat than a Big Mac.

He said more than a salad and chicken. I'm imagining one of those huge plates of pasta, slathered in a cheesy cream sauce, with a chicken breast on top, a drenched crouton-filled generously Parmesaned Caesar salad on the side, and a glass of some sweet wine. And that's the kind of restaurant that probably puts bread out beforehand and pitches appetizers to you too. Beats out a Big Mac no problem on both fat and calories, maybe even an entire mega-sized combo meal.

Y'know how if a restaurant has no prices on the menu it turns out to be really expensive? The same principle applies for restaurants that aren't telling you how many calories are in anything.
⚛​
 
  • #34
I believe it.

Here is Applebee's grilled steak caeser salad (no pasta or wine)

1295 Calories
82.5 grams of fat
743 calories from fat

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/cal...wbGViZWVz.html

Big Mac
540 calories
29 grams of fat

http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_control...on.index1.html

That's steak. Not chicken.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-meals-low-fat-grilled-chicken-pasta_f-Y2lkPTQyNDkmYmlkPTM4JmZpZD01MzkzNiZlaWQ9MjM3MDk0NjMyJnBvcz05JnBhcj0ma2V5PUFwcGxlYmVlcw.html"

Only has 9g of fat. I could find the caesar salad info by itself. But if it has over 20g of fat, lay off the dressing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #35
Contrapositive said:
That's steak. Not chicken.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-meals-low-fat-grilled-chicken-pasta_f-Y2lkPTQyNDkmYmlkPTM4JmZpZD01MzkzNiZlaWQ9MjM3MDk0NjMyJnBvcz05JnBhcj0ma2V5PUFwcGxlYmVlcw.html"

Only has 9g of fat. I could find the caesar salad info by itself. But if it has over 20g of fat, lay off the dressing.
The chicken won't make that much difference.

Your link is for a low fat ckicken pasta, and it's a whopping 873 calories! Add the salad to that and you're over 2,000 calories.

We're talking about a restaurant size salad, not a tiny side salad, It's not a Caesar salad without the high fat, high calorie Caesar dressing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #36
Contrapositive said:
That's steak. Not chicken.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-meals-low-fat-grilled-chicken-pasta_f-Y2lkPTQyNDkmYmlkPTM4JmZpZD01MzkzNiZlaWQ9MjM3MDk0NjMyJnBvcz05JnBhcj0ma2V5PUFwcGxlYmVlcw.html"

Only has 9g of fat. I could find the caesar salad info by itself. But if it has over 20g of fat, lay off the dressing.

Thumbs down! That's the low fat version of a chicken and pasta meal. You ought to be comparing it to a low fat fast food meal, then.
⚛​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #37
And anyways he said non-chain restaurant. Applebee's sure as heck is a chain restaurant. That's half the point, these are restaurants that don't have a team of marketers and industrial food designers working on a meal, it's a line chef who just throws another stick of butter into the sauce pot.
⚛​
 
Last edited:
  • #38
CaptainQuasar said:
And anyways he said non-chain restaurant. Applebee's sure as heck is a chain restaurant.
Yes, but it's unlikely any non-chain restaurant is going to have nutritional value posted on the internet.
 
  • #39
Me? I don't eat very much per day because people don't need very much per day. It's usually one main meal, and then some assorted snacks and drinks the rest of the day. I try and go for big calories since I only eat once per day. Works fine for me, and according to most longevity studies, lower calorie consumption in captivity equals longer lifespan.
 
  • #40
Evo said:
Yes, but it's unlikely any non-chain restaurant is going to have nutritional value posted on the internet.
Not anywhere. So we can make a fair bet that a non-chain is going to be worse than anything we find online; Certainly, as you pointed out, worse than the low-fat version of a meal.
⚛​
 
  • #41
Thumbs down! That's the low fat version of a chicken and pasta meal. You ought to be comparing it to a low fat fast food meal, then.

There is a low-fat big mac? But okay, you could compare McDonald's chicken salad to Applebee's Salad, Mesquite Chicken w. Dressing. McDonalds' Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken has 9g of fat (with or without dressing it doesn't say, but I'm assuming not because it goes on to list dressing info on the same page).

http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.index1.html

Applebee's has 4g of fat.

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-meals-salad-mesquite-chicken-w-dressing_f-Y2lkPTQyNDkmYmlkPTM4JmZpZD05OTk0MCZlaWQ9MjM3MTIxOTE3JnBvcz0xOCZwYXI9JmtleT1BcHBsZWJlZXM.html

And anyways he said non-chain restaurant. Applebee's sure as heck is a chain restaurant. That's half the point, these are restaurants that don't have a team of marketers and industrial food designers working on a meal, it's a line chef who just throws another stick of butter into the sauce pot.

True. But this is as close as you're going to get.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #42
Non-chain restaurants won't have their calories listed so you have to guesstimate. It isn't hard at all. A serving size for a piece of meat is the size of a deck of cards. A serving of pasta would probably be about two fistfuls of pasta. The average portions in American restaurants are OBSCENE. A glass of wine sets you back almost 200 calories alone. Eat a few slices of bread that they give you that is another 200-300 calories right there (assuming you skip butter). Caesar salads are supposed to be made with olive oil, but many many many places make caesar salad dressings with mayo instead. A restaurant sized caesar salad (that is not non fat) that is loaded with croutons and cheese will set you back another 400 calories (to be conservative). Restaurants in the US will typically give you almost half a box of pasta or more for a dinner. The pasta alone sets you back 400+ calories (being conservative). Include the huge amount of chicken you would get and that would be another 300-400 calories (being conservative). This is completely ignoring what type of sauce you get. A cream or white sauce would add on a ridiculous amount of calories and fat. Even if you get a red tomato sauce, the sauce is probably loaded with an entire days worth of sodium. So yeah that puts you in the range of 2000 calories for a single meal from a restaurant by being even conservative.

Restaurants, both chain and non-chain, give you much much bigger portions of food than fast food places and many times the items on their menu deliver more fat and calories than food from a fast food joint.
 
  • #43
I'm not a health nut. I go to the gym 4 to 5 times a week, i lift weights and i do cardio (ride my bike). I like the muscly look, but that doesn't stop me from eating hamburguers, ice cream and etc... The idea always is to keep an eye on what you are eating. If most of your intake is high in saturated fat and in general not healthy, plus you don't exercise regularly then it is a problem.

Frankly, i prefer a steak with its appropiate side dish and a glass of wine over any "fast food" :smile:
 
  • #44
Cyclovenom said:
I'm not a health nut. I go to the gym 4 to 5 times a week, i lift weights and i do cardio (ride my bike). I like the muscly look, but that doesn't stop me from eating hamburguers, ice cream and etc... The idea always is to keep an eye on what you are eating. If most of your intake is high in saturated fat and in general not healthy, plus you don't exercise regularly then it is a problem.

Frankly, i prefer a steak with its appropiate side dish and a glass of wine over any "fast food" :smile:

Don't get me wrong I love fatty stuff too like homemade pies, cookies, and ice cream. The whole key to managing weight is simply exercise and portion control. If I know I am going to eat ice cream after dinner then I will eat half the amount of meat and skip carbs and pretty much eat just the most nutrient dense foods which are mostly vegetables.
 
  • #45
Before reading the quotes below, ask yourself if a Whopper with cheese is a less-healthy meal than the Garden Salad with Ranch dressing and garlic toast.





Burger King©
WHOPPER - Vegetable, w/Cheese©

Serving Size: 213g
Calories: 500
Calories from Fat: 260
Total Fat: 28 grams
Saturated Fat: 9 grams
Cholesterol: 35 milligrams
Sodium: 1230 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 47 grams
Fiber: 3 grams
Sugars: 9 grams
Protein: 13 grams

Burger King©
TenderCrisp Garden Salad - w/Garden Ranch Dressing and Garlic Toast©

Serving Size: 455g
Calories: 600
Calories from Fat: 310
Total Fat: 35 grams
Saturated Fat: 7 grams
Cholesterol: 60 milligrams
Sodium: 1950 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 45 grams
Fiber: 6 grams
Sugars: 8 grams
Protein: 28 grams
http://www.chowbaby.com/fastfood/fast_food_nutrition.asp

The salad has 100 more calories than the burger, 50 more calories from fat, 25 more milligrams of cholesterol, and 720 more milligrams of sodium.
 
  • #46
turbo-1 said:
The salad has 100 more calories than the burger, 50 more calories from fat, 25 more milligrams of cholesterol, and 720 more milligrams of sodium.

Notably, though, that's a http://www.bk.com/#menu=2,40,-1". Just pointing out that it's not all from the dressing or something, lest people become too discouraged of the virtue of salads.
⚛​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #47
Actually, I selected a salad with no chicken, but with dressing and garlic toast. You can get a BK salad with the breaded chicken , and it actually has less fat, calories, sodium, etc - as long as there is no dressing added.

Burger King©
Salad - Fire Grilled Chicken Caesar, w/Out Dressing or Toast©

Serving Size: 286g
Calories: 190
Calories from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 7 grams
Saturated Fat: 3 grams
Cholesterol: 50 milligrams
Sodium: 900 milligrams
Carbohydrates: 9 grams
Fiber: 1 grams
Sugars: 1 grams
Protein: 25 grams
 
  • #48
turbo-1 said:
Actually, I selected a salad with no chicken, but with dressing and garlic toast.

Are you sure about that? The page I linked to on the BurgerKing website has the exact same product name as the first salad you mentioned - see how they're both called "TenderCrisp"? That's what indicates that it has chicken in it - specifically breaded fried chicken as opposed to grilled chicken which they call "TenderGrill".
⚛​
 
Last edited:
  • #49
CaptainQuasar said:
Are you sure about that? The page I linked to on the BurgerKing website has the exact same product name as the first salad you mentioned - see how they're both called "TenderCrisp"? That's what indicates that it has chicken in it - specifically breaded fried chicken as opposed to grilled chicken which they call "TenderGrill".
⚛​
Well the site that I pulled the nutritional information from could have been in error, I suppose. It seems to be a pretty comprehensive site, though, with nutritional information for just about any combo you can order, including "on the side" dressings, etc. Just select Burger King and you'll see more choices and options that you thought possible.

http://www.chowbaby.com/fastfood/fast_food_nutrition.asp
 
  • #50
Yeah, it seems like it must have errors. Note that the second salad you presented there as an example of the breaded chicken is called the Fire Grilled Chicken Caesar.

They have, like, ten different salads. Not everyone can be as gifted as I am at reading fast food menus. :wink: It's a survival skill.
⚛​
 
  • #51
CaptainQuasar said:
They have, like, ten different salads. Not everyone can be as gifted as I am at reading fast food menus. :wink: It's a survival skill.
⚛​
I haven't eaten in a restaurant for over 10 years, but the menus at home are pretty good. My wife and I are both good cooks. Last night she whipped up some baked enchiladas topped with my home-made salsa and Monterey jack cheese. There's still some left in the fridge and it's whispering to me.
 
  • #52
turbo-1 said:
There's still some left in the fridge and it's whispering to me.

I see you have your own survival skills. Go forth, great hunter!
⚛​
 
  • #53
I eat fast food at least once a day, everyday of the week except sometimes on Saturdays. It obviously isn't the best tasting or nutritious thing in the world but

1) Its quick. It doesn't get squashed or leak in your bag, its served hot.

2) Depending on what you get, it can actually taste ok.

3) It's just everywhere, when your hungry you grab a tiny snack.

I know theyre all pretty pathetic reasons, but those are mine. I'm not even slightly overweight, but it may be because I burn all that fat off with my basketball regime, everyday at least 2 hours.
 
  • #54
So why is there not fast food fish, like the famous crab cakes or cod slappers?
 
  • #55
I know theyre all pretty pathetic reasons, but those are mine. I'm not even slightly overweight, but it may be because I burn all that fat off with my basketball regime, everyday at least 2 hours.

Well, it's not just regular fat. Saturated, trans-fat, and high levels of sodium are terrible for your body. All the preservatives probably aren't very good for you either.
 
  • #56
wolram said:
So why is there not fast food fish, like the famous crab cakes or cod slappers?

There is. That Long John Silver's place in the U.S. (God, every single thing on their menu tastes so horrible... what the heck do they put in their frialator oil? Or maybe it's the breading? Blech.) and fish & chips chains in Canada and the UK.
⚛​
 
  • #57
Here in Maine you can't go anywhere without bumping into a place that sells fast-food seafood. Fish sandwiches (usually with breaded deep-fried haddock filets), lobster salad rolls, clam rolls (made with battered deep-fried clams), shrimp rolls etc. Almost every road-side take-out place offers seafood sandwiches and/or seafood baskets with french fries or onion rings. Almost every bit of it is deep-fried with the exception of the lobster, which is loaded with mayo when it is made up as lobster salad. Eat a steady diet of that stuff and you'll be sweating Crisco.
 
  • #59
Gib Z said:
I eat fast food at least once a day, everyday of the week except sometimes on Saturdays. It obviously isn't the best tasting or nutritious thing in the world but

1) Its quick. It doesn't get squashed or leak in your bag, its served hot.

2) Depending on what you get, it can actually taste ok.

3) It's just everywhere, when your hungry you grab a tiny snack.

I know theyre all pretty pathetic reasons, but those are mine. I'm not even slightly overweight, but it may be because I burn all that fat off with my basketball regime, everyday at least 2 hours.

Yeah you could burn off the calories from fast food, but that still doesn't mean you are healthy just because you aren't overweight. Eating fast food all the time over a long period is bound to build up plaque in your arteries which could cause heart attacks, raise your blood pressue, and mess up your triglycerides and cholesterol levels. No matter how much exercise you do you won't be able to avoid those consequences if you eat fastfood all of the time.
 
  • #60
mgb_phys said:
I suspect this is another Scottish invention coming to America soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deep-fried_Mars_bar

We have those here in Canada, usually only at the festivals though, there will be a booth set up that sells them.