Fast food regularly is blamed for contributing to rising obesity rates because it is typically high in fat and salt, says CNN’s The Conversation. And because it’s relatively inexpensive, poor people get the rap of eating too much fast food, though research shows all income groups enjoy a fast-food meal routinely.
“What we found surprised us: Poor people were actually less likely to eat fast food — and do so less frequently — than those in the middle class and only a little more likely than the rich,” said The Conversation, which mentions President Trump’s love of fast food. “Trump even made a commercial for McDonald’s in 2002, extolling the value of their hamburgers.”
A survey of the youngest members of the Baby Boom generation found that 79 percent said they ate fast food at least once in a three-week period. The rates ranged from 74 percent for the richest 10 percent of respondents to 85 percent for people in the middle of the income range. The poorest 10 percent had an 81 percent rate. Middle-income earners ate more than four fast-food meals during the three-week period; the richest 10 percent ate three meals and the poorest 10 percent ate 3.7 meals.
The stereotype of poor people eating a cheap fast-food meal falters on this point, said CNN: Fast food isn’t cheap. “The typical cost per meal at a fast-food restaurant — which the U.S. Census calls limited service — is over $8 … Moreover, $8 is a lot for a family living under the U.S. poverty line, which for a family of two is a bit above $16,000, or about $44 per day.”