Fast Food: The Silent Killer

Laura L. Smith http://clickingforcashfromhome.com/ Fast Food—The Silent Killer
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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 showing 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
 Mexican food

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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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