Why do people eat fast food?

Question

I’ve grown up living in a family that is really strict on the food we eat. So the concept of eating out in a fast food store is really alien to me. I did try one out before, I don’t get why people would eat that food, they taste terrible! I mean it’s literally called junk food! Then why do people eat fast food? Because it’s cheap and convenient?

Answer 1

People eat fast food, because, as the name says, it’s fast! If you have a busy schedule and don’t have time to prepare your own meal, then you will often opt for fast, convenient food. Just stop by the store, make an order and receive the food 5 minutes later. Cooking your own meal takes a lot of time. You need the time for groceries, which needs planning ahead for the food you want to prepare, then the cooking time. After that, you still need to wash the cutleries and kitchen equipment. Or you can just have someone else do it all for you. Or even just stock up on pre-frozen food that just needed to be microwaved for a few minutes for a hot meal. That convenient then slowly become a habit over time, some see it as necessary to keep up with the fast moving society. Breaking this routine might be difficult since replacing that fast option is a huge investment of time and skill. Then there is also the misconception that preparing food from scratch is more expensive. That is not true! It is actually cheaper to go home cooked, yes, you do need to do the actual cooking. But you know, it might be worth the healthier meal.

Answer 2

Life is stressful and one of the way people relieve themselves is through eating junk food. Too much stress leads to out body expanding more energy, so we feel hungry for high-calorie food. That means high sugar, oil and fatty food, all of which are rich in fast and junky food.

And here’s one more factor to consider when you asking why do people eat fast food, that is high anxiety. High anxiety might lead people to eat junk food for comfort too, since when stressed, we look for ways to calm ourselves. Sugary, greasy junk food rewards your brain with that feel-good chemicals. When you are stressed you tend to get sleep deprivation as well. Lack of sleep, unfortunately, decrease our willpower to resist these irresistible foods, over healthier options. Again, these junk food makes us feel better about our terrible choices and the cycle continues.

Answer 3

You can actually get addicted to junk food, the same way people get addicted to drugs or exercising. Physical dependency on fast, oily and high sugar food is a real thing. There is a study done that binge eating these food results in neurochemical changes in the brain, releasing extra endorphins, similar to that in drugs addiction. It’s like how some overly obese people on scooters might be literally eating a chunk of butter. That’s addiction. You can get addicted to the comforting feeling of eating junk food.