Over the last week, I’ve eaten McDonalds food twice. And as someone who works out regularly and tries to keep a tab on how many calories I’m putting into my body, every trip to McDonalds turns into a self-induced guilt trip. I’ve seen SuperSize Me and I’ve read Fast Food Nation… and I’ve even successfully kept myself from eating fast food for months. But sometimes I have to admit that the stress of the day and the busy lifestyle I lead makes me hang my head in shame and pull into that drive-through, order a Quarter Pounder meal and make sure it comes with a Diet Coke.
I might as well deprive myself of the liquid calories if I’m splurging!
And while I may feel guilty about eating fast food a few times every month, we’ve got nothing on the rest of the world.
Building on the passion for anything Western in current Chinese culture, the Chinese are more likely to order and eat takeout meals than Americans. A whopping 41% of Chinese eat fast food or takeout once a week, compared to only 35% of Americans, as surveyed by ACNielson Corp.
In Hong Kong alone, 61% of the population eats fast food at least once a week; 59% of Malaysians and 54% of Filipinos go to carryout restaurants at least once a week.
To put it all in perspective, only 11% of Europeans go to a fast-food restaurant on a weekly basis.
This just reiterates where fast-food corporations are going to see the biggest growth -- in Asia. The demand is there, and the supply has yet to be capped.
by Ann Sosnowski, Editor, Diligent Investor
