BodiMojo Blog

By Kendall Stewart

A new survey shows that the number of orders for items like cheeseburgers and chicken nuggets in fast food restaurants is on the decline, and items like grilled chicken and yogurt are on the rise. Is America finally getting the hint?

The theory behind this data is that when given the choice between healthy and unhealthy, people are likely to choose the healthy. Subway began this trend with their “5 dollar foot-long” campaign. Patrons order a foot-long sub for just five dollars, getting more food than Big Macs or Whoppers and less calories. McDonald’s followed suit, adding yogurt and salads to their menu. Burger King added sliced apples, mini burgers and low-sodium chicken tenders to their kid’s menus.

I think that this is a good move on the part of the fast-food industries. As a teen, I think that kids will always like fast-food because the media force feeds it to them. We are constantly seeing commercials where Ronald McDonald is skateboarding with kids, or billboards showing kids grinning as they bite into a cheeseburger.

But it’s my opinion that kids don’t care what they get at the fast food joints, they just care that it’s fast food. I think they’ll order anything that’s on the menu – simply for the sake of it being on the menu. Since more healthy options have been added to the menus, more healthy orders are being made.

Fast food restaurants should embrace this trend – as Subway has – and continue changing their menus. Let’s hope that eventually menus will be entirely filled with healthy foods and fast food will no longer have the greasy reputation that it has today.

For more information on the dangers of fast food consumption go to http://www.fa-ir.org/ai/fastfood_hidden.htm

Kendall Stewart is a Boston-area high school senior whose interests include journalism and drama.