Fast food restaurant use among women in the Pound of Prevention study: dietary, behavioral and demographic correlates

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To examine demographic, behavioral and dietary correlates of frequency of fast food restaurant use in a community-based sample of 891 adult women. DESIGN: A survey was administered at baseline and 3 y later as part of a randomized, prospective intervention trial on weight gain prevention. SUBJECTS: Women (n 891) aged 20 ± 45 y who enrolled in the Pound of Prevention study. MEASUREMENTS: Frequency of fast food restaurant use, dietary intake, demographic and behavioral measures were self-reported. Dietary intake was measured using the 60-item Block Food Frequency Questionnaire. Body weight and height were directly measured. RESULTS: Twenty-one percent of the sample reported eating 3 fast food meals per week. Frequency of fast food restaurant use was associated with higher total energy intake, higher percentage fat energy, more frequent consumption of hamburgers, French fries and soft drinks, and less frequent consumption of ®ber and fruit. Frequency of fast food restaurant use was higher among younger women, those with lower income, non-White ethnicity, greater body weight, lower dietary restraint, fewer low-fat eating behaviors, and greater television viewing. Over 3 y, increases in frequency of fast food restaurant use were associated with increases in body weight, total energy intake, percentage fat intake, intake of hamburgers, French fries and soft drinks, and with decreases in physical activity, dietary restraint and low-fat eating behaviors. Intake of several other foods, including fruits and vegetables, did not differ by frequency of fast food restaurant use. CONCLUSION: Frequency of fast food restaurant use is associated with higher energy and fat intake and greater body weight, and could be an important risk factor for excess weight gain in the population.

Eating out of home: energy, macro- and micronutrient intakes in 10 European countries. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition

“…The negative association between age and OH eating, consistently observed in most centres at the group level, is supported by previous publications (French et al, 2000; S o u t h c o a s t F r a n c e S o u t h F r a n c e N o r t h -E a s t F r a n c e N o r t h -W e s t F r a n c e H e id e lb e r g Energy and nutrient intakes out of home in Europe P Orfanos et al…”

Aetiological factors behind adipose tissue inflammation: an unexplored research area

“…Only consumption of fast foods, intake of non-caloric sweeteners and breast-feeding were found to be directly associated with excessive weight gain and obesity. Four studies on the association between fast food and obesity were included in the review, all linking frequency of fast-food consumption to higher BMI and weight gain in women (51)(52)(53)(54) . Likewise, higher levels of consumption of non-caloric sweeteners were linked to obesity and subsequent excess weight gain (50) .…”

The food environment, its effects on dietary consumption, and potential for measurement within agriculture-nutrition interventions

“…As people spend more time working in formal labor markets, they spend less time on food preparation. Nutritional quality of meals eaten away from home in U.S. is generally poorer than meals prepared at home (McCrory et al 1999;French et al 2000;Diliberti et al 2004). Brazil has adopted dietary guidelines that emphasize home cooking because of the negative relationship between food cooked outside the home and diet quality/disease risk (Brazil Ministry of Health 2014).…”