Source: The Australian, Monday May 8 1995, p. 5 Source: The Australian, Monday May 8 1995, p. 5
MORE Australians than ever are
eating fast food at the expense of the
home cooked family meal, a new study
released yesterday reveals.
According to the National Heart
Foundation's latest survey of fast food
eating habits, 83 per cent of Aust-
ralians consume takeaway meals at
least once a fortnight in the form of
pizzas, burgers, pies and fish and
chips.
But while more than half of the 1200
people surveyed said they believed
their diets were healthier than a year
ago, the study shows that young
people aged between 18 and 24 are
eating more junk food than any other
age group.
Nearly a third of 18 to 24-year-olds
admitted to eating "more" fast food
than a year ago, while a quarter said
they ate a "lot more" fast food than
the previous year.
According to the study, which was
carried out by Newspoll in December
last year, fast food is becoming more
popular with high income earners
full-time workers and males.
Ninety-two per cent of those earning
more than $30,0000 a year are more
likely to grab a takeaway meal on the
way home from work, compared to 79
per cent of low income earners.
Fifty-two per cent of men are more
likely to eat fast food, compared to 43
per cent of women.
The survey found that respondents
who claimed their weight had
increased over the last 12 months were
more likely to have eaten takeaway
food (89 per cent) within the last two
weeks.
Those who worked either full-time
(26 per cent) or part-time (28 per cent)
were more likely than non workers (20
per cent) to have increased in body
weight over the last year.
The most popular "ready to eat"
meal was a sandwich or roll (47 per
cent) followed by hot pies, pasties and
sausage rolls (35 per cent), burgers (33
per cent), fish and chips (32 per cent),
pizzas (26 per cent~, fried chicken (24
per cent) and Asian food (23 per cent).
The director of the Heart Foun-
dation's Health Promotion Unit (Vic-
toria), dietician Ms Robyn Charlwood,
said survey findings for the 18 to 24-
year-old age group were alarming.
"Fast foods are seen as a no hassle,
convenient way to eat and the Heart
Foundation has no problem with
people having fast food on the odd
occasion, but it's this next generation
of parents who seem to see fast food as
a normal way of eating that we are
particularly concerned about.
"Although fast foods may be seen to
be a cheap alternative as a main meal
and are okay to eat occasionally, most
fast foods are high in fat, particularly
saturated fat, which leads to high
blood cholesterol, clogged arteries and
potential heart disease.
"They also tend to be high in salt
and sugar and low in fibre."
-CAROLYN JONES
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