Asians Eat Less Fast Food Than the Rest of America, Study Finds

Asian Americans, known to have genes that make them crave unhealthy food, consume fast food the least among all ethnic groups in the United States on any given day, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Only 30.6% of Asian American adults consumed fast food between 2013 and 2016 on a single day, behind African Americans (42.4%), Caucasians (37.6%) and Hispanics (35.5%).

The report collected dietary information through home interviews, followed by standardized physical examinations in mobile examination centers (MEC).

Participants were asked to recall their diet in the last 24 hours (midnight to midnight), as well as the source/s of such food and/or beverage item/s.

In terms of gender, Asian American women were less likely to consume fast food (30.4%) than Asian American men (31.1%).

African American women were most likely to consume fast food (42.9%) across all groups and both sexes.

Overall, 36.6% of American adults consumed fast food, which translates to some 85 million people.

Interestingly, data revealed that those who consumed fast food decreased with age, with 44.9% of those aged 20 to 39, 37.7% among 40 to 59, and 24.1% among 60 and above.

Consumption also increased proportionally with income, with 42% on higher income and 31.7% on lower income based on federal poverty level (FPL).

Of those who consumed fast food, men were more likely than women to have them at lunch, while women preferred having them for snacks.

“Fast food is a part of the American diet and has been associated with high caloric intake, and poor diet quality,” the CDC wrote. “Time, financial resources, price, and availability influence fast food consumption.”

It’s unknown whether the numbers have changed since 2016. Regardless, excessive consumption of fast food has long been associated with a plethora of conditions, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and autism, among others.

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