Nadeem 1

NAME: WALEED NADEEM BUTT

ROLL NO.: 13-10010
COURSE: ENGLISH 103
SUBMITTED TO: PROF. FATIMA SAEEDA

INTRODUCTION
Background:
There has been increase in fast food restaurants in Pakistan. Since a decade, Pakistanis are being
into buying of franchises of big fast food chains from all over the world. Fast food consumption
is increasing every day. Secondly, having fast food is not just a plain demand of its consumers
infact it is trendy having fast food. Teenagers have fast food for various reason e.g. they like it,
spending leisure time, throwing party, they dont feel like having the food cooked by mom. A
study suggests that 69% of the people consume fast food because of its good taste (Rydell S. A.).
Another reason for increase in consumption of fast food is the change in life style of people of
Pakistan. Firstly, every year there is an increase in the number of working women in the country.
More and more women join the working field thus find it difficult to cook for themselves and
family. From personal experience I would say that they sometimes miss their breakfast and like
having it later in the office by getting it delivered from a restaurant. Moreover, students feel
embarrassed in taking lunch boxes to their schools or colleges because they think it would give
others an impression of them belonging to a house of lower class family. According to a study
conducted (Rydell S. A.) 92% of the people consume fast food because it is quick and 80% said
hat restaurants are easy to get to. This means that every here and there we have a fast food chain
outlet which makes it easier to reach.
Objectives
The objectives of this research study were firstly, to determine the relationship between the
obesity and consumption of fast food, whether it is positive or negative. Secondly, to find the
impact of advertisement of fast food chains on people. Thirdly, to observe the patterns of places
where the fast food restaurants are located, for example, most of the fast food chains are located
near schools, colleges and offices. Fourthly, to make comparison between the people who

Nadeem 2
consume fast food to all people who do not consume the fast food. Fifthly, to estimate the
economic background of people who consume fast food, for example, it is a general thought that
most of the people who eat fast food belong to upper or middle class. Finally, I would like to
compare the consumption of fast food among male and female i.e. which of the two groups
consumes fast food more than the other one.
Scope
This study was carried out to see what has caused an increase in consumption of fast food and
how it has affected the life of people who consume it. There were various research objectives
that have been discussed above.
LITERATURE REVIEW
A comparison was drawn between the distance of fast food restaurants from a school and the
effect of number of restaurants on the school level obesity rates by (Pedro Alviola). The age
group was 15 to 24 years. It was observed that obesity levels were higher when the fast food
restaurants were within a quarter of a mile from a school. As the distance between the fast food
restaurant and school increases the intake of fast food decreases and so does the impact.
Furthermore, the study also revealed that the obesity levels in middle school and high school
children are greater in those who have fast food restaurants within a quarter of a mile of their
school.
A study was conducted by (Paeratakul, Ferdinand and Champagne) to observe the dietary profile
linked with the usage of fast food. Another objective was to draw a comparison between the
intake of food of individuals on the day when they ate fast food with that when they did not take
fast food. The techniques used for analysis were mean intakes and pairwise t-test. The results
showed that 37% of the adults and 42% of the children intake fast food. Those who eat fast food
have higher fat, saturated fat, sodium, carbonated soft drink and energy intake. Furthermore, they
had low intake of vitamins A and C, milk, fruits and vegetables. The research thus concludes that
it is important for consumers of fast food that they intake more and more energy and fat and less
healthful nutrients.
METHODOLOGY

Nadeem 3
We chose 20 respondents by the method of random sampling. Both primary and secondary data
were collected. Primary data was taken through questionnaires, focus groups and informal
interview. The research is qualitative hence the statistics were analyzed using cross-tabs because
they reflect good knowledge about the outcomes. Other than this simple bar graphs were also
used. The software used for doing the calculations is SPSS.
FINDINGS
We were interested in determining the relationship between fast food consumption and obesity.
80% of the respondents said that they eat fast food quite regularly and among these 80%, 60%
were obese. This means that there is a positive relationship between obesity and intake of fast
food. It is because that fast food has high fat and sodium content and less nutritious value. Hence
obesity also depends on high consumption of fast food.
To determine whether there is any relationship between fast food consumption and advertisement
or not we asked the respondents that if they find the fast food ads persuasive in their purchase
behaviour. 55% of the respondents said that they went to fast food restaurants or get it delivered
at their places by watching the ads. Out of this 55%, 55% were children and 45% were adults.
Hence the ads are more convincing for the children as compared to adults. It is because when
children watch television they do not flip channels during ads as much as adults do. Another
reason is that once they are convinced they would even beg their parents for hours to take them
to the fast food restaurants.
We observed the pattern on which the fast food restaurants are located. We found that 75% of the
restaurants are located close to the schools, colleges and offices. For example, McDonalds and
Subway outlets can be seen near Kinnaird College and University of Central Punjab.
Furthermore, McDonalds Gulberg Main boulevard branch is located at such a place that it is
close to uncountable offices, schools, colleges, markets, etc. The Faysal Bank branch where my
sister works is right opposite to CTC and besides the building is Al Rayya and a few steps away
are Tutti Frutti, Bar B Q Tonight, Heng Cheng, Chapter 1, etc. There are many other shops,
offices and banks around these restaurants.
I compared the health of people who consume fast food with those who do not consume fast
food. My study revealed that 65% of the people who eat fast food think they are lazy and 80% of

Nadeem 4
these people are not leading a healthy life. 65% of people who consume fast food go to the
hospital atleast once a month. Only 30% of the people went to hospital once a year who did not
consume fast food. As a result of it, I believe that people who do not consume fast food lead
healthy and better life than that of a fast food consumer. Therefore, there exists a negative
relationship between fast food consumption and good health.
A comparison was drawn between the fast food consumption between male and female. It was
observed that out of the two groups male group consumed more fast food than female. For
example, I observed that males would hang out alone as well as with friends and hence will
consume more fast food. On the other hand in Pakistan the ladies would visit restaurants in
groups so this reduces their chances of intake of fast food.
We determined the economic background of people who consume fast food. Out of 20, 12 people
eat fast food that belonged to high income group. Only 2 people did not consume fast food and
they also belonged to low income group. This shows us that there is a positive relationship
between income and fast food consumption. The greater the income the higher will be the
consumption of fast food.
CONCLUSION
The study concludes that there is a positive relationship between consumption of fast food and
obesity i.e. the more we eat fast food there are more chances of getting obese. Furthermore, it
was observed that ads are convincing means of getting people to eat fast food especially among
children. The location of fast food restaurant is very important in its consumption, the more it is
reachable the more it is consumed. Moreover, people who eat fast food have bad health as
compared to people who do not consume fast food. The majority that consumes fast food belongs
to the male group and the consumption of fast food is higher among people belonging to the
higher class.

Nadeem 5

Work cited
Paeratakul, Sahasporn, et al. "Fast-food consumption among US adults and children: Dietary and
nutrient intake prole." J Am Diet Assoc. (2008): 1332-1338.
Pedro Alviola, Rodolfo M. Nayga, Jr., Michael Thomsen, Diana Danforth, James Smart. "The
Effect of Fast-Food Restaurants on School-Level Obesity." 2011.
Rydell S. A., Harnack L. J., Oakes J. M., Story M, Jeffery R. W., French S. A. "Why eat at fastfood restaurants: reported reasons among frequent consumers." J Am Diet Assoc. (2008): 206670.

Biblography:
Kwate, Naa Oyo A. "Fried chicken and fresh apples: Racial segregation as a fundamental cause
of fast food density in black neighborhoods." Health and Place (2008): 32-44.
Miller, Lisa. "Junk food is sin of choice for the end of the world." The Washington Post 14
December 2012.
Myers, Taylor. "Stamps for junk food." The Salt Lake Tribune 15 December 2012.
Price, Stuart. "The new fasces* of the fast food market? The potential for consortia in pizza
home delivery." International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management (1989): 101109.
Ritzer, George. "The McDonaldization of society." Journal of American Culture (2004): 100107.
Smith, Andrew F. Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food. Greenwood Publishing Group,
2006.
. Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat. ABC CLIO, 2011.
Spitznagel, Eric. The Junk Food Companion: The Complete Guide to Eating Badly. Penguin
Group, 1999.

Nadeem 6
Trice, Laura. The Wholesome Junk Food Cookbook: More Than 100 Healthy Recipes for
Everyday Snacking. New York City: Running Pess, 2010.
Vicki Cobb, Michael Gold. Junk Food. Learner Publications, 2006.

Appendices:
Gender
Frequency
Valid

Percent

Male

Cumulative Percent

11

55.0

55.0

55.0

45.0

45.0

100.0

20

100.0

100.0

Female
Total

Valid Percent

Consumption_fast_food
Frequency
Valid

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Yes

16

80.0

80.0

80.0

No

20.0

20.0

100.0

20

100.0

100.0

Total

Body_Type
Frequency
Valid

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

Thin

10.0

10.0

10.0

Average

30.0

30.0

40.0

obese

12

60.0

60.0

100.0

Total

20

100.0

100.0

Nadeem 7

Fastfood_near_home_school_office
Frequency
Valid

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

yes

15

75.0

75.0

75.0

no

25.0

25.0

100.0

20

100.0

100.0

Total

health
Frequency
Valid

lazy

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

13

65.0

65.0

65.0

active

35.0

35.0

100.0

Total

20

100.0

100.0

income
Frequency
Valid

low

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

11

55.0

55.0

55.0

average

30.0

30.0

85.0

high

15.0

15.0

100.0

Total

20

100.0

100.0

visit_to_restaraunts_by_watchind_ads
Frequency
Valid

Percent

Valid Percent

Cumulative Percent

yes

11

55.0

55.0

55.0

no

45.0

45.0

100.0

20

100.0

100.0

Total

Nadeem 8

Nadeem 9

Nadeem 10