HOW HAS FAST FOOD CHANGED OVER TIME?

In the late 1950's, McDonalds ad sold over 100 million hamburgers. Today, with over 36,899 restaurants worldwide, they have sold over a 100 billion.

Due to heavy criticism, many fast food restaurants have changed some of their options from their original menus to be more healthy.

McDonalds has come a long way from its 9 menu items. Currently they have 145 items on their menu.

In the 1970's, Wendy's made the first drive thru window, inspiring many others to do the same. Many fast food restaurants today are not complete without one.

A study showed that around 20 years ago a cheeseburger had 333 calories. Nowadays, a typical one has over 590.

The fast food industry made $20 billion in 1978. In 2016 the industry revenue was $198 billion. This shows the rapid growth of fast food in such a short time.

McDonalds introduced the Happy Meal in 1979 and it became a huge success. Other fast food restaurants started introducing toys in their meals following in McDonald's footsteps.

Fast food chains have modified their logos and restaurants to be more streamlined and minimal and be more easy to recognize.

Before the introduction of McDonalds and other fast food chains, the obesity rate in America was less than 10%. According to a study, they are currently 32% and climbing.

Fast food chains have drastically became more modern. Many McDonalds have self order kiosks with touch screens and some restraints even allow you to order from their app.

Why is this topic important?

This topic helps show how something that defined a huge part of American culture started out and how it changed over time.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

• Hanbury, Mary. “These before-and-after Photos Show How Much Fast Food Has Changed over the Years.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 20 Sept. 2017, www.businessinsider.com/fast-food-restaurants-then-and-now-2017-5.
• Lucier, Maddy. “5 Changes Fast-Food Restaurants Are Making to Become Healthier.” STACK, 23 Mar. 2015, www.stack.com/a/5-changes-fast-food-restaurants-are-making-to-become-health....

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2

• Zocke1r. “Drive-Through.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive-through.
• Rawden, Mack. “The 10 Best Modern Fast Food Dining Innovations.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 11 Mar. 2014, www.cinemablend.com/pop/10-Best-Modern-Fast-Food-Dining-Innovations-62738.h....

BIBLIOGRAPHY 3

• Rawden, Mack. “The 10 Best Modern Fast Food Dining Innovations.” CINEMABLEND, CINEMABLEND, 11 Mar. 2014, www.cinemablend.com/pop/10-Best-Modern-Fast-Food-Dining-Innovations-62738.h....
• “Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity?” Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity?, www.nber.org/aginghealth/2009no1/w14721.html.