ocrenter, I agree that there are many more fast food offerings now than in times past. The ff “combos” in particular are very large helpings and a big “profit center” for ff chains. In the past, the business model at the 3 or 4 existing ff chains was like “In & Out Burger.” There were only a handful of choices a-la-carte and no “combos.”
I, too, believe that most chain-restaurant offerings are laden with fat, sugar and calories, in order to pass the majority “taste test.” There’s nothing the individual consumer can do about this.
But I also believe that everyone has the ability to control themselves in this “land of abundance.”
The obesity epidemic in children is mostly the fault of lazy and too-indulgent parents who do not set good examples themselves.
Just because when you sit down at Chili’s with your group of people, there is always a 5000-calorie pile of onion rings in the middle of the table, doesn’t mean you have to avail yourself of them.
You can also walk around a house party or public happy hour with a wine cooler or highball glass in your hand with seltzer water and lime in it. No one would be the wiser. You don’t have to drink 100+ calorie per oz shots all night with sweet mixer(s) just because they’re “two for one” or you’re going to stay the night, anyway. You have to know what to stay away from and what not to eat if put on your plate by a host (i.e. poultry skin, etc).
Whenever I was taken out to fast food as a kid (abt 10x per yr), we were only allowed to order a reg hamburger. Sometimes, my parent(s) could get five for $1. French fries were about .25. OCCASIONALLY, we could get a shake. On the menu, there were 3 sizes of hamburgers, a fish sandwich, french fries, shakes, colas, lemonade and apple pie and that was the end of the menu. No “happy meals,” no toys and no combos.
CAR mentioned getting up to turn a knob to turn on the TV and change the channel. We had 4-5 stations to choose from. “Rabbit ears,” sitting on top of the TV, frequently had to be turned or adjusted to eliminate “snow” and allow the “independent” channel to come in. When I was 12-13 years old, we got our first “color TV.” It was a 250-lb “Zenith” console with a 25″ square green screen, mahogany cabinet and a red/green color-adjustment panel. Of course, “remote controls” didn’t exist back then. This set my dad back $500 (about half a months pay) :=]