Fast Food to Healthy Food

Abstract

A recent headline in the Nation's Restaurant News (2002) asked the question: “Should Restaurants Bear the Burden of Monitoring Americans' Diets?”. Society has grown increasingly conscientious about health care costs and the question is consistent with this trend. In light of some highly publicized cases of litigation and debates between consumer groups and food service professionals, this question is the cornerstone of a debate centered upon weighing the nutritional value of fast food, and the responsibility of these organizations to provide healthy alternatives for consumers. The purpose of this study is to discern the role that quick service restaurants are expected to play in health and nutrition; it will also focus upon what they are actually doing to promote healthier menu items. The current study examined the fast food industry's efforts to address its highly controversial role as a possible contributor to the nation's health care crisis. The setting for this study was the Detroit metropolitan area, which serves as a microcosm of greater metropolitan areas throughout the United States because of the region's rich racial, ethnic and cultural diversity (Upton, 2004). Moreover, the state of Michigan has been identified as one of the leading locales for residents who are obese (Burros, 2003; Niesse, 2004; Price, 2003; Hirsch, 2004; Upton, 2004). Because of the recent prevalence of overweight and obesity throughout much of the world, the findings from this study can guide future research on an international basis. Implications for management are discussed.