More than half of all meals eaten out in Britain are – for the first time – from fast food restaurants, alarming figures reveal.
Burgers, fried chicken, pizzas, kebabs and take-out curry account for 50.4 per cent of meals bought outside the home.
This is up from 47.3 per cent in 2008 and comes to some 5.54billion fast food meals a year.
The fast food boom may worry health experts who will see it as likely to fuel the national obesity epidemic across all age groups.
The growth comes from all sections of society, including families, pupils skipping school meals and workers who do not have access to a workplace canteen. Low prices, with burgers available for as little as 99p each, are a particular appeal in the current economic climate.
At the same time, fast food chains such as McDonald’s and smaller rivals including GBK and Byron Burger have made a major effort to appeal to middle-class families.