Two recent trends in the American
lifestyle suggest themselves as possible
contributors to recent trends in obesity: fast
food consumption and passive entertain-ment through television. Between 1980 and
1990, the proportion of food dollars spent
away from home showed a sharp upward
trend, from 26% to 37%.7 Substantial
increases were also seen in the availability
of televised entertainment via wide market
penetration of home VCRs and cable televi-8
sion. Increased availability of fast foods
and televised entertainment could con-tribute to obesity by making eating more
attractive and physical activity less so