More Proof – We Are a Fast-Food Nation

In America, fast food restaurants are everywhere — including hospitals. Nearly 70% of U.S.-based hospitals affiliated with a medical school have at least one fast food establishment inside their facilities, according to researchers with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The investigators had medical students from 192 medical and osteopathic schools complete surveys on fast food restaurants housed in their main teaching hospital or medical center. Surveys were completed by 255 students from 146 schools. Of the 146 schools, 101 housed at least one fast food restaurant. As reported in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, the five most common places in hospitals are Subway, Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, Chick-fil-A and McDonald’s. When student respondents were surveyed on their thoughts about fast food restaurants being in hospitals, more than half (56.8%) disagreed that it is acceptable for them to be located in these facilities. The researchers note that the continued prevalence of these types of food outlets in hospitals, despite mounting evidence of their negative health impacts, sends the wrong message to medical students and the public about healthy eating. It’s believed that improving the food environment in healthcare settings could positively influence the eating habits of patients, staff and visitors.