UK spending £10b on fast food a year
Brits are bingeing on up to £10b-worth of hamburgers, fried chicken, chips and other fast food each year - 80% more than 10 years ago - according to the latest lifestyle report from research group Mintel.
Despite government campaigns to encourage healthier eating, spending on dining out over the past 10 years has jumped by 60% to £25b a year, with the fast-food and take-away sector emerging as market champions.
Take-away sales rocketed 86% between 1993 and 2003, compared with the eating-out market, which grew by 50%. Today, some 80% of adults eat take-away meals, with one in six eating them at least once a week.
"This trend shows just how much quick service and cheap prices mean to the majority of convenience junkies," said Peter Ayton, chief statistician at Mintel. "Simply grabbing a bite to eat - taking it home and eating, often in front of the television - as opposed to going out for a meal, is becoming more and more popular."
