Study: 1 in 3 U.S. adults eats fast food each day

FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014 file photo, fast food restaurant signs line Peach Street in Erie, Pa. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 finds that one in three U.S. adults eat fast food on any given day. (Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014 file photo, fast food restaurant signs line Peach Street in Erie, Pa. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 finds that one in three U.S. adults eat fast food on any given day. (Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News via AP)

A government study has found that one in three U.S. adults eats fast food on any given day. That's about 85 million people going to McDonald's, Wendy's, Subway or a host of other quick-serve eateries every day.

The survey of more than 10,000 adults by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 36.6 percent of respondents said they ate fast food on a given day between 2013 and 2016. Younger adults are far more likely to eat out at fast food restaurants, according to the CDC.

Nearly 45 percent of those between the ages of 20 and 39 eat fast food each day, but just 24.1 percent of those aged 60 and over do the same. And as family income rises, so, too, does a person's likelihood of eating fast food.

The study did not find a difference between men and women. But higher-income families ate fast food more often than lower-income families, and blacks ate it more than other racial or ethnic groups.

Health officials say too much high-calorie fast food can lead to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other health problems. Often, doctors warn patients about consuming too much fast food for fear of health problems that could arise from eating too much of it to the detriment of healthier alternatives, like fruits and vegetables.

Still, the CDC said that fast food's ubiquity and price can make it an attractive option for some people.

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