Study Says McDonald’s, Taco Bell and Wendy’s Customers Most Unhappy with Their Health

Even though they like their burgers and fries, a recent analysis of fast food patrons reveals that , and customers are the most unhappy with their health, says BIGinsight.

According to a press release, fast food frequenters’ wellbeing, however, appears to be tied to lifestyle rather than their fast food chain of choice. The analysis includes insights from the February Monthly Consumer Survey from BIGinsight, which was conducted Feb.1 – 8, N=8,716. Margin of error is +/- 1.1 percent.

The press release reports that one in five (21.4 percent) Americans are unhappy with their health, according to BIGinsight. Although fast food purveyors are adding healthier options to their menu, quick service cuisine remains a constant in the battle of the bulge.

According to the analysis of select fast food restaurant customers*, McDonald’s patrons are the unhappiest** with their health (24 percent unhappy/totally unhappy), followed by Taco Bell (22.7 percent), Wendy’s (22.1 percent) and Burger King (21.5 percent). Customers of these restaurants tend to have a more negative opinion of their own physical condition versus the general population.

Unhappiness Index (Among Select Fast Food Customers; Customers who are unhappy/ very unhappy versus the general adult population):

McDonald's: 112.24

Taco Bell: 106.03

Wendy's: 103.46

Burger King: 100.76

KFC: 96.96

Subway: 90.52

Chick-fil-A: 73.69

Arby's: 71.30

Source: BIGinsight Monthly Consumer Survey

McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, Burger King, Taco Bell, Arby’s, and KFC customers were analyzed for this release. “Customers” are defined as those who eat most often at a given fast food restaurant (an unaided, write-in response)."

** Respondents were posed with this question: On a scale of one to five with one being “Totally Unhappy,” and five being “Totally Happy,” how would you rate your happiness level with your health?

On the other hand, Chick-fil-A diners report being the happiest with their health of those analyzed (58.9 percent happy/totally happy), followed by and Arby’s customers at 57.1 percent and 56.6 percent, respectively. This is compared to over half of Americans (53.9 percent) who feel the same.

“Given that Chick-fil-A, Subway and Arby’s all offer menu items with a calorific punch, it’s apparent that Americans’ overall personal health perceptions aren’t specific to their fast food chain of choice,” said Pam Goodfellow, Consumer Insights director for BIGinsight. “We’ve found that it boils down to their health habits, including exercising regularly and watching fat and calorie intake.”

Subway patrons are the most likely to exercise on a regular basis (49.1 percent), while McDonald’s customers are the least likely of the group (34.8 percent). As a point of reference, 34.3 percent of adults 18+ say they exercise regularly, the release reports.

Exercise Regularly (Among Select Fast Food Customers):

Subway: 49.1 percent

Chick fil A: 46.0 percent

Arby's: 43.2 percent

Taco Bell: 40.3 percent

Wendy's: 40.2 percent

Burger King: 36.0 percent

KFC: 35.4 percent

McDonald's: 34.8 percent

Source: BIGinsight News Release

About three in 10 McDonald’s customers say they don’t do anything with regard to their health (such as exercising; watching calories, carbs, salt or fat intake; buying organic; etc.) Burger King connoisseurs aren’t far behind with this sentiment.