Jamaican fast food consumption patterns

ABSTRACT

Household interviews were conducted with a nationally representative quota sample of 948 rural and urban Jamaicans to examine attitudes to fast food restautants and fast food eating patterns; and how those attitudes and patterns vary by age, location, social class and gender. The most popular fast food restaurant was Kentucky Fried Chicken, which was twice more favoured as its closest rival Mothers', followed by Tastee Patties. Professionals were more likely to patronize Burger King than unskilled persons. Kentucky Fried Chicken was rated as the most expensive fast food restaurant as well as the fast food restaurant offering the fastest service; serving the tastiest, and best quality food. the most popular fast food was fried chicken, twice as popular as traditional Jamaican patties (cresent-shaped pastry shells filled with a green leafy vegetable, vegetables, or ground beef), followed by hamburgers and cheeseburgers. Regarding frequency of visits to fast food restaurants, 20.2 percent of respondents had visited fast food restaurants once in the three-month period prior to the interview. Approximately 29.2 percent had patronized fast food restaurants between two-to-five times, and 19.8 percent had not visited a fast food restaurant within the last three-months. Males were more likely than females to patronize fast food restaurants on a regular basis (AU)