The bar chart illustrates the frequency at which people in the USA dined at fast food restaurants from 2003 to 2013, categorized into six different time frames.
Overall, eating fast food once a week and once or twice a month were the most common habits throughout the period. However, while the percentage of weekly consumers declined by 2013, the proportion of people eating fast food once or twice a month increased, making it the most frequent category by the end of the period. Additionally, the proportion of those who ate fast food every day remained consistently low, whereas those who rarely or never consumed fast food saw a slight increase over time.
In 2003, the highest percentage of people (just over 30%) ate fast food once a week, followed closely by 30% of individuals who dined once or twice a month. By 2006, weekly consumption peaked at around 33%, while monthly consumption saw a slight decline. However, by 2013, this trend had reversed, with once or twice a month consumers becoming the largest group at approximately 33%, whereas weekly consumers dropped to about 27%.
Meanwhile, the proportion of those who ate fast food several times a week remained relatively stable, fluctuating between 15% and 20% across all three years. The percentage of people who consumed fast food daily was consistently low, at around 5% or less. Conversely, individuals who rarely ate fast food (a few times a year) increased gradually from about 13% in 2003 to 15% in 2013, while the percentage of those who never ate fast food also experienced a slight rise but remained below 10% throughout the period.