The pie chart illustrates the proportion of the expenditure that an average family spent on food in four separate years, while the line graph compares how many meals were consumed in fast-food restaurants and sit-down restaurants in the same timeframe.
Overall, there was an upward trend in the share of food budget expended on restaurant meals. Meanwhile, the figures for fast food meals and sitdown meals both increased over the period, with the former witnessing a more substantial rise.
Regarding the pie chart, in 1970, only one in ten of the total expenditure was used for restaurant meals, and after ten years, the figure rose gradually to 15%. However, in the following two decades, the budgets spent on restaurant meals constituted a much larger proportion, with a more than two-fold increase being observed in the 1990, standing at just over one third. In the final year, the figure was recorded at one half, exactly five times higher than its initial value.
Turning to the line graph, both categories commenced the period at the same level, at just 20 meals every year. The statistics of sitdown restaurant meals increased gradually throughout the period, reaching roughly 35 meals in 1980. It then climbed to about 45 meals annually, before ending the period at precisely 50 meals. A similar pattern, but to a greater extent, was seen in the figure for fast-food meals. The figure increased steadily in the first decade, rising by 10 units, from 20 meals in 1970 to 30 meals in 1980. However, the growth rate accelerated afterwards, soaring to roughly 55 meals in 1990, surpassing the counterpart to become the most popular type of meals. The data reached a peak in the final year, finishing the period at roughly 85 meals per year.