For some reason that I don't know, I've been thinking a lot about ethical and societal issues this week. I've noticed that often on this forum, people talk about frequenting fast food restaurants, and more often than not, they talk about buying large quantities of food as they go through the drive-thru. I wonder if the anonimity provided by a drive-thru contributes to less inhibition to order excess amounts of food.

If you think about it, when you go through the drive-thru, you talk to a speaker and then maybe 1 (at most two) workers. No other customers hear or see you order. None of the other workers see you, and chances are fairly good that the person at the window might be a person you haven't ordered from before.

Would it be harder (due to self-consciousness) to order excess amounts of food if we actually HAD to go into the fast food restaurants?Would we be less likely to go to fast food restaurants at all?

Would things be different if drive-thrus didn't exist?

Do that many people really use the drive-thru at restaurants? I can't remember the last time I've been through a drive-thru and usually it was out of thirst, not hunger but since I've stopped drinking diet sodas, I don't use drive-thrus any more.

that is true for myself, i would always go to the drive thru---and order huge amounts of food (a supersize meal, 2 extra burgers & like chicken nuggets)things that i would never order if i actually went inside the restaurant. i would just tell myself that they thought i was getting food for like people lol
what a fool i was lol

Oh yeah, people do. I dont get fastfood often, but if I do it is always drive thru--and always to avoid taking my kids out of the car. So in that sense, yes, because there are days I would starve to death before I would get out of the car with my kids. I even do drive thru grocery shopping now (online shop/pick up)

seriously though
It is very common for binge disorders to use drive thrus to hide it. but truthfully, most bingers would just find another way. Of all the binge temptations out there fast food is for me the easiest to avoid. One there is a delay between impulse and gratification which gives me talk down time. Two, if it is one of those kinds of days where its shouting to me, I lock my purse in the trunk.

Oh I wasn't a fast food binger, maybe that is why I would go to the grocery store, walking down aisles and putting stuff in my cart that I'd eat later. One of my favorites was a loaf of french bread with some brie.

OMG Nelie - I am you!! Brie and french bread......I was in the hospital once for a very extended period of time, and I called my sister and had her BRING me some Brie and french bread!!

Fast food has never been a big deal for me. I always wanted the good stuff!

Tara I don't think this question is quite the same as your last 130 + response question.

I think it is perfectly ethical to have a drive-thru. It's simply a matter of convience that people have gotten used to. We have drive through banks and drive thru cleaners. We surely are a lazy society, aren't we? Do some people have more binges because of them? Probably. But like already mentioned people who want to binge WILL binge. Even if they have to get out of the car to do so. I think we'd still have just as many obese people with or without the drive thrus. But maybe that's just me, I'm like Nelie and Mrs. Quadcrew, fast food was not a big problem for me. Eating food fast, that WAS a problem. I still need to work on that in fact.

I have seen some drive-thru liquor stores. Duh!!!!

Jay

I don't think it's drive-throughs specifically, but I do think the "culture of convenience" (of which drive throughs are a subset) contributes to poor eating habits and obesity. Everything is quick quick quick! Very few people cook meals, it's frozen this and pizza delivery that and Go Gurt and "let's hit the Cheesecake factory after work!"

For me isn't wasn't so much the drive thru, it was eating in my car. I was almost like if I ate in the car it didn't count. The was one of the first rules I made when I started. No if I eat in my car its because I've been out all day and I didn't bring any fruit with me.Usually it is a small drink and a small burger. I'm not really a fry person.

The city where I live has an ordinance against drive through eateries. They do have drive through banks and pharmacies and I think one drive through convenience store. The reasoning is that people who use drive throughs for food will eat in their car and then throw the litter out on the street.

In any case, I've never been a fast food binger and probably not a binger in the sense that I don't eat huge amounts of food. I'm usually pretty restrained but do go overboard from time to time.

alinnel- where do you live??Im in cali and never heard of that,but what a novel idea!Even when I was thin, if I drove through for lunch and bought more than one anything, I always got 2 small cokes...crazy...

Palm Desert, CA

Mind you that all the neighboring cities DO have drive through restaurants--so if you're really lazy you just drive an extra 10 miles!!!

I agree with this... Drive-thrus are one symptom of a much larger, much more complex problem.

When I worked at a fast-food restaurant, the mgr said 65-75% of the business was through the drive-thru and it certainly seemed to be true.

Yes, I do believe that D-T restaurants have contributed to society's poor eating habits, as well as the TV dinner & nuke-foods. I believe that the things that are REALLY bad for you are PROCESSED FOODS. All the chemicals & colorings & special additives to just make something shelf stable CAN'T be all that good for us.... Just my personal theory.