Why do americans eat out so much?

Question

I want to know the reasons why americans have stopped cooking dinner and taken the easy way out, eating out. Please support your answer with reasons.

Answer 1

Less people are staying home during the day.
In the good old days women stayed home and cooked for the family. Today, many women work (demanding jobs) and many couples are divorced and head single-parent households. These people don't have time to grocery shop, prepare, cook and clean up afterwards.

Answer 2

By generalizing about all Americans, your question is blatantly biased and prejudiced. That being said, I will do my best to offer my opinion as to why it appears that a significant number of Americans have begun to dine out regularly.
I do not believe it is laziness or sloth that is responsible. In my opinion, there several contributing factors:
More and more families are “two income” households, where both parents are out in the workforce during the day, thus, the “Leave it to Beaver” household of the 1950’s is no longer the standard.
After school activities. Mom and/or Dad get home from work and right away the kids have to be picked up from practice and dropped off for piano lessons, or whatever. There simply is not the time to have a nice family sit down dinner with all the fixin’s. Who’s gonna cook it? Mom worked all day, too. Remember?
We are one of, if not the most, wealthiest nation on the face of the Earth. This means we have the most disposable income to spend on anything we like.
New houses today have 3 car garages as a standard. Most houses have at least 3 televisions. We work hard to earn money to buy whatever we want. Why should we have to cook our own meals when we can just go out and be served?
There is nothing wrong with dining out regularly if one can afford to do it. Dining out can also bring an otherwise segregated family unit together for a short period of time in order to bond. As long as everyone is at the same table, it doesn’t have to be in the family kitchen/dining room. A restaurant is fine, too. The main thing is to get the family together. The problem is that “dining out” has now disintegrated into “grabbing a quick bite at a fast food joint”. For that, I blame over indulgent parents who allow their children to be the boss. It seems the majority of today’s parents are more concerned with being their child’s friend rather than parent. They allow their children too much without making the child earn it, and, after a long day at work, look for the easy way out at the end of the day.

Anyway... that's how I see it.

Answer 3

My daughter and I eat out at least twice a week the reason we "take the easy way out" is because I am a single mother and I work at least 40 hours a week by the time I pick my daughter up from the after school program and get home the last thing I want to do is cook would much rather spend time with my daughter than cook a meal and yes we do have a crock pot but that gets old after awhile. Can't imagine why you would consider this the easy way out is survival for me believe me I would much prefer to stay home all day and make dinners for my family but unfortunately things don't always turn out the way we planned. Am curious do you think it's a bad thing to eat out?

Answer 4

1. Availability of choices.
Homemakers have a hard time matching the the variety and quality available in restaurants.

2. Americans "want it all"
Eating out is a luxury that many can afford, or almost afford. Thus, many will spend the money to have this "luxury". It's cheaper than a vacation.

3. Americans love convenience
Eating out means no prep, no cooking, no cleaning. The cost is worth the convenience, in the opinion of some.

4. Few are taught to cook
There's new interest in cooking, as evidenced by the resurgence of TV shows, TV (cable) channels, and cooking classes on the community level (community college, enrichment programs, the local mall). But one reason for this interest is that mothers went to work and did not pass down the culinary heritage of the family to the children (as was traditional). (I heard this reason on TV, I think.) If this is true, then some who don't want to learn, eat out.

5. Two working parents?
If both parents/partners work, who will cook? Some think of it as working after working. Eating out is easier. (See #3)

Answer 5

Stress and time. People now are generally more stressed than in the past. Men still have this grand assumption that women need to do the cooking and women work late now too. Nobody can ever agree on what to eat, and stressing over dinner just adds to the other daily stresses. Finding the time to cook dinner is just out of the question for some people. We are also growing more impatient and we don't want to wait for our food, if we're hungry we want to eat now. Not wait an hour to cook dinner.

It's sad, but it's true.

Answer 6

It's quite simple, I have young kids, my husband and I both work demanding jobs, and then there is always tons of house work to do. Sometimes we are just to flat out tired to cook. And sometimes if we have to work late, it is easier to stop and pick something up on the way home rather than to have everyone wait an extra half hour or more for dinner to be cooked. And sometimes I just get a hunger for a big greasy burger dripping with fat and calories with a side of greasy fries and a milkshake.

Answer 7

Well, my wife and I both work about fifty hours a week. We usually buy take-out because by the time we get home (after an hour drive on the California freeways) it's 7:30. So by the time we get food ready it's near 8pm. Now we need to be in bed early in order to go to work early in the morning. If time is money then we are broke. Therefore a home-made meal is a rare commodity. Except on the weekends!

Answer 8

Many people ask me how they can slim down. I recommend that people eat right and exercise. However, if they would like a little "help", I suggest using natural Hoodia (it's important to note that not all Hoodia works well, even if the bottle says "pure" or "standard").

The Hoodia sold at http://tinyurl.com/y389on is in my opinion the best Hoodia on the market. It's pure, has no side effects, and they give you a free 15 day sample (there is a $7.99 shipping and handling charge, but they also give you free recipe and diet guides). Fantastic results have been seen with this particular Hoodia.

Answer 9

simply because more and more women work outside of the home now and don't feel like cooking when they get home! It's just quicker to pick something up on the way home! This may be why so many Americans are obese!

Answer 10

There are many reasons, first of all lack of time, you need to do it as quickly as possible so the "on the go" foods are the best option and then the price, believe it or not it is cheaper eating out than preparing your own food since all the fresh ingredients cost a lot and if you live alone, as i do, you cannot buy them since they are not sold in personal amounts so it is very likely they get rotten in your fridge before you have the time to cook them!