With busy lifestyles filled with practices, school, and sometimes jobs, meals are on the go more now than ever. Hence why more parents are leaning towards the drive-through rather than the stove.

“Eating fast food is easier,” senior Caryn Rogers said. “But I hate eating it because I know it’s bad for me.”

Although most parents know fast food is bad for their kids, according to vivavegie.org, Americans spend more then $110 billion on fast food. Health experts argue this rising number is the reason the scale’s number is rising, too.

“It’s obvious fast food is bad for you,” dietitian Marsha Flowers said. “It’s filled with fat and everything we don’t need. But parents keep buying so kids keep gaining weight.”

Although facts are stacked up against fast food, some argue they are improving their menus to better suit Americans. McDonald’s has added to their menu salads, fruit and yogurt parfaits, and even different sides for their famous Happy Meal. But changing their menu may not be enough to change lifestyles.

“I work at McDonald’s,” junior Tera Henderson said. “On breaks, I eat there but I never get anything considered healthy.”

The other side of fast food restaurants was also exposed in the movie Super Size Me. In the movie, Morgan Spurlock takes on the challenge of eating McDonald’s for 30 days. At the doctor’s office, they strongly caution him to not go through with it.

“Eating fast food for a month is not a smart idea,” Flowers said. “It’d make you sick because of the fat; your body isn’t used to having that much fat in 30 days.”

Although Spurlock completed the challenge of eating McDonalds for 30 days, he didn’t do with without some obstacles. He got ill after meals and consumed about 5,000 calories per day from eating. He also gained 24 and a half pounds.

Before all the hectic lifestyles and convenient drive-throughs, some remember a time where dinner time was a family event. Gathering around the table and eating a home-cooked meal while having some family time. That was dinner time.

“Getting fast food isn’t dinner time,” parent Toni Batten said. “Dinner time is being with family and spending time with them.”