Senior Brendan Black’s family eats fast food three to four times a week, their restaurant of choice being McDonalds. A regular order for the family of four consists of three Quarter Pounders, four McDoubles, two McChickens, a chicken wrap, and three large fries. This is something Black expressed to have some trouble with.

“We do try and stay healthy at my house, but it’s very difficult considering healthy food either A, takes forever or B, is very expensive,” Black said.

With a busy household, it becomes even more difficult to stay healthy. Black works at Tucanos, his brother, Tony works at Schnucks and his father, Tom is a concrete finisher.  Black’s mother is disabled.  Additionally, both Black and his brother are full-time students. These are not the only obstacles Black’s family faces in their attempts to maintain a healthy lifestyle, though. Due to the amount of work they do, the family often feels lethargic when they aren’t working, which can make it difficult to muster up the energy to prepare a more nutritious meal. In the face of full time employment, lethargy and academics, the family still finds ways to stay healthy.

“I do a lot of running, and I usually go to the Rec Plex, or Gold’s Gym,”  Black said.

Black’s father, Tom, maintains fitness through his job as a concrete finisher, which requires a lot of physical labor. Brendan’s  desire for a different diet is not purely for health reasons, however. There are several activities Brendan participates in, that would benefit from a more nutritious diet, namely Black’s post-deployment army training.

Another family who eats fast food regularly is the Hydes. Senior Ryan Hyde and his family eat fast food about twice a week. The Hydes’ average day is hectic due to school, extra-curricular activities, and work. Ryan’s mother Stefanie works two jobs which results in an even more fast-paced life. Ryan is well aware of the nutrition, or lack of nutrition, that fast food offers.

“The nutritional choices you make now end up further health problems,” Hyde said. “I’ll just make my health choices later down the road.”

  The two boys are similar in that their families both eat a considerable amount or fast food, they exercise to try and stave off negative effects of fast food, and participate in activities that would benefit from a healthier diet. Black often feels the effects of fast food on his energy levels.

“It makes me a lot more lethargic,” Black said. “We get rather lazy whenever we eat a lot of fast food and that makes it difficult to want to even get up to go to work.”