The Survey That Proves Just How Much Californians Love Fast Food

America is indeed a "fast food nation," with the average person shelling out $1,200 a year on fast food and the average household spending approximately 10% of their income on all that fried, greasy goodness. More than 1/3 of Americans are eating fast food on any given day, whether grabbing a quick lunch at the drive-thru during their workday or taking advantage of the convenience factor to bring dinner home for the family after a long day on the job (via The Barbecue Lab).

Consuming all those burgers, fried chicken sandwiches, tacos, pizzas, and fries can really pile on the calories and the weight as one might expect, and the health risks of regularly eating fast food are well documented. Fast food unleashes an assault on the body through its perfect storm of high sugar, sodium, and saturated fat, along with its processed ingredients, heightening the risks of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular conditions including heart attack and stroke (per MedicalNewsToday). It's also low in things that are beneficial such as nutritional value, fiber, and antioxidants.

Despite all its harmful effects on the body, people still can't seem to get enough fast food. A new survey proves that Californians are willing to relinquish quite a lot in exchange for that Big Mac or Whopper.

'What would you do for a fast food meal?'

A now iconic ad campaign for Klondike bar (ice cream coated in a chocolate shell) created a sing-along slogan that asked people the question "What would you do for a Klondike bar?" Commercials typically showed a person acting goofy, willing to dance or make monkey noises, and sometimes imbued a little dark humor just for entertainment value — the point being that their product tastes so delicious, you'll do practically anything to get your hands on one of those scrumptious frozen treats.

An August 2022 survey from Drug Genius shows that Californians would do some pretty surprising things in order to maintain their fast food habits. The survey interviewed 3,222 respondents from across the country about what they would be willing to give up to still eat unhealthily. It found, among other unsettling discoveries, that fast food ignorance is bliss to half of Americans, who admitted that they simply pay no mind to the numerous health risks.

Californians said they would be prepared to surrender five years of their life in order to continue eating fast food. That's higher than the average person surveyed, who said they would forego four years. But that's nothing compared to people from Montana, South Dakota, and Hawaii, who conveyed that they would happily trade 12 years of their existence for retaining a fast food lifestyle. Eat your heart out, Klondike.