In an article Credit Cards can make you fatby Tamara Holmes at Bankrate.com she states that an estimated 30 percent of Americans are considered obese — but the combination of flavor and convenience keep fast food franchises immensely popular.
Today, credit cards make those unhealthy eating habits easier to adapt than ever — and can actually help you pack on the pounds as well as debt.
Approximately $160 billion was spent at fast food restaurants last year, and more than 80 percent of the transactions were conducted in cash. However, customers increasingly are using debit and credit cards: In the 12 months ending March 31, 2007, the use of Visa cards at quick-service restaurants increased 31 percent and debit card usage at fast food outlets grew 32 percent.
Not only is the use of credit cards growing in popularity, new technologies are even eliminating the need for consumers to sign their receipts or to even hand their cards over to employees.
In November, Jack in the Box announced the deployment of contactless card readers in all of its franchises, which allow drivers to merely hold a special contactless credit card in front of a reader located at the counter or the drive-through window. American Express, Discover Financial Services, MasterCard and Visa all offer a version of the cards, which have microchips embedded in them and use radio waves to communicate with the readers.
But while customers like the convenience of being able to pay for fast food with plastic, their waistlines might not be so forgiving. A number of studies show that consumers are less likely to drive by fast food restaurants if they know the restaurants accept credit cards. In 2002 Visa USA conducted a poll and found that 32 percent of customers admitted that they had limited their drive-through orders because they did not have enough cash to pay for what they wanted. The ability to use credit cards eliminates that obstacle.
Not only that, but people spend more money when they pay via credit card than they would if they were paying with cash. A Visa study of 100,000 restaurant transactions found that customers spent, on average, 30 percent more than those who paid with cash. That 30 percent can be the difference between a small order of fries and soft drink and a supersize order, or it can be the addition of a high-calorie dessert.
In a study published in June 2006 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said they found the average up-sized fast-food meal added 73 more calories to the meal, cost an extra 67 cents and resulted in an average 36-gram (0.07 pounds) weight gain.
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