Fun fact, the guy who made "supersize me" also had a crippling liquor addiction when he was filming it. I'm not saying it's great food but the perception that eating it for a month will make you ill is hilariously overblown.
Imho, I think a lot of people assume cheap food will make you sick because it's cheap and americans tend to moralize pricing. A balanced diet is obviously better for you, but the human body is extremely resilient to nutritional imbalances in the short term.
What tends to drive unhealthy trends linked to fast food (or other highly sugary or fatty foods) is just price point and ease of consumption. It's a lot easier to buy burgers than it is to figure out how to fit making rice and beans efficiently and tastily into your already busy lifestyle. Buying calorie-dense food that's easy to consume will always be attractive.
Imho, I think a lot of people assume cheap food will make you sick because it's cheap and americans tend to moralize pricing. A balanced diet is obviously better for you, but the human body is extremely resilient to nutritional imbalances in the short term.
What tends to drive unhealthy trends linked to fast food (or other highly sugary or fatty foods) is just price point and ease of consumption. It's a lot easier to buy burgers than it is to figure out how to fit making rice and beans efficiently and tastily into your already busy lifestyle. Buying calorie-dense food that's easy to consume will always be attractive.