Pie and Line

These graphs illustrate the change of people’s eating habits between 1970 and 2000.

According to the four pie charts, the percentage of the family’s food budget spent on restaurant meals steadily increased during this period. Just 10 percent of the food budget was spent on restaurant meals in 1970, and 15 percent in 1980. That percentage more than doubled in 1990, to 35 percent, and rose again in 2000 to 50 percent.

As can be seen from the following line graph, families ate the same number of meals at fast food and sit-down restaurants, 20 meals in 1970. In 1980, families ate slightly more frequently at sit-down restaurants. However, at the end of 1980’s, the popularity of the fast food caught up with that of the sit-down restaurants, and families ate about 40 meals at both fast food and sit-down restaurants per year. From then on, the number of fast food meals increased much more dramatically to 90 meals in 2000, nearly doubling the number of meals they ate at sit-down restaurants.

Overall, people spent more and more money on restaurant meals and fast food became an important option when families choose to eat out.