Abstract
The food service industry globally has had an influential role in the preceding growth of the obesity rate among individuals. It has, in turn, faced many challenges such as how to offer healthier options, whereas the majority of its customer base is used to unhealthier high calories content meals. The comprehensive purpose of this study was to explore and identify what fast food outlets are doing to curb obesity in the Gauteng region. Obesity is not only an epidemic that the country faces however, it is an epidemic faced globally, with its statistics increasing yearly at an increasingly rapid rate. The study used a quantitative research approach, utilising self-administered surveys which were distributed by the researcher.
The fast food outlets and the food service industry, in general are making some progress in the fight against obesity. Nonetheless, more can be done across the various sectors of the food industry and food service industry. There is much improvement that the South African Government or rather the Department of Health and the Department of Tourism need to work together to develop a similar regulation as the one utilised in the United States of America regarding the inclusion of nutritional information on menus. Increasing the awareness of the obesity epidemic across fast food outlet employees can have a lasting effect as they will be able to easily promote healthier eating if they are more well informed.
The study concluded from the Tukey’s HSD Test results that there was a statistically significant difference in the managers’ perceptions of healthy meals between the KFC and Debonairs managers and Nandos and Debonairs managers. Interestingly there was a statistically significant difference in the staff members’ opinions from Tukey’s HSD Test results of healthy meals from the results between McDonalds and Nandos staff members and McDonalds and Debonairs staff members, KFC and Nandos staff members, KFC and Debonairs staff members, Chicken Licken and Nandos staff members & Chicken Licken and Debonairs staff members. This information suggests that the managers' and staff members' perceptions on promoting healthy eating, knowledge of healthy meals, and effects of healthy eating are different.
Keywords: obesity, fast food outlets, curbing.