The WLBOTT Elders average over 6’9″ (men) and 6’4″ (women), with a solid hunter-gatherer lifestyle.
We are a proud, and hungry, people.
Calorie Requirements
Elder G provides our daily calorie requirements:
Elder Men (6’9″)
- Basal metabolic rate: ~2,200–2,400 kcal/day
- Activity multiplier (hunter-gatherer): ×1.8 to ×2.2
Daily requirement:
4,000 to 5,200 calories/day
Elder Women (6’4″)
- Basal metabolic rate: ~1,900–2,100 kcal/day
- Activity multiplier: ×1.8 to ×2.2
Daily requirement:
3,400 to 4,600 calories/day
HOW THIS COMPARES
| Group | Daily Calories |
|---|---|
| Average modern adult | 2,000–2,500 |
| Professional athlete | 3,500–5,000 |
| Tour de France cyclist | 6,000–8,000 |
| WLBOTT Elder | 4,000–5,500 |
| Elder after pie | unknowable |
The Worst
We hope you’ve read Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser
If not, you can find it at your local library on on Amazon.
Very eye-opening.
We asked Elder G how many Americans consume fast food on any given day.
Daily Fast Food Consumption in the U.S.
About one-third of American adults report eating some kind of fast food on a given day. That comes from data collected by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, indicating roughly:
- ~32% of U.S. adults aged 20 and older eat fast food on a typical day.
Older surveys show similar figures — for example, CDC analysis from earlier years found about 36.6% of adults consumed fast food on any given day.
And the children….
Frequency: how often per week?
National “how many times per week” numbers are asked less consistently than the NHANES “past 24 hours” approach, but there are studies that ask weekly frequency. For example, a large U.S. sample of 5th graders reported (past week):
- 52% ate fast food 1–3 times
- 10% ate fast food 4–6 times
- 10% ate fast food daily
- 29% ate none
WLBOTT: Let’s expand this a bit, in terms of American food consumption. Fast food provides what percentage of the calories consumed in America?
Tiny but important translation note
- The CDC/NHANES stats are “on any given day” (24-hour recall).
- Weekly frequency stats come from different surveys/studies, so they’re not always directly comparable.
Fast food share of calories
- Adults (20+): about 11.7% of daily calories come from fast food (NHANES, Aug 2021 to Aug 2023).
- Kids & teens (2–19): about 11.4% of daily calories come from fast food (same NHANES window).
Roughly 1 in 9 calories comes from fast food (with variation by age).
Age matters (a lot)
Among adults, fast food’s calorie share drops with age:
- 15.2% (ages 20–39)
- 11.9% (ages 40–59)
- 7.6% (ages 60+)
Longer-term context
USDA ERS reports that between 1977 and 2018, the share of food energy coming from fast food rose from 5.9% to 16.3%.
The Worst, In List Format
Eat This, Not That has a great article about the horrific calorie count of fast food and chain restaurants.
The Cheesecake Factory is the bad boy of this list, appearing 9 times (and 5 times in the top 10).
There were a few surprises on the list. Surprises because these menu items seemed innocuous – we would have never guessed the massive calorie load.
Semi-Sequitur: Better Get Me The Bucket
While doing our “research” for this blott, imagine our surprise when we learned the KFC Original Recipe Bucket was not a nicely packaged single serving delight! But we were relieved to learn that the 4,800 calories still fits into the Elder’s nutritional budget.
Estimates vary, and KFC doesn’t publish the full bucket calorie count, but for the sake of calorie-consciousness, we’ll skip the Mountain Dew.
All Roads Lead to Der Wienerschnitzel
Wienerschnitzel is an American fast food chain that specializes in hot dogs and other food products. The chain, known as Der Wienerschnitzel until 1979, was founded by entrepreneur John Galardi in 1961. Despite the name, the company does not ordinarily sell Wiener schnitzel, doing so once as a promotion. Wienerschnitzel locations are found predominantly in California and Texas; others are found in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Nebraska and Washington, as well as the U.S. territory of Guam. Outside the United States, there are stores located in Ecuador.
Galardi died of pancreatic cancer on April 13, 2013. His ex-wife, Cynthia Galardi-Culpepper, who previously was a silent partner, assumed the role as CEO and chairwoman after his death. She was the corporation’s first and only woman in a managerial position, later appearing in reality television series Undercover Boss in 2016.
Wikipedia
Undercover Boss….
Wienerschnitzel – Ecuador
We noticed that although the Ecuador Wienerschnitzel location was referenced in the Wikipedia article, the location did not appear on their website:
I’m afraid we have some sad news:
Luckily the Wienerschnitzel / Ecuador legacy lives on in Google Street Views.
On a Personal Note
As I was consulting with my son Elder DZ about the Wienerschnitzel / Ecuador situation, we had an argument – the type of argument that can destroy a family. I insisted that the Ecuadorian Wienerschnitzel was in Quito, and Elder DZ disagreed with me. In my ego-driven madness, I kept pursing the issue until Elder DZ acquiesced, crushing his spirit. I was, of course, wrong, and I greatly regret my mistake. I can only ask that forgives my passion for WLBOTT / Wienerschnitzel that caused a temporary lapse in judgment.
This is the kind of argument that can lead to a permanent lose of Father’s Day cards.
And Speaking of the Bucket….
How are we feeling today? Better….