Just a note about McDonald's and other fast food joints. I live overseas and don't have easy access to McDonald's. I think that there are two in my city, which is fairly big, and neither has the ultra-convenient drive thru window. As a result, I don't have to fight the temptation. It's nice. There are no Taco Bells, no Wendy's, few Burger Kings on the highways -- really no other chains as such. Another nice thing -- most resturants have operating hours. They are simply not open all day long to serve people when the urge strikes. It makes eating out something that must be planned a bit in advance. Again -- nice.
When we do make it to McDonald's with our young child it is always FULL -- full of skinny Italians of all ages munching down on fries and burgers. Moderation, I'm sure, is the key. I suspect that a trip to McDonald's happens at most once a month for these Italians. And even then, it's okay, because they have most certainly walked or biked enough in a normal day to burn many, many calories.
I am attempting to change my American lifestyle to mimic theirs a bit more. We just bought two new bikes!