Other Countries Getting Fatter In August

Posted by Keith Hahn, Sep 11, 2007, 11:06am

fat_mcdonalds.jpg McDonald’s reported an August same-store sales increase of 8.1%. The primary drivers of the growth were new menu items, strength in breakfast offerings, more fat people and insatiable appetites for ridiculously unhealthy food abroad.

Large sales increases in Japan, Australia and China spurred a 12.4% sales jump in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions for the golden arches. This is almost in exact correlation to the countries that are getting fat the fastest these days (no… not the U.S., because we’re already so large).

Fast food chains are still saturating the Asia/Pacific region, and adopting the U.S. fast food business model of extended business hours and breakfast options that allow access to more than a day’s worth of fat in one sitting at all times. Combine this with the absence of a smoking stigma (at least big fat Americans are smoking less, and ostracized in public places) and less of a workout/gym culture and you get a rapidly expanding, and occasionally bursting, region.

Shares of McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) are up almost 4% in daily trading.

In other McDonald's news some broker friends of DB tell us that a popular stunt on their floor is the "McNugget Challenge," where one person tries to eat as many McNuggets as they can in an hour. The last person who attempted this ate an incredible 72 McNuggets (more nuggets consumed than the popular "McNugget Power Hour," with a 1 nugget/minute consumption rate). Thousands of dollars changed hands betting on the final tally (if anyone has any similar trading floor stunts that people bet on, let us know or drop an email to tips at dealbreaker dot com).

McDonald's sales boosted by breakfast, new menu items [MarketWatch]
Obesity in Asia mirrors western increase [Guardian]

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Comments

Posted by Jamie.BuchersGhost, Sep 11, 2007 12:01PM

2:30pm challenge...occured at a now defunct brokerage

6 large hot cups of black coffee...must be consumed by 2:45

AND then the person is not allowed to go to the bathroom until the bell rings....

we didn't do this one very often, for what should be apparent reasons....

Posted by mini ballerette., Sep 11, 2007 12:10PM

nice. the only game i play at work is trying to keep myself from bludgeoning my associate with a dull pen

Posted by Mike Hunt, Sep 11, 2007 12:12PM

HAHAHAHA my god that is a sick, sadistic ritual that I'm sure ended up sh!tty on at least one occassion haha

wonder if that has any reason why this brokerage of which you speak is no defunct

Posted by , Sep 11, 2007 12:47PM

drinking a gallon of whole milk at 3:30 and finishing before the bell

Posted by Fake Michael Lewis, Sep 11, 2007 12:56PM

Louis Raneri would be proud

Posted by , Sep 11, 2007 12:57PM

That kid must be the spawn of the Michelin Man

Posted by horse bit tassels, Sep 11, 2007 1:39PM

the milk one can be done by vegetarians. for some reason they can consume more lactaid than us red meat eaters. we used to do it in my fraternity, but the timeframe was quicker for obvious reasons.

Posted by JO, Sep 11, 2007 1:49PM

A fellow analyst in my bullpen ate 4 sticks of slightly microwaved butter (and two of the wrappers) for $200.

The best part was the ascending payout structure, rewarding him $20, $40, $60 and $80 for sticks 1-4.

Posted by , Sep 11, 2007 2:03PM

you'd think the reason analysts get paid decently is so they aren't relegated to doing such acts to get by...

...but its funny as hell anyway ha

Posted by Anal_yst, Sep 11, 2007 2:37PM

Anyone else see that CNBC documentary on MCD? I couldn't help but wonder why everyone was picking on mickey D's when every day I roll down to the cafeteria and have the option of healthy delights such as a huge carton of curley fries, pepperoni and sausage pizza, fried chicken, etc. I'm pretty sure every corporation with vending machines or a cafeteria (ahem Aramark) and every diner or local restaurant in the country is just as, if not more of an offender of fattening this country.

Posted by cool hand luke, Sep 11, 2007 3:06PM

Here's one: a healthy shot of tabasco. The result is almost poetic: up to a minute of stunned silence and immobility as the person tries to quell the stomach cramps and focus on feeling better; a frantic scramble to someplace where the offending shot can be purged; followed by more barfing. Too bad barfing within 15 minutes forfeits the reward.

Great for arrogant new-hires!

Posted by I did the challenge and failed, Sep 11, 2007 3:16PM

A miserable 45 McNuggets in 60 minutes. I had to cover for my worthless intern when he backed out at the last minute. Needless to say, he is not getting an offer.

Posted by , Sep 11, 2007 3:45PM

Are you serious, cool hand luke? Tabasco? Cramps and barfing? My feeling is that most people could do a shot of Tabasco without too much trouble ... That's why they've invented Tabasco substitutes.

Posted by cool hand luke, Sep 11, 2007 3:57PM

No joke. I also thought it wouldn't be bad. First tried it on a buddy for $20. Of course, it was more like a double shot; but, the effect was far more powerful than anyone expected. He has an iron stomach and was puking for 40 minutes or so. Not sure if having a drink or two before magnifies the effect -- since that's always when I bring it out!

Posted by kid looks like Michelin Man, Sep 11, 2007 4:20PM

baby picture of someone not getting laid in high school, undergrad, grad, ..., ever.

Posted by Not so, Sep 11, 2007 9:28PM

My man, you underestimate the amount of fattie porn out theree. This kid may be the next Ron Jeremy!

Look at the picture: He's ordering the cashier lady to get him THAT apple pie and then bend over!

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