Increasingly, customers are saying "no.'' They don't want the tempting side orders with their burgers. An industry survey finds that fast food places sold one billion fewer combo meals during the past five years, which is a 12 percent drop.
Still, they did sell about eight billion big meals during that period. Analysts say the economy is only part of the reason for the cut-back. The bigger factor is that more folks now prefer healthier side dishes, like salads.
