Ray Kroc (who made McDonald's what it is) did fly around in airplanes identifying vacant land near schools where he could build McDonald's. Even today you can often notice a McDonald's within a block or two of an elementary school, or at the nearest commercial intersection in the case of residential neighborhood schools.

Fast food is marketed to take advantage of our every weakness. Even today much of the advertising is just "aw c'mon it'll make you feel good!" and in our hectic, depressing lives... it's hard to resist a hyper-convenient thing that will make you feel good.

I mean people can go to farmer's markets and spend hours prepping kale-based meals free of processed ingredients... but it's just not very naturally appealing to most people, then add the stress of life to that and aggressive marketing that began in someone's childhood and appeals right to that basic desire for convenient, tasty food... and I can't blame people for just eating a cheeseburger.

I think people should definitely resist it, but it's one hell of a battle. Everything is set up to lead us to fast food.