The Sacramento fast food industry is growing almost as fast as local waistlines.

From 2001 to 2006, the number of takeout establishments in the Sacramento metro area jumped 28 percent – more than twice the increase in the region's population, according to newly released U.S. census data.

The trend runs counter to California's recent ban on trans fats in restaurants and the decision by Los Angeles leaders to temporarily ban new takeout eateries in a poor section of town.

"It's quick and cheap," said local security guard Montoya Craigs, explaining why he eats at burger joints two or three times a week.

The four-county region of El Dorado, Placer, Sacramento and Yolo had 1,503 takeout restaurants in 2006 – enough to allow someone to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner in a different fast food restaurant every day for 16 months and never visit the same place twice.

A separate review of county records and local directories by The Bee shows fast food growth – at least at the region's largest chains – continuing past 2006 and into the present.

The Census Bureau report, largely based on federal tax records, defines a fast food restaurant as any place where customers order at a counter, excluding coffee shops, juice bars, cafeterias and snack bars.

Their numbers differ from similar data maintained by the state labor department showing about 1,400 takeout restaurants in the four-county region and a rate of growth more in line with the area's increase in population.

The fastest-growing chains in the region are sandwich shop Subway, Quiznos, Panda Express, Chipotle, Little Caesars and L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, The Bee's analysis found. Subway – which offers lots of healthy fast food, so long as you don't ask for the bacon toppings – now outnumbers McDonald's eateries by about 50 percent.

A few things are behind the increase. The region's sprawl mixed with new growth left plenty of room for takeout restaurants, said Eddie Flores Jr., the president and CEO of L&L, which offers dishes such as short ribs, salmon and the "The Loco Moco" – two hamburger patties over rice, covered with brown gravy and topped with two eggs.

The more retail spaces to choose from, Flores said, the less likely an eatery will have to compete with something similar across the street.

"They are building a lot of shopping centers in Sacramento," Flores said.

"In an established area like San Francisco, it's hard to find a place."

Other reasons for the boom are more basic. Lots of people think fast food is yummy. It's cheap – sometimes less expensive than preparing a meal at home. And, as the name implies, it's convenient.

Regardless of its causes, health experts aren't thrilled about the trend.

More than half the adults in the Sacramento region are either overweight or obese, according to the latest data from UCLA's California Health Interview Survey. Obesity increases the likelihood of diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke.

"What I think is people will come, eat quickly, and gain some weight," said Judith Stern, distinguished professor of nutrition at the University of California, Davis.

Restaurant industry officials counter that popular chains are offering healthier foods – salads and apple slices alongside burgers and fries. They also say fast food restaurants have become a scapegoat for a huge societal problem. It's doubtful, they argue, that people would stop seeking unhealthy foods if all takeout restaurants closed tomorrow.

Stern agrees that it's possible to eat a healthy meal at a fast food restaurant. But she does not believe many takeout restaurants are sincere about helping customers make good choices.

"If McDonald's was interested in the health of kids, they would make sure the apple slices were in Happy Meals first, and you would have to ask for the french fries."

Like anything else, said Glennah Trochet, the county's public health officer, moderation is the key to eating fast food.

"Eating a monster burger every once in a while is not going to kill anyone," Trochet said. "I think if you eat a monster burger every day, it will lead to problems."

It's not clear what the next few years will hold for fast food restaurants.

The economy could keep people from eating out – or it could make them more likely to trade down from a sit-in restaurant. Higher food prices could make it tougher for fast food establishments to do business – or it could lead folks away from the grocery store and into the drive-through line.

"Labor costs are going up," said Jot Condie, chief executive officer of the California Restaurant Association, adding that he thinks the growth in fast food eateries has been more moderate than the census numbers indicate. "We haven't seen (food prices) increase like this in years."

But any drop in fast food restaurants will have to be pretty steep to erase recent gains. In Sacramento County, for example, 10 chains operate 40 percent of the fast food restaurants. All of those chains have more local eateries today than they did three years ago, according to The Bee's analysis of the county health inspectors' master file of local restaurants.

For his part, Craigs, the local security guard, is going to continue to eat fast food – to heck with the consequences. He figures something has got to get him anyway, so it might as well be tasty food.

"At some point, you're going to get sick," he said. "That's just how the world is."

Call The Bee's Phillip Reese, (916) 321-1137.