04 Mar 2015, Signal Hill, California, USA — Sep 23, 2006; Signal Hill, CA, USA; McDonald’s Corporation is the world’s largest chain of fastfood restaurants. Although McDonald’s did not invent the hamburger or fast food, its name has become nearly synonymous with both. The company began in 1940 with a restaurant opened by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, but it was their introduction of the ‘Speedee Service System’ in 1948 that established the principles of the fast-food restaurant. It is estimated that over 30 percent of American citizens are obese with a further 35 percent being overweight. The Golden Arches drive thru outside the fast food restuarant. Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ruaridh Stewart/ZUMA Press. (©) Copyright 2005 by Ruaridh Stewart Mandatory Credit: Photo by Ruaridh Stewart/ZUMA Press. (©) Copyright 2006 by Ruaridh Stewart — Image by © Ruaridh Stewart/ZUMA Press/Corbis