Do we really know what were putting into our bodies, when we eat fast food.What is fast food really made of? What potential health risks do we face when we eat fast food? Fast food is simply bad for your health and something needs to be done, in order to make it healthy for those who enjoy fast food, because fast food is known to cause health problems. Due to the fact that fast food isn’t natural, has a lot of added ingredients, and it is far from fresh. An article from the very well known Readers Digest states that even a healthy meal from Mc Donald’s isn’t even healthy like their crispy chicken salad has about the same calories as a Big Mac. The effects of eating fast food on a regular basis is bound to catch up to you, and some of those effects are diabetes, heart problems, high cholesterol, and nevertheless obesity. One way to simply avoid these effects is to not eat fast food or to eat it in moderation.
all the ingredients in fast food. States that most of the ingredients in fast food we’ve never even heard of but we still eat it anyways. Like one of the ingredients in some fast food place’s chicken nuggets is a chemical preservative called Tertiary Butyl Hydroquinone which is derived from petroleum, which is used in cars. Also most employees don’t get training on proper food safety so therefore they possibly could be preparing your meal without washing their hands. And fast food is filled with trans fat
which talks about fast food from every corner. States that the reason why fast food is so popular is because its inexpensive and widely available. Making something less healthy is almost impossible because we have no control over how the food is cooked therefore if the fast food place wants to cook the food in plenty of butter they have that right. And since fast food is filled with fat, sodium, and sugar people with diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease have to be extra careful when it comes to eating fast food. Some solutions for healthier eating is to eat at fast food places that offer vegetables, or make better decisions when ordering like ordering something with fewer calories.
The main reasons why now more than ever fast food is becoming a health issue has to do with more people eating it. According to the book Fast Food Nation, “A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the United States was spent to prepare meals at home. Today about half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants--mainly at fast food restaurants” (Schlosser 4). And that has to do with the way its marketed, availability, and price. You can’t watch TV without seeing some sort of fast food commercial which advertises their latest cool invention or drive and not see a fast food billboard. And one of the main targets of fast food, is children who can convince their parents to take them to get fast food because of what the happy meal comes with, or because they want to play in the playground. “Unfortunately many kids are introduced to fast food at a young age and continue to consume it as they grow up” (Bill). Because kids are introduced to fast food at such a young age they face the risk of becoming obese, due to the fact that the kids meals are far from healthy since they are basically just a smaller
version of an unhealthy combo meal.
Availability, fast food is everywhere from the U.S. to Asia to the Middle East. Because of how available fast food has become more people are able to consume it, therefore more people are being effected by the unhealthy food. Also due to the availability people have the choice of not cooking, because why cook when you can drive a few minutes and get something delicious to eat. “These days, parents have very busy lives and may decide to pick their children up a happy meal instead of cooking a meal at home” (Bill). Its true and understandable, people do have busy lives therefore they choose to get something at a fast food place because of how easy it is when compared to cooking. But wouldn’t you rather cook something healthy for your family at least that way your aware of the ingredients?
Price is probably the main factor that makes fast food so popular. Most fast food places offer a value menu were most things are a dollar. So you can basically get a meal without breaking the bank if your on a budget. And that is understandable, because yes obviously you cant buy ingredients for a meal and pay less than a dollar. But your health isn’t worth a dollar. If you want to be healthy and live longer, then your only real choice is to eat healthier if that means spending a few extra bucks for healthy food then that’s what you have to do. In a quote by Eric Schlosser he says, “Fast food is popular because it’s convenient, it’s cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu” (Schlosser). He’s basically saying that we the consumers of fast food are so blinded by fast food that we can’t even see it for what it