Fast Food
In the United States right now the country is facing an epidemic of obesity which means that too many people are overweight to an unhealthy level which is very bad. More and more people are becoming unhealthy because they do not eat the right things. People live a very hectic lifestyle in the current time and this makes them want to get things fast. Instead of going home and cooking a healthy meal, people go through the drive thru lane of the fast food restaurant and get their food there. They feel that they do not have time to eat healthy because this takes work and time which they do not have. Although this is a fast way of getting food, the things that you buy are very unhealthy. Eating too much fast food is very bad for you and can have many negative effects for your health including the fact that fast food is not nutritious, that it has a good chance of increasing your weight, and fast food has been shown to contribute to people getting certain diseases.
The human body needs nutrients and vitamins in order to function properly. Part of the reason that people eat is to make energy and the other part is to absorb nutrients into their body. However, fast food is very low in nutrients. Although a person is eating plenty of food, they are not getting the nutrients that the body needs and this can make a person very sick and weak (Paeratakul 1332). Usually the meals you buy at fast food restaurants are very high in carbohydrates. While the body does need some carbohydrates to function, too much of this in the system means the body can no longer process them into energy and they just turn into fat. Three particular nutrients that people need that are rarely found in fast food items are fiber, proteins, and vitamins. If you do not get the proper amount of vitamins, then the body will develop a deficiency and this can cause major problems in the body including failure of some organs. Scientific research has proven that a diet with consistent intake of fast food will lead to malnutrition and health issues.
Fast food products are very high in fat content which means that eating the food will make you fat. America has a real problem with this, so much so that the United States "now has the highest obesity rate of any industrialized nation in the world" (Schlosser 240). Science has proven that eating fast food two or three times a week is dangerous, but there are even some people who eat fast food seven days a week and for more than one meal in a single day. They are high in calories and since people are supposed to live on a 2,000 calorie per day diet, they might not realize that they are overeating. One meal at McDonald's or Burger King might provide all the calories a person is supposed to take in for the whole day. In the United States, even young kids are already becoming obese because their parents purchase fast food for them so often. It is a fact that in the present about 30% of children under the age of eighteen are considered obese (Vigilante). Teenagers are eating at fast food restaurants in even higher numbers than younger children because these are traditionally locations where teens go to hang out with friends when they are first given some independence from their families (French 1823). They think of…
Sample Source(s) Used
Works Cited
French, S.A., Story, M., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Fulkerson, J.A., and Hannan, P. "Fast Food
Restaurant Use Among Adolescents: Associations with Nutrient Intake, Food Choices and Behavioral and Psychosocial Variables." Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity. 25(12). 2001. 1823-33. Print.
Paeratakul, S., Ferdinand, D.P., Champagne, C.M., Ryan, DH, and Bray, G.A. "Fast-Food
Consumption Among U.S. Adults and Children: Dietary and Nutrition Intake Profile." Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana UP. 103(10), 2003. 1332-38. Print.
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