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The effect of fast food on health
The risk and effects of fast food
The effect of fast food on health
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Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society and has become nothing less than a revolutionary force in American life. Fast food has gained a great popularity among different age groups in different parts of the globe, becoming a favorite delicacy of both adults and children. For millions, fast food restaurants are the source of positive associations with birthday parties, play dates and accessible comfort food. For others, they represent a lifeline meal on a busy day, or the secret to quieting a cranky toddler on a long trip because hurrying residents of cities have no time to cook a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fast food presents even in the lives of people who are trying …show more content…
Scientists claim that the consumption of fast food leads to rapid weight gain, heart attacks, diabetes, reduced immunity, irreversible changes in the liver, raising the level of cholesterol in the blood. The fat contained in fast food, mainly consists of saturated fatty acids, which are deposited on the walls of blood vessels. Nevertheless, some people insist that fast foods, such as chips, hamburgers and fizzy drinks, that are so cheap and tasty, are not a consequence of the health problems. However, I strongly disagree that fast food has no bad impact on people’s health. I believe that fast food has a negative impact on society and, therefore, people must take care of themselves and lead a healthy lifestyle if they do not want to face serious problems with their …show more content…
The greatest proliferation of fast food has received in America. The history of American fast food started in 1912, when the company Horn & Hardart opened the first diner of fast food under the name "Automatic" in New York. This way of eating has become wildly popular and revolutionized the field of nutrition. Fast food as an industry emerged in the 1920s in America. A pioneer in this field was the company “White Castle”, which opened in 1921 in Kansas. Specialty of this company was the burgers, which at that time Americans were a rarity. Potential buyers were especially happy with stable price for food. Despite the Great Depression, the Second World War and inflation the company until 1946 sold their hamburgers for five cents. When some visitors began to think about how harmful such foods can be, the owner of a network, Billy Ingram, invented a clever move. He hired several young people who for a small fee daily came in White castle in white coats, and they ordered hamburgers. Visitors mistook them for doctors and calmed down. If even doctors eat hamburgers, it means that it is really safe for health.
The New York Times bestseller Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal is one of the most riveting books to come out about fast food restaurants to date (Schlosser, 2004). Fast food consumption has become a way of life for many in the United States as well as many other countries in the world. The author Eric Schlosser an investigative reporter whose impeccable researching and bold interviewing captures the true essence of the immense impact that fast food restaurants are having in America (2004). Beginning with McDonald’s, the first fast food restaurant, which opened on April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois to current trends of making fast food a global realization McDonald’s has paved the way for many fast food restaurants following the same basic ideal that is tasty foods served fast at a minimal cost (2011). Schlosser explains how fast food restaurants have gained substantial market share of the consumers; he also shows that by marketing to children and offering less unhealthful fare, that are purchased from mega-companies which are often camouflaged with added ingredients and cooked unhealthful ways, that these companies are indeed causing irreparable harm to our country (2004).
In the book Fast Food Nation: The Darks Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser claims that fast food impacts more than our eating habits, it impacts “…our economy, our culture, and our values”(3) . At the heart of Schlosser’s argument is that the entrepreneurial spirit —defined by hard work, innovation, and taking extraordinary risks— has nothing to do with the rise of the fast food empire and all its subsidiaries. In reality, the success of a fast food restaurant is contingent upon obtaining taxpayer money, avoiding government restraints, and indoctrinating its target audience from as young as possible. The resulting affordable, good-tasting, nostalgic, and addictive foods make it difficult to be reasonable about food choices, specifically in a fast food industry chiefly built by greedy executives.
In Fast Food Nation, Schlosser goes beyond the facts that left many people’s eye wide opened. Throughout the book, Schlosser discusses several different topics including food-borne disease, near global obesity, animal abuse, political corruption, worksite danger. The book explains the origin of the all issues and how they have affected the American society in a certain way. This book started out by introducing the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station beside the Colorado Springs, one of the fastest growing metropolitan economies in America. This part presents the whole book of facts on fast food industry. It talks about how Americans spend more money on fast food than any other personal consumption. To promote mass production and profits, industries like MacDonald, keep their labor and materials costs low. Average US worker get the lowest income paid by fast food restaurants, and these franchise chains produces about 90% of the nation’s new jobs. In the first chapter, he interviewed Carl N. Karcher, one of the fast food industry’s leade...
However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension”
Now, some will argue that it is not the fast food chain’s problem, that it is the customers’ problem for buying their food. But here is why they are wrong. Fast food restaurants have not made any positive changes, at least healthier ones and many people depend on something quick to go back to what they were doing, but they do not have the choice of getting something healthy because fast food restaurants do not have any healthy options. This makes the public think twice and actually end up picking something unhealthy because they do not have any other options to choose from. Moreover, fast food has also been proven to lead to heart diseases. This is due to the high cholesterol that fast food contains in their meals. By consuming a lot of cholesterol, plaque will start to build up in the walls of the arteries, which can narrow the blood flow in the coronary arteries and cause a heart attack if blood supply is completely cut off. Secondly, fast food is also the leading cause of obesity, which has become a natural problem in the fast food era. The reason why fast food leads to obesity is because their meals are high on fat and carbohydrates which add on a lot of calories. Obesity has also been linked to leading to other health problems like heart disease, diabetes, problems breathing and other serious health problems. Furthermore, fast food chains are also a critical problem because they are causing other serious health problems by adding other ingredients and additives to their food. Fast food chains are known for adding extra ingredients like sodium or an additive like trans-fat to make their food taste better. By increasing sodium intake, the individual could experience high blood pressure (hypertension), which can lead to heart attack, stroke and other health threatening diseases. On
Section 1: Typically, we need a well-balanced meal to give us the energy to do day-to-day tasks and sometimes we aren’t able to get home cooked meals that are healthy and nutritious on a daily basis, due to the reasons of perhaps low income or your mom not being able to have the time to cook. People rely on fast food, because it’s quicker and always very convenient for full-time workers or anyone in general who just want a quick meal. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation argues that Americans should change their nutritional behaviors. In his book, Schlosser inspects the social and economic penalties of the processes of one specific section of the American food system: the fast food industry. Schlosser details the stages of the fast food production process, like the farms, the slaughterhouse and processing plant, and the fast food franchise itself. Schlosser uses his skill as a journalist to bring together appropriate historical developments and trends, illustrative statistics, and telling stories about the lives of industry participants. Schlosser is troubled by our nation’s fast-food habit and the reasons Schlosser sees fast food as a national plague have more to do with the pure presence of the stuff — the way it has penetrated almost every feature of our culture, altering “not only the American food, but also our landscape, economy, staff, and popular culture. This book is about fast food, the values it represents, and the world it has made," writes Eric Schlosser in the introduction of his book. His argument against fast food is based on the evidence that "the real price never appears on the menu." The "real price," according to Schlosser, varieties from destroying small business, scattering pathogenic germs, abusing wor...
Many people all around the world and especially in the United States are paying money to poison their own bodies. Fast food is a major problem in the United States. Many people are attracted to fast food restaurants because of their low prices, but fast food is the cause of many health issues and is the main reason for the growing population of obese individuals in America. Although fast food can be a good option for a quick and cheap meal, fast food is very bad for the human body because it is full of questionable ingredients and can cause obesity, heart disease and raise cholesterol.
People today are busier than they have ever been; household adults have at least one job just to make ends meet. The overall dynamic of the house has changed immensely since the 1920’s when fast food was first introduced to the American society, and even though the United States is still in a down economy, one thing remains the same, fast food restaurants. Even though most people know that fast food contributes to health problems, it still remains a part of the American life. There are more options than ever before, and while the big name restaurants are slowing down and sometimes fading out, fast food restaurants keep their doors open and even open new ones. The fast food industry is steadily growing through their affordability, convenience, and most of all their food.
McDonald’s Golden French Fries, KFC’s Tender Chicken, Subway’s Scrumptious Subs, Taco Bell’s Mouth-Watering Tacos, all of which and more Americans devour on a regular basis. Though food items such as Tacos and Hamburgers were introduced in the late 19th century- early 20th century, fast-food restaurants however did not come into existence till’ early 1920’s. The first fast-food chain was opened in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas. They opened up selling burgers, fries and cola all for a mere price of 5 cents. Fast-food restaurants however did not become popular until after World War 2, when America officially becomes a fast-food nation. White Castle’s founder Walter Anderson’s business model was to have limited amount of choices in immense volume at a low cost. On top of this, the new hamburger restaurants were to serve their customers at lightning quick speed. All of which that creates the business models of fast food franchises, all over the world today. On the other hand the McDonald brothers introduced the method of making food at a low production cost. Making the food the customer eat low quality but still be giving costumers mouths tastes of heaven. Millions of Americans everyday munch on fast-food; although a vast number of Americans detests the fast food industry argue it has led to obesity and frailty in America. On the other hand numerous Americans argue saying that the Fast-food chains have boosted the unstable American Economy and continues to produce jobs compared to many America corporations who outsource their jobs. This brings up the question, is the fast food industry a devil or angel to this fast food nation?
Whether it’s the allure of the toys included in the meal or the quickness that the food is available, fast food seems like an easy choice. Since the food contains unhealthy amounts of things like sodium and fat, it’s no wonder people blame these restaurants for the obesity problems. Also, fast food restaurants make their profit from deals and promotions. The amount of advertisement focused on fast food is another reason it’s so popular. While the items at fast food restaurants contribute to our country’s obesity, that isn’t the only
The fast food industry has shaped the American culture in so many ways, but almost all negative. In the poem ‘Say no to fast food” the author explains how fast food can bring zits, high cholesterol, and he says how you will notice a difference in the way you feel if you start eating more home cooked meals. In The early 1900s eating out for several meals a day was completely unheard of, and now most americans can't even remember their last home cooked meal. Americans don't realize how much grease is in fast food and all the health risks that come with eating this junk daily. “So unhealthy, all fried food, unfortunately sometimes, we get in the mood” but statistics show that people aren't just getting in the mood
The nutrition of fast food should make up a negligible and smallest part of a healthy and well diet. The junk foods and fast foods are very high in sodium, fat, and sugar. These kinds of foods can lead to obesity and a number of attendant dilemmas of health which includes the arthritis, diabetes, and heart disease (Cobb, 2006). The paper will discuss the disadvantages of junk food in addition the facts related to it.
Most fast food items are highly processed and filled with fat and sodium (Muntel 6). People are unaware of the consequences of fast food. Extra fat can lead to cardiovascular disease, while a high sodium diet causes blood pressure to rise, which in turn can cause heart problems (Muntel 11).... ... middle of paper ...
Fast food is made up of products that are not good for people to eat. Fast food is low in nutrition. Fast food is high in trans-fat, saturated fat, sodium, and very high in calories. Fast food increases the risk of obesity, poor nutrition, heart disease and diabetes. Young adults who consumed fast food more than twice a week gained ten more pounds than those who had fast food less than once a week (Sheehan). Eating fast food more than twice a week doubled risk factor for diabetes (Sheehan). Young adults who eat fast food to o...
A typical fast food meal is very high in calories and fat , and it doesn 't offer that much of the nutritional value. In addition, fast food contains a lot of artificial colors , preservatives and chemicals . In most cases, fast food can lead to many diseases such as obesity, which is a major risk factor for so many health problems. For example, heart disease, diabetes and high cholesterol. So, Fast food does really have a direct impact on the overall health. In the same way, many people think it is cheaper to buy a fast ready meal which it is not true. There are so many additional cost of fast food related to health such as obesity and heart disease. So,basically, you pay more for fast foods. In addition, you can go to any fast food restaurant and get a meal for five to ten dollars a person. However, you can feed multiple people for the same price by cooking at home. Also, there would be some leftover ingredients for future usage. It is good to know that fast food is addictive, which means you spend more money buying fast food. That being said, fast food is not really cheaper as people assume. It is actually more expensive as it leads to many additional cost