Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Health effects of fast food consumption
Fast food and its effects on health essay abstract
Fast food and its effects on health essay abstract
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Health effects of fast food consumption
Cassondra DeJesus Cause & Effect Final Draft
If a person is hungry and running late or on a budget they will most likely stop at a fast food restaurant to grab a bite to eat. This is not unusual as majority of the human population eats at some type of fast food restaurant, whether it be McDonalds, Arby’s, Burger King or Taco Bell. These food places are quite common because the food is cheap, fast and easily accessible. However even though they may be beneficial in some aspects, they can effect a person’s lifestyle and cause them minor and major health problems. Causes for this bad habit can be either learned or because it is the only option for some.
There are many causes for this bad habit that can be fixed with just a bit of effort and knowledge of the habit’s effects on one’s health. One cause for eating fast food habitually is that people may have learned this habit from their parents or someone close to them. They may have grown up in a household where eating at McDonalds or Taco Bell was an every night type of thing. Habits in general are usually picked up from family or friends that they are in contact with frequently and bad eating habits are no exception. For instance, a child’s mother ate fast food for dinner majority of the week and in
…show more content…
They may have grown up in a home where money was tight and all they could afford was the dollar menu at a fast food restaurant. When a family tries to eat healthy food it becomes pretty costly, for example spending thirty dollars on healthy food wouldn’t get an average family of four very much seeing as fresh or organic foods are ridiculously pricey, but spending twenty dollars on fast food would feed them all as well as make them full and leaves them with extra money to buy more food. When living on a budget is a factor in how much someone spends on food, the quality of the food goes down drastically, and the main focus is
Obesity can be caused by a combination of fast food and the environment people live in today. Fast food contains foods that are high in fats, sugars, and starches. These ingredients have rarely any nutritional value to the human body. Most of the foods available at fast food restaurants like McDonalds, Burger King, and KFC contain concentrated salt and preservatives to enhance the flavor in them. Obesity has become the defining aspect of our nation by surrounding the people with fast food products. The freedom to choose what one wants, gives the fast food companies the right to give one unhealthy food. The consumption of fast food products regularly greatly increases one’s chance of having health disparities such as Coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers, stroke, Hypertension, and Osteoarthritis. These negative effects are present with the daily eating of fast foods.
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”
This particular article sheds a different light onto how advertising affects the life of a child. This author suggests that our society has grown away from respected the opinions of our elders and now the opinion lies in the hands of the child. As the author states that front door is now a permeable membrane allowing advertisers into their homes and allowing children to view them through the many sources of technology that lie beyond that membrane.
According to resent studies, Americans eat fast food for the convenience, mostly in the Western and Eastern part of the USA and people that cook and eat at home they are more traditional, for example in the Midwest. Fast food has been part of life in the USA for over 60 years. It has become extremely popular by Americans simply for the convenience.
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
One health-related topic that receives considerable attention concerns eating habits and the development of obesity. Biological, environmental, social, and psychological factors that influence eating are typically an aspect that is assessed with the discussion of obesity concerns in the United States (U.S.). Obesity is widespread and remains a prominent health issue in the U.S.. One of the ways overweight and obesity is defined entails the operation of the body mass index (BMI) of an individual. This study consists of how these factors have a direct correlation leading to obesity in many individuals nation-wide.
Fast food restaurant chains are a popular and convenient choice for eating on the go in our modern society. There are certainly several positive aspects to fast food establishments, but are the potential health detriments and collective negative effects on society worth it? Or would it be better to support locally owned and operated restaurants? Here I will examine several facts pertaining to these restaurants, as well as explain why I personally believe we should not frequent these establishments, but rather support local restaurants.
The price needs not only to be affordable, but to be worth the time and effort that goes into preparing a meal. This is why fast food prices remain so low, and accessible to all social classes. Different groups have been impacted by the formation and rapid growth of the fast food industry- altering our ever-changing relationship to the things we eat. The industry places a disproportionate burden on poor and immigrant families, who are more likely to be working for minimum wage at fast food restaurants and cannot afford healthier prepared meals. This results is a disproportionate effect on the health of low-income people. Specific social groups that are affected include immigrants, women, and low-skilled workers (Talwar, 2002, 88). Poor families are also less likely to have the time to cook meals, as they will need to work longer hours, or even multiple jobs. For these reasons, fast food becomes a main dietary component rather than a treat or supplement when in a hurry. The convenience and low cost may appear to benefit the working class, but the health effects make it clear this isn’t so. “Becoming modern, it turns out, is not simply adding on new items of behavior, and when societies change, they rarely instruct those that are changing about the things they may be losing” (Wilk, 2006,
McDonald’s is delicious and convenient, and only cost a few dollars. On days were you are extremely busy they are there to serve whatever you would like from the menu. Sometimes it seems as though you can access it quicker than a trip to the grocery store. Even though, you know you will be hungry again later, you still pull up and go through the drive thru and place the order. While placing your order do you ever think of what this kind of food is doing to your body? Alternatively, that for just a few dollars that conveniently priced meal over time could cause your health to deteriorate. Fast food restaurants are adding to the obesity epidemic. Living in the age were technology has taken the place of personal interactions,
Fast food has been a very common solution for on the go eating because a restaurant is located at almost every corner and the convenience of drive thrus give people the luxury of not even having to get out of their car. Sutter Health indicates that over 25 percent of Americans consume fast food daily. It is not a secret that fast food has been blamed for being one of the major causes of obesity. This brings up the question how exactly does fast food affect specifically your everyday activities when it is consumed. Numerous arguments have been made about how fast food can hinder your daily progress and why it should be avoided or maybe be eaten but only in moderation.
Is fast food to blame for more obese Americans? Fast food restaurants advertise all their ingredients in plain sight. They provide healthy options to their more popular foods such as grilled items, skinless options, low calorie/no calorie beverages, and small portion orders. Most obese Americans are overweight because they are uneducated about the dangers of fast food. Once they learn about eating healthy, managing overweight issues becomes more elementary. Fast food restaurants should not be blamed for America 's obesity issue because there are healthier options, self-discipline, and self responsibility for each individual.
Since industrialization in early America, the food industry has been growing, and with the development of prepackaged foods and fast-food chains, having snacks at your fingertips is a luxury that seems convenient and beneficial… until one considers the effects of junk food on the body and brain. Generally, junk food is characterized as food with high fat and sugar content and minimal nutritional value (Karimi-Shahanjarini et al., 2012). In modern day America, it is common to arrive home from a long day at school or work and grab a conveniently prepackaged snack to quiet your munchies and calm your nerves. Although this seems like a harmless act, eating these snack foods can have negative effects on the body and brain.
Many people don 't realize how unhealthy stopping at the drive-thru is. Fast food can negatively affect you physically and emotionally. A average woman should have 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day. An average man should have 2,000 to 3,000 calories per day. When eating fast food regularly increases your chances of type 2 diabetes. In a 15 year study, people who ate at least 3 days a week fast food gained 9.9 pounds of body weight, compared to a person who ate once a week. Most fast food meals are high and low in fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables help to balance a high fat meal, helping to reduce the harmful effects on the blood vessels. According to studies within 3-5 hours of eating a high fat meal, your blood vessels function usual. For some people this can cause a heart attack or a stroke. Fast food may lead some people to depression compared to people who have little to no fast food. According to studies the more fast food you eat the greater risk you are of
Most people eat out, about “55%of people eat fast food during the week” (Alfano). Fast food is just easier; it gives parents time to settle in at home after work and children to get homework or showers in before bed. Cooking meals come with having to clean a decent amount of dishes which is inconvenient for everything that needs done after school and before bed. Unsurprisingly, “17% of people eat a home cooked meal 7 nights a week”, 17% is very low compared to the people who eat fast food during the week (Alfano). Families do not always eat out each day a week, some manage to eat a home cooked meal “2-3 nights a week” that is at least “27%” of the people surveyed (Alfano). Not eating nutritious home cooked meals really affect children because “when people aren’t cooking
Generally, most healthy foods are more expensive than less healthy food. “Poor people are easy to identify because so many are obese. (Peck)” said by Anna Soubry, the Tory public health minister. The food prices have a significant impact on people who want to balance good nutrition. According to Geographic Differences in the Relative Price of Healthy Foods, the price of whole grains is 23 percent higher than that of refined grains in San Francisco, while 60 present higher in Pennsylvania and New York (Todd, Leibtag and Penberthy). Also, the price of fresh green vegetables is 20 to 80 percent higher than that of starchy vegetables in all markets across the United States (Todd, Leibtag and Penberthy). Due to the higher price of healthy food, a lot of people choose to eat unhealthy food, such as McDonald’s, especially for people who don’t want to...