Fast Food is Killing Americans

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America is one of the largest countries in the world, and the population is one of the largest also; but not in numbers, unless those numbers are on a scale and coincide with the amount of excess fat that is on the average American. In asking why Americans are so overweight, the fast food industry is not to blame entirely. Although Americans consume more fast food than any other nation and the mass of the population reflects this fact, no one is forcing anyone to eat fast food. Americans eat so much fast food because they are lazy, hurried, addicted, and financially downtrodden. Because of these lifestyles and misfortune, America has become overweight-- an epidemic for which there does not seem to be a cure.

Americans have become very lazy when it comes to cooking food since they have so many different choices of fast food. One could eat three meals a day at a different fast food place and never revisit the same place within a week. When anyone is running late to work or anywhere else, there is always a drive-through nearby ready to move everyone on his or her way in two minutes or less with a cup of hot coffee and a bag of saturated fat. If there is not time for a decent sit-down lunch, there is always a fast food restaurant nearby to serve anyone’s needs. After a long day at work, many people do not want to go home and cook dinner, and the numerous drive-throughs offer a quick and convenient meal to take home. Taco Bell even offers their “4th Meal” and encourages people to come in late night for a snack.

Addiction to fast food is a serious problem and a person’s craving for it can cause them to become obese in a rather short time. Current research in rats has shown that high-calorie, high-fat foods have alm...

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... Fast food as addictive as heroin, study confirms. Retrieved on September

23, 2014 from http://www.thatsfit.com/2013/03/30/fast-food-is-like-heroin-studies-find/

Klapp, E. (2013). See how brain chemicals may be causing your food addictions. Retrieved on September 23, 2014 from http://thediabetesclub.com/see-how-brain-chemicals-may-be-causing-your-food-addictions/

PR Newswire. (2014). Zagat’s 2014 America’s top restaurants guide reveals that the weak economy continues to cut into dining habits. Retrieved on September 23, 2014 from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zagats-2014-americas-top-restaurants-guide-reveals-that-the-weak-economy-continues-to-cut-into-dining-habits-105837223.html

Tsakos, L. (2013). The real price of fast food. Retrieved on September 23, 2014 from http://www.naturallysavvy.com/healthy-eating/the-real-cost-of-fast-food

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