What Is Fast Food?

One thing almost any American can relate to is fast food. Statistics show that every day, 1 in 4 people eat fast food. Also, over the past thirty years, the prevalence of obesity and obesity-related diseases in the U.S. has risen sharply. Some consider that doing taxes is easier than eating healthy. Why is that? Has fast food taken over the health of America? Is the convenience of a McDonald’s restaurant on practically every street to blame? U.S. citizens should recognize what they are feeding themselves is hardly nutritious. The fast food industry was introduced to America in 1921, when White Castle was founded. They reinvented the burger, and made cheap, convenient food, which caught the attention of Americans. Thirty years later, McDonald’s was introduced and many more fast food chains followed. The industry has been booming ever since. There are over 200,000 fast food restaurant locations in the United States. “According to the National Restaurant Association, American sales of fast food totaled $163.5 billion in 2005” (Wilson). The fast food industry’s total earnings are moving at a fast rate. Statistics show that the earnings are drastically increasing each year. According to Statista.com, “By 2018, this figure [industry earnings] was forecasted to exceed 210 billion” ("Topic: Fast Food Industry").

Eating fast food can actually become an addiction. One ingredient commonly used in fast food is known as casein. Casein causes an “opiate-like effect on the brain caused by a specific protein breakdown sequence that makes it highly addictive…” (White). Casein is naturally found in milk. The fast food version is made by mixing it with other chemicals. This is often found in French fries, buns, milkshakes, and desserts. Habit forming ingredients that leave people wanting more could easily be to blame for the rise in