America is one of the fattest countries in the world and is getting fatter by the second. Fast food used to be simple, small portions, less calories, and even simple menus. Now wherever you turn, there is a restaurant just right around the corner. Just in the past ten years the range of food choices has emerged. Fast food is the reason why health problems have become a major health issue in the United States. Although fast food has made it easier on Americans, Americans are at risk of preventable health issues, like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes; therefore, fast food has impacted Americans in a negative way. Indeed, fast food has always been a part of the daily lives of Americans, but lately, it has begun to change and is changing …show more content…
The newest way is ordering online or even over the phone. If an individual is in a rush, all the individual has to do so is run in and pay, and the food is ready. Fast food restaurants also have fast food windows, which cut down the amount of time that diners actually spend going into the restaurant. It is important to realize that obesity is a major health problem in the United States, and excessive weight can result in many life threatening problems. Americans are affected by obesity everywhere they go, such as school, shopping, eating out, and even the movies. High fats, sugar, and sodium found in fast food is a cause of obesity. Fast food companies put unknown chemicals in their food products to make them taste good. These chemicals have the ability to make people crave more and more of the food, this is called binge eating. Binge eating is another reason why more people are becoming obese. However excess weight causes strain on the heart which put a high risk on a person for developing heart disease. The heart is a muscle that gets energy from the blood which carries nutrients and oxygen. Eating too much salt contributes to this disease. In processed food, like fast foods, there is a high amount of
Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a
Obesity can lead to a number of different health issues, one of the least deadly but most popular is high blood pressure. One half of Americans aged 55-64 have high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease and stoke- and two in five are obese according to Health, United States 2005(Obesity, High Blood Pressure). High blood pressure is an increase in the amount of blood your heart is pushing through the body with every heartbeat. The increase in pressure thickens the heart muscle, which makes it work harder, while as the heart, muscle thickens the harder it is to contract and relax. This strain on the heart over time could lead to heart failure. High blood pressure is a very common effect obesity has on the body simply because the more a person weighs the blood is being pushed throw the body. Of course, there are medications that can lower high blood pressure, although losing weight for an obese person with high blood pressure is a more recommended remedy. With high blood pressure, there is a far more likelihood of having a heart attack.
The government with all of its power is now trying to tell you what you can and cannot eat. It is true that America has an obesity problem but people’s freewill should be respected in regarding individual lifestyle choices. Americans should have the freedom to choose what food they eat and the lifestyles they choose regardless of the impact on their health.
With the fast pace of Americans, they do not have to travel far to find a fast food restaurants. While families are working double shift jobs and less time to cook and take care of other family duties. The speed of fast food can provide convenience in
Its lunchtime and you feel like you need something to fill you up and you need something fast so you go to your favorite fast food chain and get the greasiest meal possible because it tastes good, but that good taste is leading you down a road of death. The choices we make for our lunch or breakfast or even dinner will have a lasting effect on our health but we still go for that one dollar McDonalds burger that tastes really good and is so cheap that it would be an inconvenience to buy that five dollar McDonalds salad that would actually provide a healthy dose of nutrition to your body. Obesity can cause many lasting effects such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, joint problems, cancer and psychological effects. Today’s American society is at a very dangerous risk of death that they don’t even think of from all the food we eat that has no nutritional value to our bodies. Travis Stork, M.D stated, “Our food choices are so dangerously unhealthy that eating-related diseases send twice as many people
Here in America we have a wide variety of foods but choose the less healthy over the
Americans live in an “on the go” type world; with the fastest and newest technology, easy to access internet sites, faster fuel-efficient automobiles, and even a quicker way to pick up a family dinner. Since the nineteen-fifties, companies began developing fast food chains, the first became the famous McDonald's. Currently a fast food restaurant can be found on every corner in a developed city. Every famous drive-thru restaurant was developed by American companies, due to the fact that America is known as the fastest and busiest country in the world. With the current fast-paced country, hard-working Americans cannot find the time to cook or go to the grocery stores. Therefore, Americans tend to prefer buying food from fast food chains because
Americans should limit the amount of fast food they consume because fast food leads to avoidable diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. Obesity is a serious disease that has negative effects on a human body. People who consume fast food and are overweight or obese have greater risk of developing diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and bone and joint disease. There are many reasons people become obese, such as genetics, lifestyle and the way your body burns its energy. Genetics have shown that you are more likely to become obese if your parents are obese. Your chance of being overweight increases 25 percent if one or both of your parents is obese. Heredity also strongly influences where you carry weight the hips or around the middle. Metabolic - How you expend energy differs from how someone else will. Metabolic and hormonal factors are not the same for everyone, but these factors play a role in determining weight gain. Recent studies show that levels of ghrelin, a peptide hormone known to regulate appetite, and other peptides in the stomach, play a role in triggering hunger and giving you a feeling of fullness after eating. Lifestyle – Overeating in combination with a sedentary lifestyle, contributes to obesity. Changing your behavior can affect these lifestyle choices. If you eat a diet in which a high percentage of calories come from sugary, high-fat, refined foods, chances are you 'll gain weight. As more American families eat on the go and
First off, fast food has a drastic effect on people's health which is a fact that is frequently overlooked. Americans are moving away from home cooked meals and moving toward nutrient poor fast food. Surveys actually show that more people eat their daily food as snacks or fast food than do home cooked meals or packed lunches (One Green Planet). Needless to say, Americans as a whole have come to prefer snacks over sit down meals. With this new
Although there is a ton of obvious issues, the unnoticed reason why so many Americans are losing their touch on a healthy lifestyle is the amount of fast food chains dotted around all over the landscape. These restaurants are open twenty-four—seven and can get freshly processed food out in mere minutes. What people do not realize,
One out of every three Americans is obese while the majority of these obese people in the have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food became a big necessity. However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects like obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects
In America’s modern culture, fast food has become the most accustomed everyday meal choice for many families. Fast food is infamous for its cheap, budget friendly prices and wide range of meals with a surplus of choices for each. It's allowed americans more alternative ways of consuming food without having the worry of cooking at home. This increasing dependency that spans across the nation has made americans extremely adapted to the high sugar and fat content in their food, which may be dangerously affecting the nation’s overall health.
Fast food and obesity has been a major link that makes the American dining experience and unfortunately American Health most noteworthy to world specialists. About 60M of the American population is considered obese. Most significantly is that the impending danger of obesity concern has become a world phenomenon. The problem of obesity has crept quickly as fast as the spurt of fast foods all throughout the world. Though, people could not blame McDonaldization and Globalization.[6]
Fast food is one of the easiest ways to get food and eat it in a hurry. More people have been eating fast food rather than eating at home for years. The rate of fast food consumption has not slowed in over fifteen years (North). Americans in today’s society are busier than they have been. With people being busy they cannot find an easy way to make dinner, so they go to fast food restaurants to get food on the go. Many Americans also believe they are too busy to go shopping for groceries. Being busy is not the only thing that makes people eat fast food on the go. Why are numerous Americans eating fast food and not homemade food? Fast food is convenient and cheap for people who do not have time to cook or if they are too lazy. Advertisements encourage Americans to eat fast food as well.
Today, the names of fast food and obesity are synonymous worldwide. Since the 1970s, the number of fast food restaurants in the US has doubled, corresponding to approximately 300,000 new chains (Egger and Boyd 23). Equally, there has been an exponential increase in the number of obese people over the same period, turning obesity into a public health problem in the US and most developed nations (Egger and Boyd 25). Hence, there is a strong correlation between fast food and the prevalence of obesity. Arguably, there are numerous reasons for the obesity epidemic; nonetheless, poor nutrition, large portions, and a high fat and caloric content typical of fast food make it a great precursor to obesity. Conversely, studies have proved that people, including Americans, can become obese without consuming fast food, and that there is a strong genetic factor that is linked to obesity.