Effects on Eating Fast or Processed Foods

Effects on Eating Fast or Processed Foods Today, many people eat fast and processed foods instead of a home cooked meal. Most people think that fast food is fast, cheap and convenient. However, at the same time, fast food is contributing to a big social problem in the United States. In the US alone eight out of ten adults over the age of 25 is overweight due to fast and or processed foods, and not eating the right types of food. It’s important to obtain a healthy diet or the effects can be horrific of many chronic health risks such as: obesity, heart disease, Insulin Resistance, diabetes, and or even death.
The number of fast food restaurants has doubled in more than 30 years in the United States. From Numberof.net, “There are 160,000 fast-food restaurants in America. These restaurants serve more than 50 million Americans daily”. From McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, to Wendy’s, the oils alone cause immense amount of health problems.
The average calorie intake for an adult is from 2000-2500 calories per day, depending on height and weight. At Burger King alone, just for one Bacon Double Cheeseburger Deluxe is 700 calories, that’s not counting a medium soda and fries. Big Breakfast Platter from McDonald’s, which contains 1370 calories and nearly 65 grams of fat. Most restaurant meals are loaded with fat, sugar, and calories.
Fast food is one of the main reasons for the rapid increase in the rate of obesity. Over Two-thirds, more than 190 million Americans are overweight or obese, due to fast foods. As from theyesword.com, “through studies into the question of whether fast food causes obesity, researchers have found that families that choose fast food as a meal three or more times a week do run a higher risk of obesity”. People can go through the drive-thru window order food without having to get out of their cars. This poor diet and lack of exercise increases obesity. According to the American Medical Association, “being obese means that 30% of your ideal body weight is constituted by fat”. All the excess fats can lower your energy levels which in turn lowers the amount of exercise activity. In turn, many more people with obesity in the United States could carry $1,500 more each year on health care, about 41 percent more than an average-weight, healthy person would.
Everybody knows that fast food isn’t healthy but few realize exactly how unhealthy it truly is. Children who commonly eat fast foods have the same risk of developing clogged arteries as an adult five times their age. According to WebMD, “Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S”. To prevent heart disease you must keep your cholesterol low. Which is a waxy substance produced by the liver and found in certain foods, like: Whole-milk dairy products, butter, cream, ice cream, Cream cheese, ect. Most of processed food is made up of sodium, salt, which is an ingredient companies put in fast food to make meat and dairy products last longer. Too much sodium causes 35 percent of cardiac attacks in the world, show the results of the research of Canadian scientists. Canadian research scientists, which included 52 countries, showed that people who applied "westerly diet" based on meat, eggs and fast food, most cases of heart attack, while the risk was much lower in those who ate more fruits and vegetables. Insulin Resistance is a step before diabetes; is when the body is unable to us the cells of the body to respond to insulin. Meaning the body can’t break down the sugars from the carbohydrates of the food. It then can’t run the energy off the fat cells, similar to Diabetes. Many Americans can also get this from bad dieting. To prevent this someone must eat less fat and calories; less highly sweetened drinks and more high fiber foods is an important part of a healthy life. With all the high cholesterol, sodium, eating high amounts of sugars, and not exercising can cause type two diabetes. Stated from Mayoclinic, “Type 2 diabetes is when your body is resistant to the effects of insulin. Untreated, the consequences of type 2 diabetes can be life-threatening”.
People would argue that eating healthy could become expensive, depending on where you live, what you eat, and how well you cook; it’s possible that dining out is more cost effective than preparing your own meals. Eating at home also requires more planning, but in the long run it’s more healthy then eating out.
“In the United States, more than 50,000,000 people depend on fast food. Over 110 billion dollars are spent by Americans alone for different types of fast food…,” Stated SweetAdditions.Net. Talked about on HealthTree, “The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study (2010) monitored the eating habits, recreation and activity levels of 3,021 young adults over 15 years. The results suggested that fast food can cause extensive health issues, and that the connection goes beyond fast food and obesity.” Also, “The study also proved that regular fast food consumption increased the risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.” If the fast food chains don’t make a difference in their high processed, greasy foods; we’re going to have a big problem. Not only being in chronic health risks such as: obesity, heart disease, Insulin Resistance, diabetes, and or even death, bigger, but the world will never know till it happens.

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Cited: "Can Fast Food Cause Obesity?" TheYesWord.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.      &lt;http://www.theyesword.com/fast_food_cause_obesity.htm&gt;. "Number of fast food restaurants in America." NumberOf.Net. N.p., 7 Oct. 2010.      Web Staff, Mayo Clinc. "Heart Healthy Diet." MayoClinic.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb.      2011 Where America Stands. CBSNews.com. CBS News, 7 Jan. 2010. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.      &lt;http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6069484n&amp;tag=related;photovideo&gt;.