3 Reasons Why Fast Food is Ruining Your Life
Ignoring the rather aggressive post title for a moment, fast food consumption has no doubt been on the rise in recent years and the average diet in America has been on the decline, from a nutritional standpoint, concurrently. According to a gallup poll, almost 60% of young adults aged 18-29 eat out once a week or more. This trend, along with the three reasons I write about below, provides a bleak outlook for the future where health is concerned. Naturally, Burger King is far from the only culprit here, and for the purposes of my article it simply serves as a memorable moniker, representing the entirety of fast food in America.
Photo: Burger King
Health Risks
Let’s start with the most obvious one in most people’s mind: the health risk. Even though, since childhood, we have all been told to eat our veggies, it seems as if the temptation of fast food as overcome that initiative in a big way.
While eating a Whopper every now and then won’t kill you, picking up a nasty habit certainly could, even as benign as it may initially seem. In 2015, the FDA confirmed that trans fats directly correlate with high cholesterol, which is known to be a root cause of heart disease. Eating just one double quarter pounder from BK will cause you to exceed your trans fat requirements by 50%, and that figure does not include fries, drinks, desserts, or other meals during the day. Based on the previously referenced poll, we can assume that the average young adult consumes fast food once a week at least. Fast food intake is highly correlated with other unhealthy eating habits, so it is safe to assume that even if it is only consumed once a week, the consumption of similar foods will likely lead to an excess amount of trans fats on a general basis. Ideally, the number of trans fats you consume would be close to zero, but it is recommended that you do not exceed 2 grams per day. Violating these guidelines consistently can lead to an increase in low-density lipoprotein (“bad” cholesterol) and ultimately can increase risk of heart attack by 50% when compared to people who consumed fewer trans fats. If the risk of heart failure is not enough, maybe the estimated gain of two extra pounds per year on average for frequent diners at fast food establishments will.
$$$
This one may come as a surprise to the (likely) majority of people who believe fast food is the cheapest option we have. News flash, it’s far from it. A 2010 study by Andrew Mcdermott and Mark Stephens revealed that, contrary to popular belief, it is actually less expensive to eat a “healthy” diet recommended by government scientists than it is to eat a diet consisting primarily of fast food. Over the course of a year, the researchers estimate that there is approximately a $5,279 difference in favor of eating store bought foods, to include meat, dairy, fruit, grains, and frozen vegetables. This figure does not account for transportation, a factor which in reality may further increase the financial disparity between store bought and fast food.
Opportunity Cost
To me, this is the most overlooked aspect of fast food or an unbalanced diet in general. By eating for the sake of convenience on a regular basis, which according to a poll is why 92% of us choose fast food, you miss out on the opportunity to enjoy your food with family and friends, improve your fitness, impress that guy or girl at work, expand your palate, or even learn how to cook an amazing meal for yourself. Not only are there health risks and undue financial burden associated with prolonged and habitual fast food intake, but by choosing a Whopper over lemon pepper grilled chicken with a side of asparagus, you are forfeiting the chance to learn how to prepare a bomb meal for your family, or start that new diet you have been talking about for months.
Plug
Thank you for reading this post, I hope you enjoyed and maybe even learned something. Feel free to come follow me @jwmcclain on Steemit where you can find more content like this! Have a great day everyone.
Sources
http://news.gallup.com/poll/163868/fast-food-major-part-diet.aspx
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-and-cholesterol/
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much-trans-fat-safe-diet-4836.html
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/much-trans-fat-safe-diet-4836.html
http://www.stfm.org/Portals/49/Documents/FMPDF/FamilyMedicineVol42Issue4McDermott280.pdf
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Oh wow! This is overwhelming.. Thank you!
It really sucks how easy it is to just go through a drive threw vs taking the time to go to the store get good ingredients and cook a good meal. I used to work for burger king and besides the fact that the food is unhealthy, most of the times its been sitting there for a while and the food is so crappy. The higher ups do not care about this even though they pretend they do. all they care about is that drive through timer above the window, since thats what gets them the bonus.
Thanks for this great enlightment. We've got to be careful of what we eat.
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THANK YOU FOR THIS INCREDIBLE INFORMATION
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