Fast Food and the Obesity Epidemic

1340 Words3 Pages

We all know fast food is bad for you, but why do we keep deciding to eat it? We are responsible for our actions and choices. We choose to eat fast food which is causing us to gain weight and to become obese. Obesity is the number one problem in America.

Fast food is food that is prepared fast and served quickly. Fast food is precooked ingredients that has been reheated and served to customers. Fast foods are high in sugar, fats, and starches. The ingredients used in fast food restaurants have no nutritional values at all. Eric Schlosser from Food Inc. says “the way we eat now has changed more in the last fifty years than in the previous ten thousand years.” Most foods in fast food restaurants contain MSG or Monosodium Glutamate. MSG is concentrated salts added to food to give more flavor. MSG turns into unwanted body fat if you eat it regularly. McDonalds Big Mac “540 calories and 29 g of fat” and a Medium fries “380 calories and 19 g of fat” and don’t forget the drink Large Iced tea “280 calories and 0 g of fat”. The Average Big Mac Meal at McDonald’s is about 920 calories, 360 of them are pure fat and the equals around 41 grams more than 3/4ths of your daily fat intake. A Whopper Meal at Burger King comes in at 1510 calories, almost twice as much as McDonalds Big Mac. The Whopper Meal has 57 grams of fat way more than your daily fat intake.

These foods are highly processed, full of fat, calories and sodium. You could easily take in 1,500 calories from just one meal alone. Keep in mind that a general caloric recommendation for Americans is 1,500-1,800 calories per-day and around 50-60 grams of total fat. Choosing a typical fast food meal every day can lead to increased calories which can lead to weight gain an...

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...ood Think Tank

February 4, 2013. Web. December 5, 2013. http://foodtank.org/news/2013/02/justice-for-big-foods-victims-three-major-fast-food-lawsuits-in-the-past-de

• Murphy Jenny. The Super-sizing America. Diet Health and Beauty News

June 2002.Web, December 5, 2013. http://whatscookingamerica.net/HealthBeauty/SuperSizingAmerica.htm

• Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity. National Bureau of Economic Research

December 1, 2013. Web. December 5, 2013. http://www.nber.org/bah/2009no1/w14721.html

• Fatburn-secrets.com. Scary Fast Food Statistics & Facts.

2009. December 5, 2013

http://www.fatburn-secrets.com/fast-food-statistics.html

• Averette Courtney. Don’t Blame Fast Food. The Daily Targum.

September 7, 2012, November 4, 2013.Web.December 5 2013. http://www.dailytargum.com/don-t-blame-fast-food/article_209d4a14-f894-11e1-9c97-0019bb30f31a.html

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