We're Dying for a Big Mac
You have been at the office all day long, slaving over a telephone and a computer terminal. It's lunch time, and you've got an hour to eat. No problem; there's a McDonald's a mere five minutes from the office. You could go there-it's hot, it's fast, and it's convenient. Besides, they supposedly have healthy foods like chicken and fish on the menu. Approximately 45.8 million people are served at fast food restaurants every day in America, and why not? Fast foods are pre-prepared meals that are served quickly at several restaurants strategically located throughout nearly every American city. But there is a downside to the convenience they provide: they simply are not good for us.
Americans are far more prone to heart disease, arteriosclerosis, and colon cancer than people in any other country in the world (Brown 35). This is due to high levels of fat and cholesterol found in many fatty foods, such as fast foods-and with approximately one-fifth of the American population dining on fast foods on a daily basis, we are definitely a fast-food nation. With the rapid increase in fast food restaurants spreading throughout the country, many Americans are sacrificing their health, establishing a habit-forming tradition, and risking addiction to fat in exchange for the convenience of fast food.
Fast food restaurants are breeding a generation of unhealthy Americans. According to the article "U.S. Can't be Too Rich or Too Fat," the author states that "America is the fattest country in the world . . . the number of obese people over age 17 jumped to 28 percent in 1985" (Kushner 13A). Especially worrisome is the fact that obesity can lead to high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholester...
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...ly doing is ruining their health by exposing themselves to such health problems as health disease, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, and colon cancer, establishing an unhealthy habitual routine of dining out and risking a possible addiction to the fats found in many fast foods due to neurotransmitters found in the brain. The convenience of fast food is just not worth the risks.
Works Cited
Brown, Michael. "The Trouble with Fast Foods." Science Digest 33 (1986): 30-37.
Engle, M. "What's in the Beef?" Glamour Oct. 1986: 90+.
Harris, J. "I Don't Want Good, I Want Fast." Forbes 1 Oct. 1990: 186.
Hill, D. "Why We're Constantly out to Munch." Current Health 36 (1988): 30-31.
Kushner, M. "America Can't Be Too Rich or Too Fat. Augusta Chronicle 15 May 1993: 13A.
Marano, H. "Chemistry and Craving." Psychology Today 26 (1993): 30-34+.