Vanessa Lagasca
Mr. Clark Owen
English 1301.17
February 19, 2013
Cause and effects of eating fast food
Technology has caused an increase in how much people eat out and this has resulted in problems such as problems with our nutrition, our weight and our health. With all the technology out there it’s easy for us to see advertising for fast food everywhere from cell phones, magazines, on the internet and on TV it’s everywhere and we can’t get away from it. People are attracted to eating fast food for the simple fact that it’s cheap and it’s easy to get or because it tastes good, but the cause of eating the food isn’t as harmful as the effects of eating the food. According to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, eating fast-food meals two or more times each week can threaten your weight and your health. Even though you might like to indulge in eating out occasionally like pizza, burgers, or Chinese it won’t hurt your metabolism, making a habit of eating out, and eating lots of food with high-calories like fast foods will hurt you in the long run. What makes people want to eat out at fast food places and how does it affect one’s health. Most people either eat out because it convenient or because there are so many fast food places all around us, but it can cause weight gain, an imbalance in your nutrition, and it can affect your body in a big way not only can you gain weight, you can end up with health problems and diseases like diabetes and heart diseases.
Why do most people eat out? Because we are attracted to all the advertisement we see all around us with all the new technology out there it easy for us to see announcements for the latest Taco Bell and McDonalds products whether it be from our cell phones, TV at home or on the computer, we can now even hear announcements over the radio while were in the car letting us know about deals and specials for many different fast food chains. A lot of it also has to due to having a busy lifestyle, the economy, and a vast majority of fast food locations all over the place. With all the advances in technology it’s easy for fast food chains to advertise almost anywhere, more food in front of your face makes easy to entice customers to try their products, and large serving sizes at many fast food chains contribute to weight gain. If you notice all around us there isn’t a wide variety of healthy food restaurants and there are only a handful of grocery stores, there are double the amount of fast food places and not enough healthy options, it because easier for us as a consumer to get in our cars and go through the drive through and go home rather than spend the time to go to the grocery store and make food at home. It is also cheaper for some families on a budget to get cheaper food for instance, from the dollar menu rather than buying only a couple things at the grocery store. One doesn’t have to spend the time buy the food or making it, it’s a quick way to eat for cheap. Instead of looking for healthy options, when there really isn’t many to begin with. Most big cities do have those options for healthier life styles, but many places where there is poverty there seems to be more of the fast food restaurants.
How can eating out affect your nutrition? Well for starters it can you aren’t going to be getting enough fruits and vegetables, most fast food meals lack a significant amount of fruits and vegetables. Many fast food meals contain little or no dairy products, and mainly use white flour and don’t use healthy oils when preparing foods. If you become nutritionally deficient, you may develop health problems such as osteoporosis or bone loss from a lack of vitamin D or experience a weak immune system from a lack of vitamin A. If you only eat fast food, you could develop a rare vitamin C deficiency that can result in scurvy. Maintaining a nutritionally balanced diet is not easy with fast food, because there is no control over how they are cooked. For example, some are cooked