As
we’ve seen there are lots of harms and disadvantages in eating fast foods that
should make us to stop consuming it. Fast food causes obesity and health
problems. It could even endanger our future generation. It is not always easy
to stay a healthy and balanced life style but it is time for us to correct our
nutritional needs by eating better, doing exercise and improving our education
about nutrition. A healthy diet helps us to live longer! Healthy food cannot
only impact the length of our life but also the quality of our life. By eating
healthy foods we stay healthy, fit and confident. We have all heard
about these things before but let’s put them into action and apply them into our daily lives.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Fast Food Health Issues
According to Eric Schlosser “ The typical
American now consumes approximately three hamburgers and four orders of French
fries every week” (Schlosser). Fast food has a very high energy density; about
65% higher than a typical diet and twice as high as recommended healthy diets,
which make us eat more than we normally do.
The consumption of
fast food leads people to the health problems:
- Extra salt is added to fast food to preserve and add taste, so people will consume a whole day’s worth of salt in just one fast food meal. Consuming too much salt can cause high blood pressure and heart disease.
- Additives enhance flavor, texture and color in fast food. These additives like colorants and sweeteners can be extremely harmful to our health. For example sulfide, which helps to keep the foods fresh, can cause sever allergic reactions.
- The high fat and cholesterol in most fast foods can cause a variety of heart disease, heart attacks, high cholesterol, and strokes.
- The amount of sugar in fast food items is high and some items are containing more than the recommended daily amount in just one food item. Therefore those who eat fast food are more likely to develop diabetes.
Eating fast food Endangers future generation
An USDA study shows, “Thirty percent of American children were
found to eat fast food on a typical day”. The image to the right shows how
today's children get obese by eating supersize meals in fast food restaurants
like McDonalds. The consumption of fast food in today’s children “will lead to
immune deficiency, high cholesterol, and diseases showing at an earlier age
than we used to see” (Crabtree). For example most of the sweet snacks and
fruit-flavored cookies are high in sugar, which increase the childhood
diabetes.
In addition, nutrients such as fiber, vitamins, minerals and
essential oils are lacking in fast food and this leads to malnutrition in
American’s children. Being malnourished stunts the growth and it makes harder
for children to concentrate, so they won’t be able to learn as much at school.
Food poisoning also can be one of the short-term effects of
consuming fast food. Food poisoning is more likely to kill children than adult.
Those who get food poisoning have severe cramping and bloody diarrhea and even
if the child could live through the experience, there is a large possibility
for them to have a permanent brain damage and damage of other organs as well.
Obviously children are extremely impacted by the decision to eat fast foods.
Supersize Meals and Their Calories
Have you ever wondered how many calories is in your dinner that looks kind of large, whether you are eating at a fast food restaurant or a sit down family restaurant? In a report, "Children's menus supersize the calories" written by Nanci Hellmich states that, "A child's grilled cheese sandwich, french fries and a soda total more than 1000 calories at one chain restaurant" (Hellmich). More and more children are become obese because of the amount of calories they intake from these oversized meals. In some restaurants they make their portions bigger, therefore more calorie intake for the costumer who is eating this food.
In the two charts above show how much calories we are supposed to eat a day and how many calories there are in some of their food. For example a 13 year old male who does not exercise moderately, eats a Whopper with fries and a soda is going to be well over 670 calories. That is more then a quarter of how much he should eat per day. In the gray chart, it compares the huge burgers with the salads that are available to order.
Fast food restaurants are starting to put the amount of calories that the meal has onto the menu. These fast food chains should have done this a long time ago. So that their costumers can see how much of their day's calories they are consuming with just one burger, fries, and a drink. In the like below is an article on how McDonald's is starting to put the calories on their menu.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
“Supersize Me” – Movie facts & Argument
We all know that fast food restaurents such as McDonalds, Burger King, In N Out, etc can lead to serious risks to our health if consumed on a frequent basis. But what would the consequences be if taken on a daily basis? Well I took the liberty of watching SuperSize Me (2004) about a person who decides to just that.
The Plot: We are introduced to an adult male who is a vegan. He decides to take the challenge of going on an all McDonalds diet for 30 days.
Why? He wants to prove that consuming McDonalds can lead to future health risks such as obesity. Furthermore hopes to rid McDonalds of its Supersize deal.
The Rules:
- Can only supersize when asked.
- Can only eat food from McDonalds, water included.
- Has to have everything on the menu at least once.
- Must eat three meals a day.
The Facts (Acquired from film):
- Small size here in the US is the largest size in other countries across the globe
- Over 46million people have McDonalds on any given day around the world
- In 2001 McDonalds spent 1.4 billion on advertisements
- 1 in 4 of the McDonalds in Manhattan had no nutritional facts
- 72% of the people who eat at McDonalds are heavy users
A study was done where they called 100 nutritionists and asked whether fast food was a leading cause of obesity in America. Ninety-Five out of the One-Hundred said yes.
-Children being interrogated http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2oFpUW11RPs
The (His) Results:
- Gained 10lbs in 5 days (that’s 2lbs per day)
- Gained 24.5lbs while on the 30day McDonalds diet.
- Took him 5 months to lose the 24.5lbs
*6 weeks after the release of the movie, McDonalds pulled its Supersize meals from its menu. Though they denied it had anything to do with the movie.
The (My) Argument: It can be proven by this film that supersize meals can lead to health risks such as obesity and heart disease. Some of you though may be thinking “of course if you go on an all McDonalds diet you’ll face such risks.” My question then would be what if he would’ve gone an all salad diet? Would such health risks also come up in this occasion? The answer to that would mostly likely be no. Therefore fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, based on the facts of this movie, pose threats to our Health.
As presented in this picture, is fat the next Tobacco? In other words are humans now becoming so addicted to food that it is leading to deaths because of it? The Answer: Yes
“I guess the big question is, who do you want to see go first? You? Or them?” -Spurlock Meaning are you going to allow fast food chains to make you unhealthy or are you going to give it up and further decrease their business.
-Vincent Q.
Fast-food restaurants are fast and convenient, a homemade meal can feed more people and cost about the same or even cheaper than an unhealthy meal for example a meal from McDonald's.
The image above shows how family's can easily enjoy some time with each other making dinner. Most people prefer their mothers meals for they are "the best". For example, many people state "my moms cooking is better". By stating that they obviously will not turn down an opportunity to eat homemade foods. While they enjoy a healthy meal that feeds more people than a meal from Mcdonalds and is made from home they are enjoying their families presence and spending some time with them even if it is just 20 minutes or so. Eating homemade meals can satisfy more peoples hunger than any supersized meal from a fast-food restaurant. As fast-food restaurants are known to be fast, they are eating our money as fast as they are serving their unhealthy meal.
The image on the left is an image of a homemade dinner and below that is another image of a meal at a fast-food restaurant. Which one looks more? The homemade dinner is much more, meaning it can serve a lot more people compared to a meal you get for only a couple dollar less from Mcdonalds, or Burger King. Even a super sized meal serves a single person but costs a dollar less compared to going to a market and getting groceries to make a homemade meal. Even though, super sized meals are big they cost the same as making a homemade dinner but yet does not feed as much as a homemade meal does. "In general, despite extensive government subsidies, hyper-processed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home. You can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14, and feed four or even six people. If that’s too much money, substitute a meal of rice and canned beans with bacon, green peppers and onions; it’s easily enough for four people and costs about $9" (Bittman). Fast-food restaurants seem cheap because an individual order costs cheap but when ordering a full meal for more than 2 people the price adds up. For the same price one can buy items to cook a homemade meal that is healthier and can probably feed more people. If people really think about it, they will see that fast-food restaurants are cheap but homemade meals can be as cheap and can serve more while being healthier than a stop at a drive-thru.
The links above is another article that describes and states how homemade meals can be cheap and have a better outcome for it is more healthier for your body. Also, the articles argue how homemade meals can as easily be as cheap as fast-food restaurants. I agree with the author of the article for it is fully true. My mother for example, strongly believes that going grocery shopping and making an homemade meal will provide much more food for about the same price or less than ordering super-sized meals for the family from a fast-food restaurant. By doing so, your meal is also much healthier. We live in a society where everyone wants more for less or just more, so by ordering super-sized meals you are not receiving more than you think.
Questions Surrounding the Issue & Answers
1. What is a Supersize Meal?
A term used by McDonalds to refer to larger than normal portions of French fries and soft drinks. Other fast food restaurants use different terms for it.
2. What’s the difference between a Supersize meal and a regular meal?
A supersize meal is a larger than normal portion. For example at McDonalds a Supersize soda is 42oz as compared to large which has 32oz.
3. Is a Supersize McDonalds meal healthy?
No. Supersize meals at McDonalds and any other fast food restaurant contain amounts of sodium, sugar, and calories that are far above the daily intake that is required.
4. Do Supersize meals lead to health risks such as obesity?
Yes and No. If consumed daily or weekly the risk for health problems such as obesity increase. Though if consumed on a monthly basis those chances decrease. Like they say you are what you eat.
-Vincent Q.
Introduction
Obesity has increased in the past several years. In the article "Overeating from Supersize Meal Portion" Elizabeth Hartney eaplains, "There are two major factos that account for the obesity epidemic: consumption of more calories than we really need and an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, resulting in a lack of exercise" (Hartney). Supersize meals are one of the causes of obesity among the United States. Most fast food restaurants have a supersize option. Although, most families often believe when ordering a supersize meal at McDonalds or Burger King they think that they are getting more for less. However many do not consider the health issues and calorie intake of supersized meals. Watching the movie "Supersize Me" will also give you an insight of how supersized meals are leading into obesity.
About Us
This is Maryam. I am an international student. I studied Biology in my home country and then I came to US in order to get into the medical school. I am currently a senior in Biotechnology major. Fast food is a very bad food. That is the common knowledge about fast food these days. The funny thing is that most of people does not seem to care about it and they continue eating fast food. By doing this research I figured that the majority of the foods served at fastfood restaurants contain a huge amount of calories and tons of fats and they are also high in pretty much everything else that you would want your food to be low in. So in short, fast food is a kind of food you should avoid eating. I believe that having a healthy diet is one of the smartest things that I have done in my life. By doing this blog, I hope that I can inform you about some of the harms of eating super-sized meals in fast food restaurants and show you that having a healthy diet is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.
Hey my name is Vincent Queazada. I am currently a freshman attending Cal State Northridge hoping to earn a degree in Management. As an employee of a local grocery market, that tends to promote it self as having a healthy selection of foods, I want to forward that message into this blog. My intention in being apart of this blog is to help get the word out about super size meals and its effects on your health.
My name is Elizabeth Arouchian. I am currently a freshman with the major of Child and Adolescence Development. This topic relates to my everyday life because I am surrounded by food everyday. As a younger sister of an older brother who studies this topic I have realized the importance of eating healthy from him. By achieving this blog I hope to give a message that will encourage others to eat healthy for I have seen it leads to a better life style and to show how specifically super-sized meals are harmful. I have learned that super sized meals are harmful to your body and contain a lot of calories. By learning more about this topic I too will be eating less fast-food restaurant meals. I found it interesting that such meals can cause you to become overweight in less than a month. I recommend readers to take this topic seriously in their life for it can be life threatening and harmful.
My name is Rebecca. I am a freshman, Art being my major. I believe that eating healthy is very important in one's life. I personally try to do my best to eat healthy. After doing the research for this blog, I do not think that I will be eating fast food at all because of all the calories are in these meals. By spreading information and statistics on this blog, I hope more people realize how many calories are in the burger and fries they are consuming for dinner that night. There are hundreds and hundreds of calories in just one burger that can harm your health if you eat fast food more than once a week. I recommend people to try to not eat fast food at all, but eat a healthy, well-proportioned meal at home.
Hey my name is Vincent Queazada. I am currently a freshman attending Cal State Northridge hoping to earn a degree in Management. As an employee of a local grocery market, that tends to promote it self as having a healthy selection of foods, I want to forward that message into this blog. My intention in being apart of this blog is to help get the word out about super size meals and its effects on your health.
My name is Elizabeth Arouchian. I am currently a freshman with the major of Child and Adolescence Development. This topic relates to my everyday life because I am surrounded by food everyday. As a younger sister of an older brother who studies this topic I have realized the importance of eating healthy from him. By achieving this blog I hope to give a message that will encourage others to eat healthy for I have seen it leads to a better life style and to show how specifically super-sized meals are harmful. I have learned that super sized meals are harmful to your body and contain a lot of calories. By learning more about this topic I too will be eating less fast-food restaurant meals. I found it interesting that such meals can cause you to become overweight in less than a month. I recommend readers to take this topic seriously in their life for it can be life threatening and harmful.
My name is Rebecca. I am a freshman, Art being my major. I believe that eating healthy is very important in one's life. I personally try to do my best to eat healthy. After doing the research for this blog, I do not think that I will be eating fast food at all because of all the calories are in these meals. By spreading information and statistics on this blog, I hope more people realize how many calories are in the burger and fries they are consuming for dinner that night. There are hundreds and hundreds of calories in just one burger that can harm your health if you eat fast food more than once a week. I recommend people to try to not eat fast food at all, but eat a healthy, well-proportioned meal at home.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)