As you march down the crowded city of Big Apple,
New York City, or any major city around United States, you can easily spot
McDonalds, Burger Kings, Taco Bells and numerous different kinds of fast food
industries. You can easily step into those fast food restaurants and order
yourself the new dollar meal or the premium combo that now comes with extra
large fries or extra large fountain beverages.
But are you aware of what is in those fast
foods? According to Dessa Bergen-Cico, fellow of the American Academy of Health
Care providers and assistant professor of department of public health in
Syracuse University, states that most of the consumers do not know detailed
information of what is in fast foods however they are aware of the potential
damage that can be inflicted upon the human body. Nevertheless, everyday more
people are stopping by and visiting fast food chain restaurants than any other
restaurants in the world. Furthermore the fast food is taking its toll by
leading adults to gain more mass, furthermore something that is more
devastating is that the obesity is reaching down to the children as well. There
has been significant numbers of sign where kids appear to have problem with
blood pressure comparable to a 30-year-old man.
With such terrifying information from the intake
of necessary basic nutrient, food, people started taking serious initiatives
starting with pointing fingers. Doctor Glyn Morgan, professor in Maxwell School
in Syracuse University in Political Science, Philosophy and Ethics, claims “it
is difficult for one to accept obesity and the fact that they [consumers]
brought this health matter upon themselves by their [consumer’s] decisions”
therefore the leading option for majority of the people was to blame on the
fast food industries. Nevertheless, we, the consumers, cannot blame the fast
food industries, as it is us that are pushing the fast food industries
to obtain methods to make the meat more fat and juicy within such fast time
period. Can you imagine yourself standing and waiting for a time period of 20
to 30 minutes for a perfect Big Mac from McDonald? The answer is no.
Nowadays the waiting period is a rare and unwanted occasion for us to intervene
with. Just as how we crave for better and faster technology, we also are leaning
this idea on our food to be made faster and tastier in a quick timely manner.
Therefore, ultimately, regardless of the fact that fast food can have
devastating affect on one’s health, the main cause of obesity and many other
health and society issues are caused by our own decision-making.
What is stopping you from approaching that
kitchen and make some healthy pasta or some egg salad? According to the
research, Fast Food Shake Up by Charles S. Clarke, the three primary
reasons why people lean more toward fast food is because they are fast, taste
good and cheap. The decision to just take a little walk or take a ride fore
five minutes to get a burger combo may be less time consuming than making your
own food. However there are also different kinds of initiatives that you can
take to make food faster and tastier at home, furthermore sometimes getting
fast food can be more time consuming.
Similar to how people get addicted to nicotine or
smoking, we are also getting addicted to the taste offered by the fast food
industries. In order for us to break apart from this horrid addiction, we can
start lessening the consumption of fast food and start to cook more often for
our health. By taking advantage of advanced technology it is getting easier for
us to get tastier recipes! Promoting Healthy Choices: Information versus
Convenience by Jessica Wisdom, George Lowenstein and Julie S. Down states
the average cost of fast food is roughly around seven to nine dollars per
sitting when for home food varies through eight to twelve dollars. The price
difference is there but not in such a margin for us to always choose fast food.
Article, Fast-food Consumption among US adults
and children by five nutritional epidemiology specialists from Pennington
Biomedical Research Center of Louisiana State University, lifts society issues
that are now arising along with other health issues within the population. The
main issues are arising from the cause of obesity. Sadly, children who are
suffering from obesity are many times looked down upon by others and therefore
leading to depression and other mental cases. As the children are our upcoming
future we have to implement initiatives. Remember as people consume more and
more fast food the population of society who are suffering from obesity also
increases.
So what can we do? Start your day off with
the RIGHT choice. Research from Promoting Healthy Choices:
Information versus Convenience shows that as one start with a good choice
of food, it leads to better choices and health benefits are surely reflected.
As for the children, they grow looking up from the basic actions we take such
as what kind of food we consume. Making better decisions will surely lead to
healthier life not only for us but for the children as well. Remember, every
time we step into fast food restaurants we are being in support of the fast
food industries. As we, the people, start to make healthier options, surely
even the fast food industries will start to shift their direction to healthier
and more benefitting options. A little glimpse of hope can be seen in the
research of Promoting Healthy Choices: Information versus Convenience by
Brian Wansink and Koert Van Ittersum as they discovered through changing the
lighting and music in restaurant can lessen the consumption of fast food and
enjoy the food even more!
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| Artwork of Uncle Sam done by R_Carlisle from Flickr.com |
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