Today, fast food became a way of life. Some studies have shown that by just eating two fastfood meals a week, exactly what they ate didn’t seem to matter much. Breakfast sandwiches, fries, burgers and nuggets all meant a greater risk of obesity and it can increase the chances of obesity by 50%. It is not only fast, cheap and convenient, it also tastes good, making it harder to resist. It contains high levels of sodium, refined sugar, oil and refined flour. This combination alone can be harmful to one health as well as cause obesity.
Some fact show that Fast Food Cause Obesity?
Many doctors and experts are concern about obesity in today, with the rise in obesity they start to question and study whether fast food can cause obesity. There are many facts show that eating too many fast food meal per weeks will cause obesity. Some of the facts are:
- Obesity rates is increase every year
- Many people choosing fast food as their primary food
- Cheap and convenient, fast-food restaurants everywhere
- A lot of fast-food advertisements
It is little wonder that fast food and obesity go hand in hand. There have been countless studies that show that fast-foods are of poor and low nutritional value. The typical fast food meal consists of low quality carbohydrates, white bread, high levels of saturated fat and a sugary soda. Usually, it also has relatively low fiber content. Fast-food has high caloric density, before you know about it; you will have overeaten and put on weight. So it does cause obesity.
BMI and You
A lot of researchers report that fast food can cause obesity; especially those families that choose it as a meal more than three times a week do run a higher risk of obesity and larger BMI’s. The BMI, or body mass index, is a formula that doctors use to determine exactly how overweight a person is. A BMI of a number between 25 and 30 means the patient is overweight, if 30 or more is an indication of obesity. About 70% of adults in our country can be classified as overweight, and about 35% Adults is considered obese. These are very high figures and many of them having high BMI, when you know that obesity can lead to health problems, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
Our lifestyle choices also might affect our body weight as well. For example, if you and your family members visiting the fast food chains frequently, then you have a tendency to keep less healthy and high nutritional choices in at your home. The absence of fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains can make the effects of the fries and burgers that much more severe. Some study show that slender teenagers know how to take balance food, example if they choose it on occasion will balance that choice by consuming fewer calories the rest of the day. But overweight teenagers don’t know or can not control to take balance food. While there is evidence to show that it causes obesity, it seems that other factors and choices come into play as well.
The Risk for Diabetes
Experts on fast food and obesity say there is now an alarming rate of cardiovascular disease and diabetes in the United States. These numbers have continued to rise in the past few years. A study found those who eating lots of fast food gained 10 pounds more than those who did so less often, and increases twice the chance of developing an insulin disorder that directly linked to diabetes. The sedentary lifestyle, are rapidly becoming one of the top causes for type II diabetes and coronary artery disease. The high carbohydrate content of fast-food may cause the bodies inability to produce the amount of insulin needed to deal with the sugar levels produced after a meal. This may lead to increase sugar levels and block arteries.
Some Improvement
While some fast-food restaurants have begun offering healthier alternatives, including fruit, whole-grain bread, lower-fat fries, salads, as well as bottled water, rather than sodas.
However, this seems to be a rather weak and slow response, even though it is a step in the right direction. But, it does show that even the fast food restaurants acknowledge that their food cause obesity.
Always make your good choice
If you are concerned about whether fast food causes obesity, you can take time to practice healthy lifestyle, make choices for healthy eating that do not have to include avoiding fast-food all of the time. You can balance the occasional burger with plenty of healthy food options in between, and make sure that you go for regular exercise as well. With some wise and healthy choices, you do not have to worry whether fast food will cause obesity to you.
Posts Tagged ‘Fast Food Obesity’
The Relationship Between Fast Food And Obesity
December 23rd, 2009Lethal Link Between Obesity And Fast Foods
December 18th, 2009We are a nation of addicts and our addiction is spreading worldwide. No, it is not tobacco or even alcohol abuse that is so prevalent. It is our addiction to fast food that is killing us. Americans consume thousands of pounds of greasy cheeseburgers every day. Not to mention the fries and drink. The total calories for this basic no frills fare from Ronnies steak house is a whopping 1200! Add just one vanilla triple thick shake to the tune of 1110 calories and you are at your daily limit.
There is no escaping the onslaught, every small town in the nation has at least on fast food restaurant. Many have more than that, in my town of less than 25,000 people we have McDonald’s, Hardees, Arbys, Taco Bell, Quiznos, Dairy Queen, Burger King 3 Sonics, 2 Subways and more pizza joints than I can count. With this type of saturation, is it any wonder that fast food obesity is the fastest rising health threat?
Anyone who had seen the documentary Super Size Me has been shocked at by not only the link between fast food and obesity causes but also the other health risks the show brought to light. We knew that the food probably was not good for us but even the physicians involved in this experiment never dreamed that a person could exhibit liver damage from fast food. If you have not seen the film, Morgan Spurlock ate only Mcdonalds for 30 days in the documentary.
Clearly, our love affair with the cheeseburger has gone on long enough but is there truly a link between the fast food and obesity causes?
Since fast food began in 1960’s America has steadily gotten heavier. Today 60% of us are overweight and a full 25% are obese. Alarmingly it seems our children are not escaping the trap either. Today there has been a 40% rise in type II diabetes in children, a disease that was once known as adult onset because it did not strike until around age 50. In addition, let’s not be misled obesity causes type II diabetes.
Nevertheless maybe these are all just strange coincidences. Let us look at the Mcdonald’s happy meal although the calories are not given for the meal on their menu we can take the individual parts and add it our self.
Cheesburger-300
Small Fry- 230
Small Coke – 110 (we all know they are not drinking juice)
That totals 690 calories or nearly half the recommended daily allowance! Keep in mind this is just the basic no frills small meal, get them the big kid’s meal or a regular big mac meal and the totals jump even higher. If you think that is bad check out the calorie count for the double whopper, 920 calories, and that is just the burger no cheese! Maybe it is not such a coincidence after all. There is strong evidence that fast food is an obesity cause.
So exactly what is the big deal? What if a few people and their children get fast food obesity? This is a free country we should be able to do what we like right. Maybe so however we need to be informed on what impact this will have on our health. People who are fast food obese have a great health risk. The diseases associated with obesity include type II diabetes, high blood pressure, coronary artery disease and stroke. Any one of these diseases can be at best debilitating and at worst deadly. The danger increases with amount of weight and age as well as other bad habits such as smoking or alcohol use. America’s obesity causes are a problem we desperately need to solve; it is a ticking time bomb. Just imagine if over half the people in the country were disabled. That leaves 40% of the nation working and trying to cover disability payments and health care. That is a serious risk to our nation but more than that, we have a population at risk of dying far too young all because of fast food obesity.