Fast Food or No?

It is a hot day, and you head in and out for a burger, some fries and a soda. It’s your normal day to day order. You receive your order, and the fragrance of the burger is overwhelming. As you bring the burger to your mouth, suddenly the thought hits you. What exactly are you putting inside your body? Why is fast food so appealing to you?

Oxford Dictionary defines fast food as food restaurants and snack bars sell, which are prepared quickly and easily.

Fast food cravings are somewhat based on taste and somewhat based on advertising and science.

“Fast-food companies spend millions of dollars in research and development to make these foods hyper palatable,” The Harvard Gazette states.

Further in the article it also states, “They engineer food by focusing on the smell, the crunch factor, the texture, the taste, and the colorful look and appeal.”

An article from Restaurantware states how the color red and orange increase heart rate and appetite, resulting in these colors commonly being used in fast food chains.

This reveals how the food we craze is especially created with time and effort to look appealing to you. As a result, these details catch your attention and all you want is fast food.

As fast food travels in your body, you notice changes. The main purpose of fast food is for it to be quick and easy to make, and for shops to earn money. This leads to the quality of the food dropping, forcing you to eat unhealthy food.

MedicalNewsToday states short term and long term effects of fast food. Short term effects include increases in blood sugar and blood pressure, as well as increased inflammation, and an addiction to food. Long term effects include an increase in heart disease, obesity, and lower rates of memory and learning capabilities.

Further in the article it states, “Eating lots of fast food could also impact an individual’s mental health and make them more prone to depression and anxiety.”

As the consumption rates of eating fast food increases every single day, the effects on fast food on mental and physical health also increase.

The severity of eating fast food doesn’t end there though, as The National Library of Medicine states, “Today, eating processed foods and fast foods may kill more people prematurely than cigarette smoking.”

Fast food is processed food, and a new act bans processed food to be served in California schools.

“Assembly Bill (AB) 1264 – the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act – first-of-its-kind legislation that would phase out harmful ultra-processed foods from California schools,” is stated in an article from Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel.

This act highlights how processed food is harmful, and how the government is now taking action in helping the future generations become healthier.

“I think with this fast-paced lifestyle that we live in it is much easier to go through a drive-through, and just pick [fast food] up,” revealed Monique Magallans, a physical education teacher at John F. Kennedy High School.

Magallans also talks about the lack of the ability to cook, making fast food convenient and easily accessible. This reveals the negative effects of fast food on our body, like clogged arteries and high blood pressures.

“You are what you eat,” Magallans uses this quote to describe how the ways students react really depend on what they eat, and how healthy their eating habits are.

Fast food is dependable in the fast paced lives, but really, how much good does it do other than be convenient? Fast food may be the root of many physical and mental problems, and balancing eating healthy with fast food may bring more desirable outcomes.