Fast food has become the world’s most popular substitute for eating at home in cities across the globe. It is an American original invented and grown in America. It is a detailed reflection of American attitudes and culture. It’s is tasty, convenient, inexpensive and fast a factor which makes it dear to millions of people who consume it on a daily basis. What also makes it popular is the fact that there is no preparation required before meals and no dishes to clean afterward. Researchers note that it is so popular that today up to half of of all food expending is spent on it in the United States.
Most people know that in order to eat healthy it is necessary and important to avoid tobacco use, to abandon a sedentary lifestyle and eating healthy. Fast food contributes to chronic disease such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and cardiovascular ailments in general. It also plays a major role in weight gain and obesity. Its effects are so pronounced so much that Americans have more body fat now than any other population at any time in the history of humans. Data from the CDC in America shows that 71 percent of all men in America are obese and over 62 percent of women. The scourge is also spreading rampantly amongst children and adolescents.
It would appear the great taste, low cost and convenience of fast food comes to haunt its lovers. Much of it that people eat does not in any way contribute to healthy weight. Instead it is a source of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and hypertension. There are remarkable differences between two groups of people namely those that eat a lot of fast meals and those who don’t eat. To begin with fast meal eaters consume more dietary fat and saturated fat. They have more body fat. They eat fewer fruits and vegetables. A study that was done over 15 years concluded that eating take away food was linked to diabetes and weight gain.
Studies show that people who reside near a lot of fast meal restaurants will likely eat more take ways. A research in Canada reinforced this thinking by adding another dimension to it. It showed that people who lived near a lot of take away restaurants were also likely to have heart disease and suffer from premature death. Yet another study showed a correlation between the number of these restaurants per square mile and obesity. The states in America that had the highest concentration of outlets per square mile also had the highest rates of obesity.
