Would people be better off without fast food restaurants?
Burger joints and pizza parlors may be cheap and serve as a good meal, but everyone could do better than to dine at these places. Eating the foods offered at these restaurants promotes bad eating habits leading to poor health, the losing of money from excessive spending which supports the negligence of people, as well as having citizens and their earnings of today’s society fall into the traps of false advertisements.
Obesity is often a result of taking more calories in than one can burn off. Most of the foods found at places like Wendy’s and Burger King are deep fried and filled with ingredients such as salt and soy, resulting in more calories with little to no nutrition. There is a heightened risk in health concerns when considering this cuisine; foods containing a high amount of sugars and fat leads to an increased risk of obesity if it’s ingested on a regular basis. Trans-fat is also among the list of things that shouldn’t take part in any diet; often found in the junk food people consume, it’s an artificial fat difficult for the body to remove which leads to a buildup in the liver causing damage. Foods high in sodium and cholesterol also weaken the cardiovascular system, whereby clogging the arteries and this can lead to having either a stroke or heart attack. In the past few years, there have also been a risen concern of the animals raised for fast food profits. These animals that are farmed to supply the industry with meat are fed antibiotics which causes them to be underdeveloped. This hormone-filled meat is then ingested by customers, sending a red flag for health when it’s regularly consumed. (Md-health, Disadvantages of Fast Food, 2016)
Aside from the high sodium and fat content found in the foods at these restaurants, there’s also a huge lack of access to healthy and more affordable foods in the company of low-income people. The people that live closer to fast food than a grocery store along with being unable to afford transportation are at a greater risk of developing poor health over the years. Food deprivation is common as well amidst low-income neighbourhoods; overeating may occur once the food is available for people that sometimes skip meals which frequently leads to eating disorders, stress, and mental health issues. Despite that, food insecure parents will routinely limit their nutrition intake to protect their children from hunger and becoming malnourished. In these low-income neighbourhoods, there are truly little, if at all, recreational facilities and parks that are safe and their kids are also less likely to participate in sports in and outside of school. (FRAC, Hunger and Obesity, 2015)
Seen in the media such as television, the radio, and on the internet are many commercials advertising the fast-food industry nationwide. A lot of these visual advertisements on the TV and computer are false, for the food is prepared to look more appealing by paid food stylists than when it’s served at the restaurant, and the size of the food seen on the screen also isn’t comparable to the actual size you order. McDonald’s commercials show athletes eating their food with the slogan, “You don’t have to be an Olympic Athlete to eat like one,” when no one has ever seen them eating their food. Moreover, there have been false nutrition tabs on websites such as the one discovered on Salad works; on their website they explained how their salads are all under 500 calories, but a restaurant critic went to see for themselves if they follow up with what they advertise only to find out that the amount of food they put in their bowls adds up to about twice as many calories. Misleading prices on signs and in commercials have also been reported: one restaurant was advertising a $4.00 lunch deal, but the price resulted in $5.50 when it was purchased; and another restaurant was advertising something for $.89 when it turned out that they have stopped the deal a while ago, but it continued to run on the television due to poor communication skills. (Scott, Deceptions of Fast Food, 2010)
There are many factors that play into the international fast-food corporations and one of them is how the people are led to believe that they’re getting a good deal when they’re not. In the end, the people who are getting the better deal are the ones that are running the food industry and the commercials themselves. If people were to suddenly stop eating at these places and substitute it with more appropriate nutrition, the risks of developing a disease or another serious illness later on would decrease and their overall well-beings would improve; people who became obese due to their poor food choices would gradually lose weight, children would become more active and have a lesser chance of becoming a diabetic, while a number of places would go out of business and their employees would lose their jobs from lack of customers (Terry Prothero, What Impact Would it Have, 2016). However, if these restaurants were to slowly disperse, a lot of low-income people without the access of fast food would replace it with something just as bad by visiting the nearest convenient store (Robert Rister, What Impact Would it Have, 2016). People can live without these unhealthy food choices, but most choose not to, even when the health concerns are laid out in front of them. Today, especially among those who are at the brink of proverty, it’s money over matter in regard to food (Brones, Why it’s Essential to Live Without Fast Food, 2013).
Sources:
- www.md-health.com/Disadvantages-of-Fast-Food.html
- frac.org/initiatives/hunger-and-obesity/why-are-low-income-and-food-insecure-people-vulnerable-to- obesity/
- crissyscott.weebly.com/deceptions-of-fast-food-html
- foodieuunderground.com/why-its-essential-to-live-without-fast-food
