What Are the Dangers of Fast Foods?
The appeal of fast food is right in the name. It is fast. It is easy to take a quick spin through the drive-through while running errands or traveling. It is almost too easy. Fast food has become a staple of many diets rather than the occasional treat it should be. Peruse the nutrition facts on the websites of the two biggest names in fast food: McDonald's and Burger King. The health risks are abundantly clear.
-
Fat
-
The sandwich most synonymous with the fast food giant Burger King is the "Whopper." This sandwich alone, with no sides, contains a startling 670 calories, most of which are from saturated fats.
According to McDonald's nutrition facts website, the "Big Mac" sandwich contains 540 calories, of which nearly half are from fat. That is 45 percent of an ideal daily fat intake in one sandwich.
Cholesterol
-
An abundance of dietary cholesterol increases the risk of heart disease. Fast food restaurants are not strangers to dangerous levels of cholesterol. For example, a McDonald's double quarter pounder sandwich with cheese contains over half of the daily recommended allowance for cholesterol.
-
Portions
-
The portions offered at fast food restaurants are far from ideal. These restaurants do not have very high food costs, and in order to make customers feel as though they are getting a value, they offer portions that are far too large to be healthy. Consumers who frequent these establishments become accustomed to eating much larger portions than they should.
Contamination
-
"Fast Food Nation," a book by journalist Eric Shlosser, outlines fast food practices that allow animal feces to come into contact with meat that will later be served to an unsuspecting public. Shlosser visited the processing plants that supply fast food chains with meat. He found very lax regulations when it came to worker safety and food quality.
Kid's Meals
-
The fast food industries' involvement in early childhood development is disturbing to say the least. Almost every child knows who Ronald MacDonald is; fast food marketing has made sure of this. With commercials for Burger King, McDonald's and Wendy's (to name a few) permeating children's programming, children can tell their parents what toy of the moment is available at each eatery. Parents (often weary from repeated requests for the latest toys) sometimes make important decisions about nutrition based on little pieces of plastic. Important eating habits are formed during early childhood, and fast food consumption is not a healthy habit to instill in America's children.
-
