The effects of fast food

Aurora Rohrer, Staff Writer

After continuously eating fast food, your lifespan could be shorter than usual. Why do we buy fast food? Because it’s cheap, easy, and pretty good. Obesity is a major factor, but starving is as well. Fast food has no nutrients for our bodies, so your body will be craving more to eat and everything you already ate barely filled you up. Actress Nicole Ari Parker said “We’re all moving at such a high rate that we have to grab the frozen dinners and the McDonald’s. We can’t make it a way of life – we have to get back to real, simple, clean good foods. It will save our lives on so many levels; not just spina bifida, but obesity, diabetes, everything. Food is our medicine”. More than ⅔ of adults are considered to be overweight and ⅓ are obese. Even statistics say ¾ of America’s population will be overweight by 2020.

Fast foods then lead to heart disease because so much of the fat in the food raises high blood cholesterol levels. Fast food also leads to skin problems, such as acne. Most of it is from the sugar, flour, and empty carbs which just add more calories and do nothing for your system. Diabetes are a huge problem because there is too much sugar in the bloodstream and caused by lack of exercise. Sodium is also a huge factor because it’s in the food products (especially salt) and it makes your body hang onto water which makes you feel bloated and well, fat. Not only does sodium make you feel bloated, it can risk high blood pressure and bigger heart muscles and lead to buildup of fluid.

Studies show that 25% of people who eat fast food and become obese are more likely to be depressed. The person is less inclined to try to eat healthy or exercise.

“Overweight and obesity, can induce low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction, especially in Western countries where thinness is often considered a beauty ideal. Both low self-esteem and body dissatisfaction are known to increase the risk of depression.” said Dr. Floriana S. Luppino, of Leiden University Medical Center.

It’s been found that depressed people with lower levels of a certain hormone, eat more in an attempt to self-medicate and bring back their hormone levels to normal.

Many people just don’t have the time to sit down with their families or friends and just eat, so they rely on McDonald’s or Wendy’s or Dairy Queen because they have no other choice. The advertising from the fast food places make their meals seem so “healthy” for us, when really, their salads have carbs or sodium from just the dressing. Not to mention, their food is cooked with oil and people are constantly giving their kids this food and they never get a balanced diet. Even a good breakfast has about 1000 calories and that’s already half the calories you should take in a day. The list just goes on and on because there are so many things that affect humans from fast food.