Fast Food, Fat Food Essay

Nowadays, fast food is a very popular trend in Thailand. Teenagers think it is very smart when they go into the fast food restaurant, especially, the restaurant which is a part of foreign franchise restaurants. Not only teenagers that like fast food but also children and adults. In the busy schedule of modern times people have no time to prepare nutritious food during the day so fast food becomes a very convenient choice. However, there are several health issues related to consuming fast food; one serious concern is the connection between fast food and obesity. Because of the growth of fast food restaurants, you can see them located anywhere in daily life. For example, on the first floor of MBK Centre, there are numerous fast food restaurants, such as KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King situated not far from each other. However, at lunch time, you cannot find any seats if you arrive late. Similarly, at Chulalongkorn University there are more than 5 branches of 7-eleven, which is a shop where you can buy fast food such as sandwiches, hot dogs, and hamburgers. You would think that there are not many people there. Although there are many branches, students also have to wait in a long queue. This can show how popular fast food is. Fast food is very popular not only in Thailand but also all over the world. The information from Wikipedia showed that â€Å"Burger King has more than 11,100 restaurants in more than 65 countries, Pizza Hut is located in 97 countries with 100 branches in China, KFC is located in 25 countries and McDonald’s is located in 120 countries on 6 continents and operates over 31,000 restaurants worldwide. † Although fast food is very popular, it is not good for health because fast food is often high in carbohydrates, fat and sodium. Common menu items at fast food restaurants are fried chicken, French fries, hot dogs and ice cream. All of them are made of dangerous ingredients such as low quality bread, high fat meat and salt. The fast food bread is made from refined grains that have been modified from their natural composition, so a fraction of the nutrients in grains are removed, remaining only excessive starchy. Next ingredient is the high fat meat which can cause several health problems. Fat from animal sources is saturated fat that increased the bad cholesterol (LDL) levels which results in adverse negative effects on the health of person’s heart (â€Å"The Importance of Dietary Fat and Cholesterol†). The last dangerous ingredient is the thing that makes fast food has a delicious taste; it is salt or sodium chloride. Scientists from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition recommend only 4 grams of salt per day because overconsumption of salt will cause high blood pressure and obesity (qtd. in â€Å"Salt†). In fact, according to the CASH survey, a Pizza Hut meal deal, which consisted of a Cheesy Bites Meat Feast, a medium Super Supreme, a portion of garlic bread, a portion of potato wedges, chicken wings, and a cheesecake dessert shared equally between four, could contain 12. 3 grams of salt per person (qtd. n â€Å"Fast food salt levels shocking†). â€Å"People are increasingly being warned against the ill effects of fast food and the potential damage they pose to human health† (Manohar). Many publications write about health problems from fast food such as nutrition deficiencies, increased cholesterol levels and diabetes. However, the most concern is obesity because this can link to many other dangerous health problems. One reason that fast food can cause obesity is because of its high calories. In one day, men need about 2,700 calories and women need about 2,000 calories but you can get excess calories from only one meal with fast food. For example, a KFC meal set includes KFC famous Bowls (Rice and Gravy), a breast of fried chicken, a box of French fries and a 32-oz Gulp of Pepsi. You can gain 790 calories from the bowl, 370 calories from the chicken, 500 calories from French fries and 425 calories from Pepsi, so from all of these you will have about 2,085 calories (â€Å"KFC Nutrition Guide†). As a consequence from the warning in many publications, the danger of fast food is widely known. However, no matter people know how it is linked to many health problems, it is also the popular choice. We cannot avoid fast food completely in our day-to-day life considering its taste, convenience and instant delivery. Fast food is suited to our everyday lifestyle, but, as we know, a little bit of everything is always good while overexposure to that â€Å"little bit† is disastrous more often than not. Fast food is not an exception to this.