Aziz 1

Mirna Aziz

Professor Lawson

English 113B

April 24, 2017

Project Text Final Draft

Words Count:1617

Eat Fast, Die Young

The 21st century has come with a lot of changes in pop culture and all

over the world. With this change, one of the most common routines is the

always different, but growing amounts of fast food. Eating fast food has

become a habit in most countries. It is our number one option to buy over

than carry out the boring job of cooking homemade meals that are more

nutritious and advantageous to our health. What many people do not know,

is that the fast food industry started in the United States at around 1916 with

the first fast food joint being White Castle in Wichita, Kansas (Popular

Culture, Food). Ever since this pop culture aspect has been adopted and

accepted in many areas all over the world, and the industry is one of the

fastest growing as well. Fast food has generally come to be known as an

expression of pop culture. However, the common habit of fast food culture

comes with many disadvantages. Unfortunately, the combination of fast food

and a shift to a sedentary lifestyle has led to more people suffering diet

related illnesses and will continue to affect the health of people all over the

world if the dangers are not taken into consideration.

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Most know that food is the fuel for the body and that it provides the

energy that is needed daily. However, the kind of food people eats matters a

lot. The popular culture of fast foods has had many health effects on those

that consume it. Some of these health problems are major and can even lead

to death. Most of the food that we buy from the fast food joints have a lot of

calories and have no nutritional benefits at all. For example, Bruleed French

toast at the cheesecake factory, peppercorn Burger and at McDonalds was

a lot of calories and very little nutritional benefits . And also, a lot of places

they have healthy food like salad but people prefer to buy fast food because

it is cheaper than the healthy food the follows some of the risks that are

associated with such eating habits: weight gain and obesity.

Fast foods are high in fat and calories. The calories that are not burned

in the body cause the increase in weight. When you consume more calories

than your body can burn, then you are most likely to gain weight. If the habit

is not stopped at an early stage, people that consume fast foods are likely to

gradually become overweight, and at the end of it all, obese. According to

Pietroangelo Ann, obesity is a condition that is rampant in most developed

countries in the world. In America, studies show that most people that are

obese are a result of taking fast food every now and then. In the United

Kingdom, obesity has become a national problem, especially in its young

generation (Pietroangelo). Research from the University of California,

Berkeley shows that most of the people that visit fast food joints more than

twice per week gain significantly more weight over time than those that visit
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fast food joints occasionally. 5.2% of the people that live near the fast food

joints are much more likely to suffer from obesity since eating fast food turn

out to become a daily routine for them. Another health problem related to

fast food is the development of Type Two Diabetes in individuals that eat

these foods regularly.

Fast food is loaded with calories and carbohydrates which contribute to

the amount of fat that is stored in your body. Fat leads to one being

overweight and this is one of the causing factors of diabetes. When one

carries too much fat in their bodies, the body cells become resistant to

insulin which is produced by the pancreas and is used to regulate the sugar

levels in the body cells (Elbel, 28). When the cells are unable to use the

produced insulin properly the pancreas mistakes this for a need of insulin in

the cells and thus produces more insulin than needed. Due to the over

production of insulin the pancreas wears out and stops producing enough

insulin in a bid to keep blood sugar under control. This high levels of blood

suger leads to type two diabetes.which is a condition that is characterized by

high levels of blood sugar. The pie chart below shows that more people suffer

from type two diabetes compared to type one diabetes in the United States.
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Ingestion of fast food causes cardiovascular diseases. Fast foods

contain a lot of fats and cholesterol which is not good for human health. The

extra fat in the body accumulates in blood vessels making then smaller in

diameter than they should be. This makes the transportation of blood

inefficient due to clogging of the vessels by fats. In most cases, it leads to

coronary diseases and is a major cause of stroke and heart attacks and may

even result in death (Harnack, 63). Although people know about the negative

effects of fast food on their health, they still prefer to take fast foods than

more nutritious foods. There are various reasons why people would prefer to

eat fast foods other than eating nutritious foods that are cooked at home

despite all the health issues.

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The first reason why people eat fast foods is because of convenience.

Everybody gets hungry at different times of the day. At times, most are not

at places where one can quickly cook up a meal, so they end up buying fast

food that is nearest to them. Fast food is also a quick way to satisfy the

hunger needs of children. When a child is hungry, they need to be fed and

most parent, especially those tied up with work and other responsibilities do

not get time to cook. It is more convenient for them to run out for few

minutes and get fast food from the nearest joint other than start preparing to

cook for their child. Most travelers like tourists also find it more convenient to

consume fast food. This is because they might be traveling for long distances

and would want to save on time that would be wasted when cooking ("Fast

Food").

Secondly, the cost of the fast foods makes people prefer to take it

other than cook. Most of the fast foods are cheaper compared to whole

meals that are cooked from homes. It will only take a few dollars to purchase

fries and burgers and no hustle is involved since you just pay and get your

food. Taking meals from home means that you must buy ingredients such as

grocery and cooking. Which is much more expensive than the fast foods.

Most people take fast foods as they cannot afford to prepare a decent meal.

Others take fast food because they just like it. This falls hand in hand

with social pleasures. Most people gain acceptance and pleasure when they

eat from specific places. In the restaurant, people able to gather with their

friends, relatives, and family and enjoy a quick meal together. This is most
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rampant in the young generation where most of them follow the habits of

their peers such as eating, for them to be accepted in certain social groups.

Others consume fast foods because they have no other options. Some young

children have no otherwise and take the fast food because their parents take

them and that what their parents feed them with.

Advertisement of fast foods also induces people to eat more fast foods.

Most advertisements show the pleasure of eating the fast foods but do

not warn about the side effects of too much fast food consumption on the

health of an individual. This makes people especially the young generation

craves for the fast food and they develop eating this food into a habit. In

2013, AYTM conducted research that shows surveys,regarding why most

people in America prefer to take fast foods other than other nutritious diets

("Fast Food Stats"). 34.7% chose fast food because it is cheap, 65.9% finds it

combined it is convenient, and 36.0% just like it.

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A1: Cheap

A2: Convenient

A3: lack of other options

A4: I just like fast food

A5: Other

From the above, we can see that the pop culture of fast foods is a major

issue in the society today. Many of the health problems that both young and

the old are suffering from can be avoided by just changing the diet we take.

Fast food is convenient for most of us but what about the long run? Are we

willing to see our children suffer from heart diseases, diabetes and many

more diet related diseases just because we are adopting a trendy pop

culture? No! It is, therefore, the responsibility of every person to watch out
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for the negative impact the fast food culture may have on our society and try

to eliminate those effects. We should let our children adopt a new culture of

eating less manufactured and processed foods and more nutritious organic

foods cooked from homes.

It is true when they say cheaply is expensive. The fast food may be

cheap now but it is costly to the health of an individual and a burden to the

society at large. As we adopt any pop culture, not only food but others, we

should be vigilant to note the effects it might have on the society and make

sure that the pop culture changes the society for better not for worse.

Because fast food does more harm in American society than good, we should

follow the example of other countries that have come up with policies

regarding fast foods, and regulations to protect the health of our citizens.

Works Cited

Pietroangelo, Ann. 13 Effects of Fast Food on the Body.Healthline.

November 02, 2015 .http://www.healthline.com/health/fast-food-

effects-on-body. April 11, 2017. Web.

Elbel, Brian, et al. "Calorie labeling and food choices: a first look at the

effects on low-income people in New York City." Health affairs 28.6

(2009): w1110-w1121.
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"Fast Food Stats: Most Choose Fast Food for Convenience | AYTM." Online

Market Research | AYTM Market Research, aytm.com/blog/daily-

survey-results/fast-food-survey-2/.

Harnack, Lisa J., et al. "Effects of calorie labeling and value size pricing on

fast food meal choices: results from an experimental

trial." International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical

Activity 5.1 (2008): 63.

"Fast Food." Online Market Research | AYTM Market Research, 7/30/2013.

Web. 4/24/2017

aytm.com/surveys/309150/stat/331bae7d0026add96103e43baa933

801#charts/chart=respondents,color=0.

"Popular Culture, Food and." Diet.com, www.diet.com/g/popular-culture-

food-and?get=popular-culture-food-and.