As you drive home from a long day at work you are lured into the bright colors and memories of endorphins being released while biting into a juicy burger. The convenience of driving up to a window and taking your food home quickly replaces the thought of cooking once you get home. People tend to eat more fast food than a home cooked meal or restaurant food. The convenience and taste of fast food have longed surpassed the benefits of a home cooked meal in the American consciousness. Yet, these fast food choices are leading to slow and long term health risks for the American people and we have begun to wear those risks all over our bodies. America has been facing a health epidemic due to our unhealthy fast food choices when our bodies require nutritious choices to perform at its best, the fast food industry exploits people through Marketing, and now America suffers from an obesity epidemic.
The human body needs to intake a certain amount of nutrition to maintain optimum health. It is essential the body receives the proper amount of protein, carbs, and healthy fats daily. The fast food industry is aware and acknowledges the fact that they have been providing low nutrition, low quality foods to consumers. They have begun to try and cater to the new health consciousness that has hit America by providing additional healthier choices. 30.3% of Americans consume fast food and suffer from the negative effects of traditional fast food choices which are high in fat and cholesterol. The public can easily access the information they need to make better health choices in our information saturated society but often fall victim to information overload and bypass what they know for convenience.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Consuming Unhealthy Choices: Fast Food".
Food choices have been made for people long before they come to the fast food window although they don’t know it. Marketing has programmed the American public to make purchases and become loyal to fast food brands with many years of effort and programming. Unhealthy facts are not included in commercials but the colors, jingles, and comedy last in the consumers mind. Sometimes ideas are planted so deep within the mind that some of the fast food choices are subliminally made as neurolinguistics programming has made up a person’s mind for them. The saturation of fast food commercials on television often inspire hunger as they advertise their mouth-watering new menus and lead people to go out to eat.
These decisions pile up over time and can lead to obesity. As witnessed in the documentary “Super Size Me” long term consumption of fast food can lead to lethargy, obesity, and other negative consequences. The food is high in saturated and trans fat and the youth of America are leading in the obesity epidemic. It is common for a child to beg for a happy meal or a teenager to ask for pocket money to buy a burger off the dollar menu at the end of the high school day. Due to our unhealthy fast food choices the fitness community has seen a surge in programs and products to help people lose weight. The truth is you can never out do an unhealthy diet by working out. Obesity has been known to lead to death.
Yes, there is a convenience and lure to stop at a fast food restaurant while driving home. It is imperative one shrugs off temptation and keeps the facts straight in their mind. Those facts including what proper nutrition is and how much is needed, that marketing is programming you to want things you don’t need, and that obesity is a looming death threat over most Americans head if they aren’t careful. Now more than ever we must make the right food choices which are not fast and sometimes have less flavor but will help us to live and feel great. A paradigm shift must occur and food must be seen as fuel for life and not a past time in order for us to enjoy our food choices.