Fast food is a massive problem in the West, now spreading to countries which previously never considered ‘fast food’ as we know it.  Countries such as China and Japan are now beginning to succumb to the temptation of Western fast food with the result that populations in these countries are now beginning to suffer from Obesity which was previously almost unheard of.  In recent years, the fast food revolution has extended to fruit bars which are seeing a huge rise in popularity in the wake of the healthy eating campaigns.  While these fruit bars do provide a healthy alternative to sugary soft drinks, they are still not completely blameless.

Most drinks are made using two, three or four fruits - all of which contain their own sugars and their own calories, despite the fact they might be seen as ‘healthy’.  They still contribute to excess calories. If you think about a single banana which seems to be one of the main constituents of the smoothie, it contains around 100 calories. Add an apple at 50 calories, a pear at another 50 calories and, even without any other ingredients, you have a drink containing a whopping 200 calories - almost as much as a super-thick fast-food milkshake.  It doesn’t take many of these to blow any Weight Loss diet!

One of the biggest problems with fast food is that it is cheap and, to aim at the mass market and passing trade, fast food needs to be kept as cheap as possible.  Due to keeping the prices down, which is essential in the highly competitive world of feeding the masses quickly, extra size portions can be offered for very little more than an ordinary portion.  This is self-perpetuating in its own way because the public consider they are getting a bargain which is hard to resist.  This leads to the public being fed more calories per meal than is absolutely essential and, over a period of time, the pounds creep on - usually so slowly you don’t notice it until it is too late and you have gone up a clothes’ size.

The need to keep costs down also keeps food quality low and the cheapest possible foods all contain large quantities of saturated fats, one of the prime causes of body fat being laid down. It is also high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, all designed to provide satiety at the expense of nutrition.  Refined carbohydrates are not particularly good at making you feel full so, you finish your first burger and still feel hungry - so, of course, you go back to the counter and buy another one. Or, knowing you have done so in the past, you buy an extra size portion and ‘go large’ the first time around, piling on the calories with each visit and sousing your body in unhealthy saturated fats and sugary soft drinks.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 24th, 2008 at 5:16 pm and is filed under Fast Food, Obesity, Obesity and Parents, Obesity and Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.