Fast Food Research Paper Essay

1. Why is fast food bad for you? 2. What are the effects of eating fast food? 3. What are some successful fast food industries and there business strategies? Introduction It seems harmless, satisfies your hunger, and is cheap, but really is egregiously unhealthy. The fast food industry is very smart; they have many sly business strategies to make money. They target children and students and make millions of dollars in profit. Each and every day people choose to eat at fast food restaurants because it quick, especially for people with jobs and are always in a hurry, and because it’s delicious; but many do not know the truth behind it and the harmful effects that contributes to eating fast food continuously. Fast food is made of low quality ingredients and consists mainly of sugar, fat, high calories, and high sodium. Fast food causes obesity and nothing is being done to stop this major issue in America right now. Some fast food chains are: McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, and KFC. The list could go on and on which is the problem, fast food restaurants are everywhere! When it’s dark outside and you are driving home from work and you see the big flashy fast food restaurant signs, the temptation never ends, the business techniques are very cunning and fast food can become addicting so it’s important to always be cautious of why fast food is bad, the effects, fast food restaurants and their business strategies/techniques. Why Is Fast Food Bad? An average human being should consume about 400-600 in about one meal, when eating fast food one item on the menu start at 750 calories (â€Å"The Raw Prawns† n. p.). People may think fast food in moderation is okay but the truth is once you begin a fast food eating routine where you visit almost daily it will be very hard to get out of the routine and can sometimes be addicting (â€Å"Why Fast Food is Bad For You† n. p. ). When on the road a local fast food restaurant seems very convenient and a smart decision to go there, but if you care about you personal health don’t make that decision simply make a healthier choice. Fast food can be dangerous and if nothing soon can be done to address this severe problem in the near future then the obesity and death rates will increase immensely. Fast food is not a balanced diet, it consists mainly of meat and bread and a small amount of lettuce and tomato which are not organic at all. (â€Å"Obesity Facts† n. p. ). This kind of diet is very deadly and is one of the leading causes of obesity and death in America (â€Å"Eating Yourself to Death† n. p. ). The Effects Almost all fast food is deep fried and processed, they contain excessive amounts of sodium which is extremely unhealthy for the body, and in the desserts everything is high in sugar content and calories (â€Å"Obesity Facts† n. p. ). Obesity: Indicates that the body has too much fat. *It is not the same as being overweight, which means weighing too much. It is a result from over eating, or continuously eating fast food. In America, there are over 300, 000 fast food restaurants and 50 million people are served everyday! (â€Å"How Unhealthy is Fast Food† n. p. ). This is why America has the highest number of obese people in the world. Fast food causes heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, tooth decay, and diabetes (â€Å"3 reasons Why Fast Food id Bad For You† n. p. ). When continuously eating fast food, such as French fries, heavy, burgers, and sugary drinks it causes people to become more and more lazy; they don’t pay attention to their health and their physical activity level decreases (â€Å"How Unhealthy is Fast Food? † n. p. ). In addition, recent study shows there’s a chance depression can tie into eating excessive amounts of fast food. Who is to blame? How do they do it? As of now in the United States there are 22 fast food franchises. McDonalds was the first franchise to open in 1940 and since then they have been the leading and most successful franchise in America (â€Å"The Raw Prawn† n.p. ). Other franchises include: Burger King, KFC, Wendy’s, Arby’s, and Taco Bell. Each of which target young students and children. Most of them have a value menu where items to purchase are cheap and tasty but very unhealthy. Some fast food restaurants provide a toy for children with their meal which attract them to come again and again ( â€Å"Eating Yourself to Death† n. p. ). In addition, some restaurants contain an indoor play ground which attracts small children even more. The fast food industry mainly brings customers for their tasty food and simple convenience, they attach a drive thru to their building making it faster for customers to purchase and collect their food which is also less time consuming. Recently in the past few years, fast food franchises have begun to change their restaurant and attempt to become healthier as a whole, in some fast food restaurants they have a nutritional menu to choose from which generally contain healthier food compared to the regular menu (â€Å"The Raw Prawn† n. p. ). Conclusion After researching about fast food and understanding how the huge industry works. I can conclude that the effects of eating fast food on a day to day basis are horrific. It is very unhealthy; the best thing to do is avoid it even if you are in a hurry. Fast Food chains are everywhere the signs are big and flashy and very tempting, it’s important to know what the food can do to the human body so just simply avoid the restaurant. Everyone should be healthy and live as long as possible, fast food is a killer all it does is drain you money and can slowly kill. Do not fall for the sneaky business techniques and strategies the fast food industry uses to gain money. Be smart, avoid fast food, and stay healthy!