Fast-Food Culture and Its Impacts - Essay Example

Running head: Variations in Diets The Effects of Variations in Diets According To Cultural, Social and Personal Preferences Insert Insert Grade Course Insert Tutor’s Name 02 April 2012 The Fast Food Culture and Its Effects on Health and Well-Being Fast food refers to food that is quickly prepared and served. Most of these foods are prepared from processed ingredients with added trans-fats, hydrogenated oils and monosodium glutamate. This is done in order to make the products last longer and improve their taste. Trans-fats have high cholesterol levels. The most common fast foods include hamburgers, French fries, fried chicken, pizza, hot dogs and sandwiches, among others. The fast food diet is very popular because it is affordable, easily available, tasty, convenient and filling. Moreover, fast food advertisements convince people that this food is healthy in order to maximize profits. Most fast food advertisements are targeted at children. This has led to many children adopting the fast food culture. Consequently, approximately a-third of American children are overweight and are most likely to get serious health problems such as diabetes at an early age (Schlosser, 2012). Fast food has numerous effects on health and well-being of its consumers. It has high calorie content because it contains a lot of sugars and fats. There is also high sodium content in fast foods because of additives such as common salt. Fast food restaurants also serve fast foods together with drinks with high sugar content. Therefore, regular consumption of fast foods increases the calories in the body which causes conditions such as obesity. The drinks served together with fast foods have high sugar content and high calories. This contributes towards weight gain. Being overweight increases the resistance to insulin and can lead to diabetes. Diabetes can lead to more problems such as organ failure. Trans-fats contained in fast foods increase the undesirable cholesterol in the body and cause stroke, heart diseases, diabetes hypertension and some cancer types (Crystal, 2008). Fast food is not balanced nutritionally and therefore, if taken regularly, it can cause health problems. Most fast foods lack vitamins, fibre and minerals. They mostly contain carbohydrates and fats and lack vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Therefore, all the food groups are not contained in these foods and regular consumption leads to poor health. Failure to consume a balanced diet can weaken the immune system. Moreover, consumption of soda drinks uses up the calcium in the body. Lack of fibre in fast foods also causes digestive problems and constipation. Scientific research has also found that fast foods are addictive. The bodies of people who regularly take fast foods get habituated to uncontrollably consume them even though they are aware of the risks. Such people find it hard to drop the habit of fast food consumption as they constantly crave it (Schlosser, 2012). Fast food consumption causes weight-related health problems like obesity. People who are overweight are more likely to develop conditions such as arthritis, heart diseases, depression, incontinence and gall bladder diseases. Obesity can also cause respiratory problems. Having a big body mass index strains the respiratory system and increases the risk of contracting breathing disorders, sleep apnea and asthma. In addition, regular consumption of fast foods can cause cardiovascular problems. Fast foods have a high fat, cholesterol and sodium content. Too much sodium raises the blood pressure and causes hypertension. Hypertension can lead to other problems such as kidney failure and heart disease. Intake of too much cholesterol and fat can block the arteries and lead to heart attack, blood clot, stroke and aneurysm. Many people die from these conditions in the United States (Crystal, 2008). People should avoid fast foods in order to stay healthy. The National Obsession with ‘Body Image’ and Its Impact on Diet and Nutrition Today, people are increasingly getting obsessed with their body image. They are concerned about their physical body appearance and how other people perceive them. The body image is affected by comments from others, personal and societal ideals, comparison with others, getting exposed to images of ideal bodies, among others. Having a positive body image makes people appreciate their bodies regardless of size or shape. However, having a negative body image makes people believe that a certain body size or shape is ideal and therefore they strive to attain it. Such people develop low self-esteem and can develop eating disorders in their attempt to change their bodies (Shallcross, 2010). Many people are obsessed with body image because of various reasons. Firstly, the current society promotes thinness as the ideal body size. People, especially women are under pressure to get thin. Men are also under pressure to develop 6-pack abs. These ideals are unattainable for most people and they feel disappointed and end up hating their bodies. The media has also contributed to obsession with body image. The media displays images of ideal bodies and it makes people work hard to attain them. Many advertisements use images of masculine men or thin models. The comments from other people such as friends and relatives contribute to obsession with body image (Martens, 2006). The obsession with body image and especially the pressure to become thin has contributed to very many eating disorders. The society considers the models’ bodies to be the ideal size. These models grace fashion magazines and advertisements. Many teenagers go to many lengths in order to attain the body size of models. The actresses on television are also thin and people try to look like them. People starve themselves, vomit and eat diet foods in order to lose weight. They believe that they have to look like the models and actresses in order to be considered attractive. Obsession with body image leads to conditions such as anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia refers to a fear to become fat and as a result, sufferers limit their food intake. Bulimia sufferers engage in behaviours to prevent getting fat such as vomiting, fasting, too much exercise and abuse of laxatives. Such conditions can negatively affect the health of the sufferers (Martens, 2006). Many Americans are dieting in order to achieve the ideal bodies. There are many advertisements promoting diets and associating weight loss with happiness, while being fat is considered ugly and unhealthy. Many of these diets do not have the proper nutrition content and are therefore unhealthy. Following these diets can cause health problems. Excessive dieting can lead to malnourishment and dehydration. Dehydration causes heart illnesses, kidney failure and seizures. Too much dieting also causes body weakness because of loss of body tissues. Failure to eat a healthy diet can cause fatigue, anaemia, weak immune system, hair loss, dizziness, among others (Campos, 2004). Unless the society changes its ideals about body image, people will continue to develop nutritional problems as they strive to achieve the ideal bodies. References Campos, P., 2004. The Diet Myth: Why America’s Obsession with Weight Is Hazardous to Your Health. New York: Penguin. Crystal, D. 2008. The Link between Fast Food and Health Problems. [Online] Available at: http://www.helium.com/items/827764-the-link-between-fast-food-and-health-problems [Accessed 2 April 2012] Martens, C., 2006. America Maintains Unhealthy Obsession With Body Image. [Online] Available at http://badgerherald.com/oped/2006/02/10/america_maintains_un.php [Accessed 2 April 2012] Schlosser, E., 2012. Fast Food Nation. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Shallcross, L., 2010. A National Obsession [Online]. Available at: http://ct.counseling.org/2010/02/a-national-obsession/ [Accessed 2 April 2012] Read More