Economic essay

5

FAST FOODS: AN IMPORTANT SOCIAL PROBLEM IN OUR GENERATION?

Fast food is a common trend that has engulfed the generation of today. This is mainly because of human being’s continued fast paced lifestyle due to increased competition and technological advancement. As the world continued to develop, people become hard-pressed for time, forcing majority to turn to ready-made meals or fast foods. There is minimal time to prepare a decent meal for ourselves and our families.

Fast foods, as the name suggests, can be prepared conveniently and eaten pretty fast. There are numerous joints mushrooming in towns whose main business is selling fast food. Fast food is a fairly new eating habit that seems to cater for the growing number of ever mobile population who find it convenient to consume fast food. Due to its convenience, many people tend to over indulge in the leading to unhealthy eating habits that set the stage for health problems.

Fast food has often been closely linked with the development of urban centers. Its origin traces back to the periods of the Ancient Rome where there were bread, poninas and wine stands and in East Asia where ready to eat noodles were sold. Moreover, food stuff such as breads, pre-cooked meals and falafel were common in the streets during medieval periods. Later in the middle ages, urban centers such as Paris and London experienced an increasing number of fast food vendors selling cooked pies, meats, and flans.

Fast food was however popularized by the United States of America. The development of fast food in the United States of America is tied up with the advancement in automobile technology after the First World War. In 1916, White Castle Restaurant was launched in Wichita as a pioneer fast food restaurant. The restaurant mainly offered low cost hamburger that was produced at high speed and in large volumes. This is believed to be the beginning of the fast food lifestyle in the United States.

Fast food chains have been a success especially in the 21st century. However, fast food restaurants are threatened as the society increasingly becomes aware of their health effects. Critics claim that fast food is high in calories and hence dangerous when made a habit.

Most fast food critics are often quick to note down its negative effects to human health. Many fast foods have been found to be rich in calories since they include large amounts of cheese, salt, oil and other fat content. Too much consumption of fatty ingredients such as those common in fast foods leads to unbalanced diet. Moreover, too much consumption of fast foods has been linked to serious health issues such as obesity and heart complications. Consequently, fast foods also affect appetite, respiration and the central nervous system.

In addition to the effects of too much consumption of fats, high calories and low fiber intake there is substantial risk of food poisoning. Schlosser (2001) states that food packing company’s mix up employees of various technical expertises in the processing assembly lines hence increasing the risk of large scale food poisoning. Moreover, since food is produced in large quantities, some pass undercooked hence creating a breading space for bacteria.

Wrappers used to package fast foods are coated with polyfluoroalkyl phosphate esters to prevent leaking. However, fears are that these chemicals might find their way into the packaged food. These chemicals when consumed by human beings may lead to detrimental health problems. These compounds are often linked with high cholesterol as well as uric acid.

Fast food industry target vulnerable groups in the society and are often very profitable. For instance, fast food firms selling cheaper foods are often found in historically poor ends of town and take advantage of the poor’s desire for affordable meals. Despite their relatively cheaper costs, fast foods have highly expensive side effects if consumed unchecked by individuals. Fast food problem is more intense in the younger generation that is often targeted by corporate advertising. Such group gets hooked to fast foods at a tender age, leading to a life of unhealthy eating habits.

In developed countries, obesity is one of the top most killers. Records show that one in every eight adults was obese in 1991. Moreover, studies indicate increasing number of people becoming overweight due to consistent consumption of fast foods.

There are considerable reasons why fast foods are often blamed for the society’s obesity problem. First, the fast foods have found their ways into schools. A significant number of schools in America have a fast food franchise. Second, fast food receives high level of advertisement from the media. Most of these adverts target children. This is believed to explain an increase in the number of children taking fast foods. Moreover, these adverts entice children to adopt unhealthy eating habits.

Obesity has grave effects on the human body starting with weight gain. Obesity increases cholesterol levels in the human body. Moreover, an overweight body is increasingly at risk of heart diseases and diabetes. On the other hand excessive consumption of fast foods has great financial implications. For instance, huge resources might be required to treat obesity and its related complications.

The fast food industry has taken a lot of heat due to increasing obesity in the society. As a result, many restaurants are offering healthy alternatives to their high calorie foods in order to promote a healthier diet .A lot of these alternatives cost a little extra money, such as a sub from Subway or a Fruit and Walnut Salad from McDonald’s, but reduce medical care cost attributable to high calorie and unhealthy fast foods.

Companies such as McDonald’s, Wendy’s, and Subway have showed their desire to increasingly provide more healthy foods in their shops. . McDonald’s is offering the Fruit and Walnut Salad, salads such as the Side Salad and Caesar Salad, and grilled chicken sandwiches. Wendy’s has been the most innovative in the way they can offer healthy alternatives. At every fast food restaurant that you go to, it is standard to get fries as your side with a value meal. Wendy’s thought outside of the box, and came up with the idea to pick your own side which have healthier alternatives to fries. Some of the choices that you have to choose from are Wendy’s Chili, Side Salad, Chicken Caesar Salad, mandarin with oranges, and yogurt with granola. These give customers alternatives to French fries, which are high in fat, calories, and grease. One other thing that Wendy’s has to offer in regards to healthy alternatives is their Garden Sensations Salads.

Reference

Schlosser E (2001). The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. New York: Perennial.