THE REAL COST OF FAST FOOD IS NOT IN THE MENU CARD
Food is the main culprit behind each and every non communicable disease;
especially in Kerala people are more fonts to food which is calorie dense & nutritionally
poor in quality & quantity. We can see a lot of fast food shop and restaurants in an
around the state. Modernization & Urbanization leads life very fast and so they are more
prompt to this type of foods rather than the traditional one. Along with unhealthy diet &
lack of exercise even children’s in our society are suffering from non communicable
lifestyle diseases.
When we look forward for fast food, we must know the difference between fast,
junk & street foods. These all are from a bunch of grapes with different face .Fast Food
are that which prepared quickly and is eaten quickly or taken out. It’s popular due to its
convince, its taste, & obviously low cost. Junk food generally refers to foods that
contribute lots of calories but little nutritional value. . Junk food is typically processed,
containing high amounts of sodium, calories, and/or fat, with little nutritional value, such
as bag of Doritos chips, or a candy bar. Street foods are foods available on the street
side. They also are cheap like fast food and junk food. They are sold on the streets,
either in a tent or on a cart. The major difference here is, street foods are convenient
foods that are generally healthy and fresh compared to the other two.
Along with these there is another type of foods called processed & ready to eat
cooked foods now a day’s people demanding more the items more .processed food
includes food that has been cooked, canned, frozen, packaged or changed in nutritional
composition with fortifying, preserving or preparing in different ways. All processed
foods are not unhealthy.
When we gauge these with traditional home made foods, these are all
nutritionally unhealthy. Even though these foods conquered the culture and taste of our
youngsters & conquer the market these are the major health issues.
Health issues by the continuous usage of fast foods
Fast food costs relatively little and tastes good, but the negative effects on
physical health last much longer than these immediate concerns. With the high
calorie meals come more fat, cholesterol, salt and sugar and therefore fewer
vitamins, minerals and other nutrients than in healthier foods.
o A single fast food meal could add 160 and 310 extra kilocalories to the
daily caloric intake for teenagers and younger children, respectively.
o Lack of vitamins such as A and C, and minerals such as magnesium and
calcium, encourage the development of deficiency diseases and
osteoporosis, as well as dental caries due to higher sugar intake.
o The presence of hazardous food coloring agents and/or unhealthy
trans_fats in many fast food items, and issues with food preparation
safety, often complicate the issue further.
Fast foods contain high amounts of cholesterol and salt, two nutrients that
contribute to cardiovascular health problems.
The high calorie intake can lead to obesity.
It’s been long established that saturated fats can negatively impact the heart,
but there’s also research that suggests high saturated fat intake may
negatively impact brain function and memory
Too much sodium causes your body to retain water, making you feel bloated
& puffy along with this high sodium intake leads to the increase in blood
pressure
Eating high-carb fast food increases your blood sugar
Fast food intake more than three times a week is associated with greater odds of
atopic disorders such as asthma, eczema or rhinitis, while asthma severity is
almost 40% higher in teenagers and more than 25% in younger children. 3.
Offers Healthy Options.
Fast food items are not really limited to hotdogs, burgers, fries and tacos. Today,
fast food chains are starting to add healthier food options in their menu lists.
Moreover, it is known for having fresh ingredients. Organic salads and burgers are
also being offered in fast food restaurants.
We cannot able to avoid fast food from our day-to-day present lifestyle ,but we
can choose healthy choices from them. Beware of the trans fats & portion size .
