Policy Issue Area: Nutrition
Why does nutrition matter to health?
A brief summary of the evidence for issue area’s link to health outcomes/social determinants of health.
Good nutrition is a critical part of preventing obesity and chronic disease. What people eat is one of the most important determinants of whether they are overweight or obese.
• Excess consumption of high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are risk factors for obesity.1
• Between 1971 and 2000, the average daily calories consumed increased by 168 calories per day for men and 335 calories per day for women.
• Consumption of fruits and vegetables at or over the recommended five servings per day is associated with a decreased risk of heart attack and stroke. Greater consumption of fruits is also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
• People eat about one-third of their meals at restaurants, a figure that has almost doubled since the late 1970s.2 Fast food consumption is even higher among adolescents, with 75% eating fast food at least once a week.3
• Eating fast food more frequently is associated with a poor nutrition profile: higher intake of total calories, fat, saturated fat, sodium, and SSBs, and less consumption of fruits, vegetables and milk.3,4
• Consuming fast food is also associated with poor health outcomes, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.5
• In the United States, 80 percent of 2-19 year-olds consume at least one SSB daily.6
• A
While everyone generally knows that fast food is not good for their health, however people still eat it for various reasons. Most people that buy fast food have low incomes, are uneducated, and/or are people just trying to save a couple of bucks. Most people trying to save money are buying fast food and it is costing their health in the long run. This will eventually end up costing people even more money.
Fast food is unhealthy because it is high in calories and fat. We can see a lot of fast food restaurants in the country. For example, people usually go to Burger King, McDonald´s, KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell. All these kind of companies damage the health of people. Usually, the citizens consume more than twiece a week, and these can lead them to some diseases. Also, fast food can affect the digestive system. A poor diet trigger digestive problems. For example, it can provoke acid reflux and irritated stomach. Furthermore, it is food poisoring. Fast food restaurants have some food safety violations. For instance, they have inadequate
Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a
While most people generally know that fast food is not good for their health, they still eat it for various reasons. Most people that buy fast food are low income, uneducated, and/or are people just trying to save a couple of bucks. However, the people trying to save money by buying fast food will eventually end up spending more money from the cost of doctor 's visits, medicine, etc.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends eating a variety of foods to have good nutritional health. Dark green, yellow and orange vegetables and fruit should also be included in a good diet each day. They also suggest eating lean, low-fat meats and poultry, increase amounts of seafood, and healthy fats such as olive oil and omega-3 fatty oils but advise against eating trans and saturated fats, added sugars, and sodium. The USDA also recommends that at least half of the grains eaten should come from whole grains and not refined grains. (U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
Firstly, it is a well-known fact that eating too much fast food is extremely unhealthy. Foods such
Fast food eateries are one of the main, if not the primary, reason behind obesity in the United States. Fast food, what many people for the most part view as a speedy approach to get some nourishment, is really killing a large number of individuals than you may suspect. In this current time, nearly everybody realizes that fast food isn 't especially the best thing for you to eat, yet that won 't verge on preventing us from eating it. Diverse things play a component with respect to why we as a whole eat fast food. It could be a money related circumstance, a little or extensive depending on the oily stuff, or only a requirement for snappy sustenance.
Fast food is exactly how it sounds: food that can be quickly produced for a simple meal. Although they may be satisfactory, they are anything but healthy. Eating fast food is appetizing which is one of the main reasons it is so popular. Not only does it taste good to many, but it is inexpensive, too! America is the number one place for fast food. There are over 160,000 fast food restaurants in the United States and over 50 million Americans are served fast food daily. The frequency of eating fast food is also a problem because according to statisticbrain.com 44 percent of Americans confessed to consuming fast food once per week. What people do not realize is the harm that fast food is doing to their body. Not only is fast food a
Fast food causes Coronary Artery Disease. Nancy Clarks indicates “Fast food contains high amounts of cholesterol and salt, two nutrients that contribute to cardiovascular health problems” (parag. 2). Fast food is known to be unhealthy, it is high in fat, sodium, and cholesterol which can cause Atherosclerosis and lead to Heart Disease. The U.S Center for Disease Control and Prevention claim there is a direct link between sodium and high blood pressure. Fast food is high in sodium
Eating fast food can make you obese, but the people that make the food are not the ones that are making other people obese. This is because fast food has many fats and other items that cause obesity. Pretty much all of fast food is processed which includes meat, potatoes, sauces, and other fast food items which is not very healthy. Soda and other sugary drinks are sold at these fast food places. If you drink to much soda that can also
More than two-thirds of the students that were tested said they had eaten fast-food in the previous week and only 29% of the children didn’t have any fast food the week before they did the study.
If eaten on a regular basis, there is no doubt that fast food is one of the causes of
Of all the the subcategories in lifestyle, nutrition is, in my opinion, the most important of them all. I am sure we
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
Fast food is directly associated with the increase in obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers, and other diseases.