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Eating Fast Food is a Two Edged Sword

More than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States itself, and over 8000 KFCs in 80 countries, only goes to reflect the popularity of fast food all over the world. Food that is prepared and served quickly is termed as 'fast food'. Such type of food suits perfectly into the fast paced life of a working individual. There is nothing more than ready-made food that a hard-working professional living in the city away from family could ask for. However, those who are against fast food highlight the adverse effect that it has on our health. Despite all the debate about the advantages and disadvantages that fast food has, the industry is flourishing. Is fast food good or bad. Advantages of Fast Food The most evident advantage of fast food is that it saves time. In today's fast-paced life, there is nothing better than getting a ready meal. No matter how much the chefs praise the benefits of fresh food, at the end of a hard-working day, when one returns home all tired and hungry, a pizza or a burger can be godsend. In addition , the time an individual has to spend in the kitchen, cooking a meal also requires one to make a trip to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for the dish. Then there is the added effort and time consumed in washing , cleaning and peeling the vegetables. All this makes eating fast food score more preferably over cooking a meal for a busy individual. Besides time, cost saving gives fast food an edge over the meal prepared in the kitchen. If one lives alone, then it is cheaper to buy a meal at the supermarket instead of cooking it at home. Also certain fast foods like

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fries and burgers come pretty cheap. Fast food does raise health concerns. However, if careful, you can find some options on the menu of a fast food restaurant that could be healthier. Salads are a smart choice. Go for bread products that are made from wheat bread. Opt for lean meat. If you could choose between the fried and boiled options, order the boiled preparation. Avoid ordering carbonic drinks when you are thirsty. Go for fruit juices, low-fat milk, diet soda. Is there anything better than plain water to quench your thirst? These days, nutrition information of the food served (and ingredients used) is displayed in the menu card. You could always resort to the 'make to order' option that certain fast food outlets offer, where you could restrict the use of ingredients that are not healthy. For example, dessert does not play an important role in the fast food meal menu, you can keep yourself away from delicious and tempting sugary dishes. Disadvantages of Fast Food Usually, fast food is higher in soya, fat, sugar, oil, fried meat, salt, cheese, mayonnaise and obviously calories. The greatest disadvantage of fast food is the adverse effect that it has on one's health. It is a fact that fast food is more unhealthy than home-cooked meals, as it contains higher amounts of unwanted nutrients like salt, fat and various types of additives (artificial chemicals). It may contain harmful bacteria too. Frying destroys most of the essential nutrients from the food. Very small amounts of vegetables and fruits are normally present in fast food. Moreover, 'serving larger portions' when most people don't need extra portions has led to several health problems. We require a small amount of salt to maintain the health of the cells and tissues. Fast food being rich in salt, adversely affects the heart health and the overall health of

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an individual. Such type of food is an important contributor to obesity in the American population. Obesity is on the rise, and a direct link is being cited between fast food and obesity in children. Given the sedentary lifestyle that we lead today, the excess fats and calories that we take in with fast food is not used up completely. The result is that these accumulate in our body as fat deposits that cause complications like cardiovascular diseases and other related diseases of the heart. With obesity come other problems like high blood pressure and diseases of the joints. It is like a chain reaction set off by fast food and carried forward by our unhealthy lifestyle. In fact, a recent study has shown that people who live within walking distance of a fast food restaurant are at 13% higher risk of suffering from strokes than those who live a considerable distance away. The greater the number of people at a meal in a fast food restaurant, the larger is the bill. Eating at fast food outlets is economical only for a single person. Going out to a fast food eating joint with family once in a while won't matter much. However, frequent visits to such restaurants with one's family can become quite an expensive affair, besides being unhealthy. Fast food joints are also being seen as a factor that is making a number of families spend less and less time together. Family meal time is something that is considered as an opportunity for all the members to come together and share their experiences. However, the fast food centers are quickly eating into this quality time. This is especially true about youngsters for whom a fast food center is a good place to hang out with friends and peers.

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Fast food is an invention of the modern times. Ready-made food being served fast and right in front of us is like a blessing after a hard day's work. However, like everything, it has its own pros and cons. Citing a few points about the advantages of fast food does not mean that I am denying its drawbacks. It is a fact that high amounts of fats and salt in fast food are raising concerns about their adverse effect on health. However, by making some smart choices while placing the order and also resorting to an active lifestyle, we can definitely minimize the drawbacks of fast food.

Eng 330 Final Project 7 December, 2012 Lexical and grammatical cohesion.

Topic: advantages and disadvantages of fast food Purpose: to inform and prove that the fast food has some advantages but at the same time it has more disadvantages . Audience: the article is addressed to the people who eat fast food.

Lexical Cohesion
Word Repetition: 1-health . (Lines 32, 57, 58, two times 59). Explanation: the word is repeated several times to show the bad impacts of fast food on the health. 2- obesity. (Lines 60,61,62).

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Explanation: the word is repeated several times to show the biggest disadvantage of fast food which is obesity 3- Fat . (Lines 52, 66). Explanation: the word is repeated several times to show again that the biggest disadvantage of fast food which is fat and obesity. 4- Fast food, (Lines 1, 5, 9, 11, 12, 16, 24,27, 32,33, 41,43,48,50.51,58,62,65,69,71,75,76,77, 82,85,87,90,93,95). Explanation: It is the main topic in this article so it is normal to repeat the word many times in the article . Word Families: 1- Soya, fat, sugar, oil, fried meat, salt, cheese, mayonnaise . Explanation: names of foods that have a very high percentage of fat. Such foods arent good for the human body ( the writer is highlighting the disadvantages of fast food by mentioning these foods in one sentence to show how much fat it have) 2- fries and burgers (Line 30) pizza (Line 19). Explanation: Types of cheap fast food meals (to give examples to the reader). 3. blood pressure and diseases of the joints\ cardiovascular diseases\ blood pressure\ obesity . (Lines 67-69) strokes (Line 72) . Explanation: names of diseases that may happen because eating so much fast food . (the writer mentioned these diseases to highlight the disadvantages of fast food) Synonyms: 1- Benefits. (Line 18) advantages (Line 16) . Explanation: to show the advantages of fast food in the paragraph that talks about the advantages of fast food ( the writer use different words to the same meaning to

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make the reader feel like there is some advantages and say , yeah there is some good points , but in reality it is one advantage which is saving time and the writer tries to make it more by using synonyms) . 2- washing , cleaning , (Line 23). Explanation: to give the reader a feeling that there is a wasted time in making food at home so it makes fast food good in saving time. 3- Advantage . (Lines 16) edge (Line 27) . Explanation: to show the positive effects of fast food in the paragraph that talks about the advantages of fast food ( again using synonyms makes the reader feels that there is more advantages ) . 4- The greater the number of people at a meal in a fast food restaurant, the larger is the bill ( Line 75-76). Explanation: to show the negative sides of fast food . It is correct that fast food is cheap , but not for big families ( again using synonyms makes the reader feels that there is more paying )

Antonyms: 1- The advantages and disadvantages . (Line 11). Explanation: to explain that fast food is a two edged sword in one hand it has some advantages but on the other hand it has more disadvantages 2- Is fast food good or bad (Line 12). Explanation: to show the main topic of this article (is it good or bad ). 3- food is higher in soya, fat, sugar, oil, fried meat, salt. Sugar, salt, (Line 48).

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Explanation: to show that fast food has two opposite ingredients and both are not good for the health if they were consumed in a large amount . 4- Eating at fast food outlets is economical only for a single person.(Line 76)\ frequent visits to such restaurants with one's family can become quite an expensive affair (Line 78) Explanation: to show the negative side of fast food , that it is not really cheap because when it comes to a big family it become expensive ( so the writer uses antonyms) 5-Fast food is an invention of the modern times. Ready-made food being served fast and right in front of us is like a blessing after a hard day's work. However, like everything, it has its own pros and cons (Line 92) Explanation: to show the main idea in this article which is the advantages and disadvantages of fast food ,so here the antonyms pros and cons reflect this idea.

Grammatical Cohesion
Conjuncts: 1. Fast food joints are also being seen as a factor that is making a number of families spend less and less time together (Line 82). Also : Additive/ addition Explanation: to emphasize another disadvantage of fast food which is reducing the time with family and friends . 2- Family meal time is something that is considered as an opportunity for all the members to come together and share their experiences. However, the fast food centers are quickly eating into this quality time However. (Line 85). However : Adversative/Contrast. Explanation: it clarifies the impact of fast food ( fast food reduces the time of meals and this time is the best time for a family to gather so another disadvantage of fast food is shown)

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Fast food is an invention of the modern times. Ready-made food being served fast and right in front of us is like a blessing after a hard day's work. However, like everything, it has its own pros and cons . (Lines 91- 92). 3- After ( temporal- time ) Explanation: this conjunct (after) is used wisely . when the reader read it .It makes him feels the time. So it is a blessing to eat a ready meal after a long day at work. 4- However : (Adversative- Contrast) Explanation: to give the bad side of eating fast food after the good one .. It is a fact that high amounts of fats and salt in fast food are raising concerns about their adverse effect on health. However, by making some smart choices while placing the order and also resorting to an active lifestyle, we can definitely minimize the drawbacks of fast food.(Line 94) 5- However (Adversative- Contrast) Explanation: here the writer use however to give a contrast idea and it gives the conclusion by saying that the fast food has bad sides but if we use it wisely we will reduce the disadvantages and take only the advantages . 6- Also : Additive/ addition Explanation : The writer use also to give and ( add ) the ways that can make the fast food a healthy in away 7 - More than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants in the United States itself , and over 8000 KFCs in 80 countries, only goes to reflect the popularity of fast food all over the world And. (Line 4). Additive/Addition. Explanation: to show the huge number of fast food restaurants all over the word ! when one returns home all tired and hungry, a pizza or a burger can be godsend. In addition , the time an individual has to spend.( Line 20)

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8- When : temporal - time Explanation: the conjunct here shows the time and it is important because the reader feels : yeah !! it is a long time and the person will be tired and hungry for sure . 9- In addition : Additive/Addition Explanation: to add another advantage which is saving time . Saving time when the person is tired and hungry . - Cooking a meal also requires one to make a trip to the supermarket to buy the ingredients for the dish. Then there is the added effort and time consumed in washing , cleaning and peeling the vegetables (Lines 21-22) 9- also (Additive/Addition) Explanation: to show the wasted time . (also) here makes the reader feels the time and effort 10- then ( temporal time) Explanation: to give the reader the feeling of the wasted time in making a meal .

11- For example, dessert does not play an important role in the fast food meal menu, you can keep yourself away from delicious and tempting sugary dishes ( Line 42). For example : additive \ exemplification Explanation: to give an example about making the fast food healthy as much as possible . References: 1- those who are against fast food highlight the adverse effect that it has on our health. Despite all the debate about . (Line 10). Referent: it which refers to fast food

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Kind of reference : Anaphoric. Explanation: to emphasize the effects of fast food on our health. 2- The most evident advantage of fast food is that it saves time.. (Line 16) Referent: it which refers to fast food Kind of reference : Anaphoric. Explanation: to emphasize the advantage of fast food which is saving time. 3- Fast food is an invention of the modern times. Ready-made food being

served fast and right in front of us is like a blessing after a hard day( Line 91)
Referent: us Kind of reference : exaphoric . Explanation: (us ) here to involve the reader in the article . 4- It is cheaper to buy a meal at the supermarket instead of cooking it at

home.
Referent: it which refers to meal Kind of reference : Anaphoric. Explanation: to emphasize the advantage of fast food which is saving money .

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