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Mirna Aziz Project Text Final Draft 2894062 1823350380
Mirna Aziz Project Text Final Draft 2894062 1823350380
Mirna Aziz
Professor Lawson
English 113B
Words Count:1617
The 21st century has come with a lot of changes in pop culture and all
over the world. With this change, one of the most common routines is the
always different, but growing amounts of fast food. Eating fast food has
become a habit in most countries. It is our number one option to buy over
than carry out the boring job of cooking homemade meals that are more
nutritious and advantageous to our health. What many people do not know,
is that the fast food industry started in the United States at around 1916 with
the first fast food joint being White Castle in Wichita, Kansas (Popular
Culture, Food). Ever since this pop culture aspect has been adopted and
accepted in many areas all over the world, and the industry is one of the
expression of pop culture. However, the common habit of fast food culture
and a shift to a sedentary lifestyle has led to more people suffering diet
related illnesses and will continue to affect the health of people all over the
Most know that food is the fuel for the body and that it provides the
energy that is needed daily. However, the kind of food people eats matters a
lot. The popular culture of fast foods has had many health effects on those
that consume it. Some of these health problems are major and can even lead
to death. Most of the food that we buy from the fast food joints have a lot of
calories and have no nutritional benefits at all. For example, Bruleed French
a lot of calories and very little nutritional benefits . And also, a lot of places
they have healthy food like salad but people prefer to buy fast food because
it is cheaper than the healthy food the follows some of the risks that are
Fast foods are high in fat and calories. The calories that are not burned
in the body cause the increase in weight. When you consume more calories
than your body can burn, then you are most likely to gain weight. If the habit
is not stopped at an early stage, people that consume fast foods are likely to
countries in the world. In America, studies show that most people that are
obese are a result of taking fast food every now and then. In the United
Berkeley shows that most of the people that visit fast food joints more than
twice per week gain significantly more weight over time than those that visit
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fast food joints occasionally. 5.2% of the people that live near the fast food
joints are much more likely to suffer from obesity since eating fast food turn
out to become a daily routine for them. Another health problem related to
fast food is the development of Type Two Diabetes in individuals that eat
the amount of fat that is stored in your body. Fat leads to one being
overweight and this is one of the causing factors of diabetes. When one
carries too much fat in their bodies, the body cells become resistant to
insulin which is produced by the pancreas and is used to regulate the sugar
levels in the body cells (Elbel, 28). When the cells are unable to use the
produced insulin properly the pancreas mistakes this for a need of insulin in
the cells and thus produces more insulin than needed. Due to the over
production of insulin the pancreas wears out and stops producing enough
insulin in a bid to keep blood sugar under control. This high levels of blood
high levels of blood sugar. The pie chart below shows that more people suffer
from type two diabetes compared to type one diabetes in the United States.
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contain a lot of fats and cholesterol which is not good for human health. The
extra fat in the body accumulates in blood vessels making then smaller in
diameter than they should be. This makes the transportation of blood
coronary diseases and is a major cause of stroke and heart attacks and may
even result in death (Harnack, 63). Although people know about the negative
effects of fast food on their health, they still prefer to take fast foods than
more nutritious foods. There are various reasons why people would prefer to
eat fast foods other than eating nutritious foods that are cooked at home
The first reason why people eat fast foods is because of convenience.
Everybody gets hungry at different times of the day. At times, most are not
at places where one can quickly cook up a meal, so they end up buying fast
food that is nearest to them. Fast food is also a quick way to satisfy the
hunger needs of children. When a child is hungry, they need to be fed and
most parent, especially those tied up with work and other responsibilities do
not get time to cook. It is more convenient for them to run out for few
minutes and get fast food from the nearest joint other than start preparing to
cook for their child. Most travelers like tourists also find it more convenient to
consume fast food. This is because they might be traveling for long distances
and would want to save on time that would be wasted when cooking ("Fast
Food").
Secondly, the cost of the fast foods makes people prefer to take it
other than cook. Most of the fast foods are cheaper compared to whole
meals that are cooked from homes. It will only take a few dollars to purchase
fries and burgers and no hustle is involved since you just pay and get your
food. Taking meals from home means that you must buy ingredients such as
grocery and cooking. Which is much more expensive than the fast foods.
Most people take fast foods as they cannot afford to prepare a decent meal.
Others take fast food because they just like it. This falls hand in hand
with social pleasures. Most people gain acceptance and pleasure when they
eat from specific places. In the restaurant, people able to gather with their
friends, relatives, and family and enjoy a quick meal together. This is most
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rampant in the young generation where most of them follow the habits of
their peers such as eating, for them to be accepted in certain social groups.
Others consume fast foods because they have no other options. Some young
children have no otherwise and take the fast food because their parents take
Advertisement of fast foods also induces people to eat more fast foods.
Most advertisements show the pleasure of eating the fast foods but do
not warn about the side effects of too much fast food consumption on the
craves for the fast food and they develop eating this food into a habit. In
people in America prefer to take fast foods other than other nutritious diets
("Fast Food Stats"). 34.7% chose fast food because it is cheap, 65.9% finds it
A1: Cheap
A2: Convenient
A5: Other
From the above, we can see that the pop culture of fast foods is a major
issue in the society today. Many of the health problems that both young and
the old are suffering from can be avoided by just changing the diet we take.
Fast food is convenient for most of us but what about the long run? Are we
willing to see our children suffer from heart diseases, diabetes and many
more diet related diseases just because we are adopting a trendy pop
culture? No! It is, therefore, the responsibility of every person to watch out
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for the negative impact the fast food culture may have on our society and try
to eliminate those effects. We should let our children adopt a new culture of
eating less manufactured and processed foods and more nutritious organic
It is true when they say cheaply is expensive. The fast food may be
cheap now but it is costly to the health of an individual and a burden to the
society at large. As we adopt any pop culture, not only food but others, we
should be vigilant to note the effects it might have on the society and make
sure that the pop culture changes the society for better not for worse.
Because fast food does more harm in American society than good, we should
follow the example of other countries that have come up with policies
regarding fast foods, and regulations to protect the health of our citizens.
Works Cited
Elbel, Brian, et al. "Calorie labeling and food choices: a first look at the
(2009): w1110-w1121.
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"Fast Food Stats: Most Choose Fast Food for Convenience | AYTM." Online
survey-results/fast-food-survey-2/.
Harnack, Lisa J., et al. "Effects of calorie labeling and value size pricing on
Web. 4/24/2017
aytm.com/surveys/309150/stat/331bae7d0026add96103e43baa933
801#charts/chart=respondents,color=0.
food-and?get=popular-culture-food-and.