Why Do We Eat Fast Food?
The researchers, from the University of Minnesota, surveyed 560 adults by phone (selected randomly) and asked about their attitudes towards fast food and their consumption of fast food.
They found that younger people, singles and males ate more fast food than older people, married couples and women. They also found that people who think fast food is convenient, and those who dislike cooking, were considerably more likely to eat fast food.
Interestingly, people who thought fast food was unhealthy ate as much of it as those who didn't think this. The researchers believe that this indicates the current health messages just aren't making an impact:
These findings suggest public education regarding the unhealthfulness of fast food may not influence fast food consumption. Interventions targeting the issue of convenience and quick or efficient preparation of nutritious alternatives to fast food could be more promising.
With a different study (Eating Among Teens, involving data from 2,500 teens, also from the University of Minnesota) showing an increase in the amount of fast food that America's teens are eating, it's crucial that the right messages are being sent. Teens and college students, in particular, are unlikely to listen to "don't eat fast food because it's bad for you".
So perhaps nutritional bodies - and concerned adults - should be putting forward more positively-framed messages:
- Home-cooked food can be just as cheap as fast food - and much better for you
- Anyone can learn to cook
- You can prepare a nutritious snack or meal in minutes
How would you encourage people to avoid fast food - especially those who think it's cheaper and more convenient than other options? What about teens whose eat a lot of fast food with friends?
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I'm not overweight by any means, however I hate to cook and I can definitely identify myself with what you wrote (i.e. eating fast food cause cooking is sooo boring).
Replyyou know, at a certain point, you can only just provide the information to people. they have to WANT health, you can't make them want it.
I think it's a good idea to make sure that nutritional information is out there, but people who persist on eating foods they know are unhealthy are just going to have to reach a point where they decide "enough is enough" and they empower themselves with knowledge about how to cook, how to prepare fast healthy meals, and how to be healthy.
ReplyThere is a youtube video somewhere that shows a McDonalds cheeseburger and fries after years of just sitting out and drying out. They look virtually the same. Everyone should see that at least once.
Also, I don't think it's enough to say "fast food is bad for you". I think they need to do what cigarette manufacturer's had to do in Canada. On every cigarette package, there is a picture (sometimes graphic) and a short blurb about the effects of smoking. It will be something specific, like a picture of a very small and sick baby with a blurb about how smoking by pregnant women is linked to lower birth weights. I think fast food manufacturer's should be forced to do something similar.
ReplyWhen I was in college, one of my biochem profs did an experiment with his grad students. He took a blood sample of one of his students after a 12 hour fast. Then he sent the student to McDonald's for two Egg McMuffins, two hash browns, a carton of whole milk, and a cup of coffee. Then he took another blood sample about 20 minutes later and let both samples separate out. The post-McD's sample had a thick layer of pure fat in it because it hadn't yet been processed by the liver. It truly grossed me out. Maybe they should put THAT on a billboard somewhere.
ReplyWhy would that gross you out? What exactly is wrong with lipids? Your body needs fat. All types. Mono, Poly, and *gasp* Saturated. It's like some people are still living in the 80's.
Additionally you speak as if the fast food itself had some sort of special properties when the student (assuming this story is accurate and true) would have seen the same results going home and eating a few eggs and some buttered toast. My guess is the "professor" didn't do a control study.
ReplyIf that "grossed you out", maybe you don't belong in a biochemistry class. Being "grossed out" is really a childish or an effete reaction. It's unworthy of a serious adult, let alone a professional or anyone who is actually in a responsible position.
Fat is a normal, natural, beneficial part of food. The reason it looked like that is because that's the way nature designed us. You might as well be "grossed out" by flowers or butterflies for all the sense it makes.
ReplyThe fat itself didn't gross me out; the idea that the meal from McDonald's had enough fat in it to visibly separate out in the blood did. I'm also aware that other foods have lots of fat in them as well; it was just an illustration to show what happens to your blood directly after eating a very high fat meal.
ReplyOh God. Not this again.
Let's all say it together: "Fast food is not unhealthy."
Seriously people. A little common sense? A little rationality? I'm so sick and tired of the health food nazis that run Diet Blog pushing pseudo-scientific garbage on everyone.
Fast food is perfectly fine for you. It's not going to hurt you.
Eating fast food too frequently is of course unhealthy like anything can be if taken to the extreme.
Enjoy life. Eat a f--king cheeseburger for the love of God. You're going to die so just accept it and live a little.
Just employ moderation. Remember that kids. All things in moderation. Stop living in fear. Liberate yourselves from the health nazis and their misery spreading gestapo of know nothing para-scientific zealots.
ReplyYes, fast food is not going to hurt you. But it certainly doesn't help you.
What is food supposed to do? It's supposed to provide your body with nutrients, fill you up, and give you some level of satiety.
I think we can agree that fast food is not fantastically nutritious. As for satisfaction, I know that fast food tastes great going down, but I'm hungry an hour later. The lack of macronutrients and fiber in fast food probably accounts for its inability to satiate. Personally, I think if a meal is going to be as calorie-dense as your favorite value meal, it had better fill me up.
Fast food fails my cost-benefit analysis. So why eat it?
ReplyFast food, like all food, has nutrients and calories. That's what food is.
The benefit of fast food: it is food. It's also tasty. It's available fast and at a reasonable cost.
When you're hungry, food is beneficial. Fast food is no exception.
ReplySo instead we should live in fear that doing cardio exercise before strength training will destroy all muscle mass? You're doing the same sort of thing, so long as it fits into your philosophy.
ReplyBarry,
I think you need to take a look at all the data pointing towards how a western diet is causing obesity in all parts of the world - specifically Asia, an area historically dominated by slender people. The "Western Diet" is mainly fast food; research shows that as McDonalds and Burger King move into these areas, the native people gain large amounts of weight, and subsequently, develop diseases specifically associated with being overweight such as cardiac disease, diabetes, and some cancers. I'd be interested to know if you yourself are overweight and whether or not your backlash at this blog and the "food nazis" is an extension of your own frustration with your personal health.
ReplyI am not a cook by any means... not good at it 7 I HATE to clean up after it! HA! BUT, I have found a few things I can make & are easy & not too time consuming OR I make a few things in advance over the weekend or on one day so I have meals to take with me. Hey, a healthy sandwich is not that hard to make for young people on the go & you can change it up. It is doable if you want it bad enough.
Life has become so fast paced that people just tend to give up at times with the stress of it, work, family, school or whatever it is.
As for Diet Blog, I am going to defend them. They are not saying you can never have a fast food cheeseburger or indulge here & there.. what this is saying is that if you make it your daily & every meal choice, it ain't good! Barry, don't take it to the extremes all the time. You probably think I never eat bad but I do make choices to indulge when I want to but I am not going to eat fast food every day!
ReplyI don't really eat fast food and even when I was fat, I didn't even really eat it all that often. I saw it as a treat; something I got to eat on special occasions or road trips, which were always associated with a good time to me. I never picked the "healthy" options because I wanted to feel full and in order to feel even a little full on that crap, I had to eat a Quarter Pounder and fries. Once I realized that I could eat about twice to three times as much food for less than half the calories by eating healthy, REAL food, I couldn't believe I used to actually like fast food.
As far as giving advice to people who hate cooking and love to get fast food...cooking does NOT have to be elaborate or difficult. My husband likes to go to auctions early on Saturday mornings. Instead of going to a fast-food place for breakfast, I make him an easy breakfast burrito. I scramble a bunch of eggs and throw in some sort of chopped up cooked meat (turkey, ham, chorizo if I have it), onions, zucchini, peppers, etc. and cook the mixture until the eggs are set and the other ingredients are tender. Then I lay out 4-6 tortillas and put half a piece of cheese on each one and scoop some of the eggs on each one. I wrap each of them up in waxed paper and put them in the freezer. My husband can take one out and microwave it in less time than it would take to get a fast food breakfast.
ReplyYou know why people eat "fast food"? The name says it all. Fast Food!
ReplyI like the already proposed idea of labelling fast food items. Although nutritional content of foods is available on the websites of most chains, of course, people won`t log on before placing an order.
I`d even go as far as putting the nutritional values right next to the price, although I accept that most would not go with that.
A list, displayed in a prominent place (e.g. where people queue!), in any fast food store, should however make some difference. If fast food outlet`s don`t like it, they may be prompted to re-vamp their receipes and make them a little healthier, until they will no longer be ashamed to display what`s in them!
ReplyFast Food places now offer customers at least one item that is healthier than the rest of their meals. So if you want to eat fast food, you could just eat the healthy thing they are offering, although it may not be the healthiest out there.
ReplyYes, fast food won't hurt you if you eat it every once in a while. I mean occationally like once every two weeks or 1 every month. It's ok to treat your self. Trust me, I may be 97 lbs, but i have an outrageous sweet tooth. But i don't let that come between me and my health. But too much of a good things can lead to building fat and other health related problems. After reading "A Fast Food Nation" by Eric S., I don't even want to eat a hamburger again. Seeing that most meat found in fast food are parts of the animal that have no protien or health benifits. Most of the meat are intestines, brain, butt-fat and thighs,skin fat and leg meat, which we can call the cheap meat, which is why we pay $5 bucks or less for a fast food meal. And the chiken nuggets and fries are even injected with beef fat to keep the taste Also, in slaughter houses, the most dangerous job, blood from animals as well as workers fall upon the meat and many workers go without a blood test. Also some slaughter houses would bairly pass a health inspection. I reacomend you to read "A Fast Food Nation" and I suggest that America, the fattest country in the world, go back to the wholesome family traditons that we use to love before fast food ruined it. So next time you bite into a burger, know what your really eating. But I truley believe that if a person works out on a daily basis for about 30-45 min a day can truly eat anything. We also should eat smaller amounts to reduse fat in our bodies, that's why im so small.(97 lbs at 16 years old)
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