Fast Food: Why Do People Choose Unhealthy Options? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Why do people eat fast food, knowing that it is not healthy for them? It is however evident that many people prefer this type of food due to their affordability, most of them get home late after a tiresome day, seeing these junk foods on the drive-thru motivates them to buy these foods, time and money-saving as well. On the theme of fast food, I am interested in discussing why people choose unhealthy fast food when there are healthy fast-food options.

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Firstly, fast food is cheap and affordable. It is because these foods are prepared by the use of less expensive ingredients like fats with a high level of cholesterol, meat high in fat, low-grade sugars, and refined grains. Food like French fries contains a large amount of cholesterol which, when taken in large amounts, accumulate in the body and result in body obesity and heart problems. Thus, people can avoid these types of food by going for food that is steamed, grilled, or boiled. Like for example, one can opt to go for a grilled chicken instead of one that is deep-fried.

Just as affordability make people buy fast food, getting home late after a tiresome day so too. Taking a case of a mother with several children at home, she finds it an option to buy fast foods for her children since she is already tired from work and considering the time; she is getting home is late. Also, most children need to eat early since they fall asleep first, unlike adults. Thus, the option of fast food comes in. Most of the fast foods are unhealthy, a change of them to healthier diet should be encouraged. For instance, mothers should ensure they buy their children things like vegetables and fruits instead of junk foods.

However, many people tend to go for first food since it saves on their money and also accommodates all type of people i.e., both rich and poor. There was a time I was down and out of money, and I tried to budget it so that it could take me through for a week. Considering how the economy has gone up, it could be tough for me to survive. Fast food option, however, made it possible for me to survive with my little money. Thus, with that evidence, I can testify that fast food takes care of people with little money.

A friend of mine decided to go for lunch in one of the restaurants but came out disappointed due to the take he spent there waiting to be served. Time wasted waiting to be served in most restaurants motivate people to go for a fast food option. For fast food, one does not have to wait for long to be attended to unlike in most restaurants. Most people have busy schedules and prefer fast food since it saves on their time.

As much as fast food is associated with high calories, low graded sugars, and high fat, among others, a rise in the population of health-conscious personnel has changed the story. Healthier fast food has been introduced, thus increasing their demand. People now have the option of buying salads and grilled chicken, which are healthier while avoiding fries and deep-fried chicken. Healthier food is a bit high in price as compared to unhealthy food, but all in all, one saves money as compared to homemade foods.

Last but not least, seeing these junk foods on the drive-thru motivates them to buy these foods. Most of the fast foods are tasty and appealing; thus, people end up consuming a large amount of these foods not knowing the effects they have on their bodies. To minimize these effects, people should make it a routine for taking small amounts of them.

An apparent reason that degrades fast food is that they are produced in bulk, thus lowering the quality of food produced. However, due to people's ignorance and the notion of food is food, most of them end up consuming this unhealthy food. This food eventually causes great harm to their bodies, and they end up spending a lot of money in hospitals.

Another significant effect that fast food has on the human body is that they lead to nutritional deficiency. Most fast foods lack nutritional value and end up exposing individuals who consume them daily to various dietary risks. Like taking an excellent example of fries, they are high in cholesterol, thus put into danger the one consuming to cardiovascular diseases.

Most people of this generation complain of a bad waistline and spend most of the time in the gym trying to bring it back in place. Little do they know that this effect is as a result of the poor meals they consume daily. These food are not suitable when consumed daily since they accumulate fats and cholesterol that alters with their physical appearance.

Conclusion

Conclusively, it is evident that most fast foods are unhealthy and may cause significant harm to human health. The various reasons that motivate people to buy this food are because they are cheap, many parents go home late after a busy day, one spend less time waiting to be served, they save one's money, they are tempting and seeing them tempts most people to buy them and also because there are a variety of healthier food options. However, people should be educated on the various effects that these foods have on their health since they expose them to various nutritional diseases as discussed above.