Many teenagers and children are coping with the risks of eating too much at fast food restaurants. There are obvious risks such as early onset diabetes and heart disease. But in an article by Saundra Young, "Asthma, eczema, and hay fever may be linked to fast food", other more surprising health effects are recognized.
A study performed by the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC), gave questionnaires to over 300,000 teenagers 13-14 years in over 50 countries and to almost 200,000 children aged 6-7 in over 30 countries.
The questionnaire asked out the diet and whether or not the three illnesses were seen in the surveyor. The results showed that those who consumed fast food three times or more in a week increased risk for these illnesses by 30%, the results were constant for both gender and age groups.
Now being said, this study is being taken with a grain of salt because it does not directly link hay fever, eczema, and asthma to fast food consumption. The study merely shows those who eat this way are more likely to have these comditions. With that theory, it is probable that soon enough there will be conclusive scientific evidence to show the other health effects of malnutrition.
This particularly relates to our biology unit on nutrition and cardiology. We discussed how when we eat such unhealthy foods with lots of butter, oils, and fats; we can consent to plaque build up in our arteries, which leads to a clogged artery and can cause a heart attack. That is already a scary side effect of eating fast food. Adding these illnesses only makes it worse.
Personally I am not someone who frequents fast food and this just gives me another reason to not eat it. With the recent horsemeat scandal in Europe and the pink slime uproar last year, I find my self amazed that people continue to go to these restaurants. The only fathomable reason I could think anyone who has seen said newsreports would chose this over a healthy meal, is simply because they lack the funds to do so.In our country, we have access to lots of knowledge. Whether our food is safe, how healthy that food is, and where it comes from. We can have all this knowledge but without money we really cannot do anything. We could know everything about every single molecule of our meal but we have to be able to afford that or the knowledge is worthless. And that is unfair, that we live in a world where you have to be rich to be healthy. With advances in science maybe that sad reality can change.
So next time you walk into your national burger chain or taqueria or even a global chicken wing joint, realise the price you are paying. Not the 99 cent deal. But what you pay in the long run. The doctors visits? The hospital bills? All those medications and vaccinations? Look at that meal deal. Is that burger now worth the price of your health later?
Read the article: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/14/asthma-eczema-and-hay-fever-may-be-linked-to-fast-food/
Find the pictures
Hamburger: http://www.sodahead.com/fun/hamburger-or-hotdog/question-3492379/?page=6&link=ibaf&q=hamburger&imgurl=http://hollywooddealz.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Hamburger.jpg
Sneezing: http://miron-constructionnews.com/blog_entries/fighting-cold-flu-season-naturally/sneezing-3-3/
I agree with your opinion that we "live in a world where you have to be rich to be healthy." A lot of people choose to eat fast food because it is cheap. If it costed less to be healthy, more people would put in the effort. I agree that people should be aware of what is in the food that they are eating, so they know what they are putting into their body. With knowledge comes reason, and maybe if Americans were more informed about what is in the fast food that they eat, they would be less likely to eat it. Great article!! :)
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ReplyDeleteJulia,
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting article. Obesity is obviously a huge problem in the United States and fast food just makes the problem worse. I also don't eat fast food anymore after seeing the movie "Super Size Me" and learning about the side effects of eating it. But others continue to eat it, because let's face it- fast food is easy, convenient, cheap and tasty. You are right when you said that our country has a lot of knowledge but not everyone is fortunate enough to have an education or learn about nutrition. They may not know just how bad this kind of food really is. Some fast food restaurants are trying to serve healthier foods such as salads and even apple pieces. Overall, great job!
This article was really interesting because it gives us as Americans even more reasons why we should not eat fast food. It amazed me that children who regularly ate fast food were 30 percent more likely to get Asthma, eczema, and hay fever. I think this is a great topic to explore because fast food is a major part of many American kids’ lives, especially poorer areas and cities where people have low income. I agree with you about why we should not go to fast food places and now I understand the risks fast food has. I liked how you said the 99 cent price, or the price of the doctor bills to come. This shows us the risks of such cheap food and how it will affect us in the future. Great job backing up your points on the questionnaire, I liked how you gave other fast food incidents that show us how damaging fast food is to us and what products are sometimes used to make it. I think this article will really make us rethink our food choices and how fast food will lead to problems in the future. Overall, great post!
ReplyDeleteI found the article interesting but I don't think the study will stop many from eating fast food. People already have heard that fast food leads to heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, but people still eat it. A study finding that it makes you more likely to get sick may change the diets of people who are cautious and eat little fast food, but not people who eat it several times a week. This will make me even less likely to eat fast food, but I almost never do already, so it doesn't really matter.
ReplyDeleteEating meat in general can cause all the side affects you mentioned. And studies so that people who don't eat meat live about 5 years longer than people who do. Also fast food explains why heart disease is the number one cause of death in the U.S and it also explains why 15-25% of Americans are obese. I also thought it was interesting how you said we livde in a world were you have to be rich to be healthy, because there are many low cost alternatives to fast food. It's just that those alternatives are much less appealing to someone that eats an hamburger everyday, such as peanut which are high in protein. Overall nice post.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very interesting and very well put together! You made lots of connections to not just things we have learned in class this year, but also to other knowledge you have of events that have occurred in our world too. Your article was fun to read because you put a lot of yourself into it. One point you made was about how people know that when they eat at fast food chains they put themselves in risk of getting hay fever, obese, asthma, etc, but still eat the cheap food anyways. I think another reason they still end up buying and eating the food is because they like the taste of it. It is very common for people to crave fast food. Also, a lot of fast food chains are trying to serve healthier choices and change their recipes around to make it more healthier. Yes, I understand how even that might not effect how unhealthy it is overall, but it is a start that will keep progressing. Hopefully it will keep on progressing on into the future and this problem will be resolved.
ReplyDeleteJulia, I felt like your blog was very interesting and very well written. I do agree with your opinion on this situation too! I did not know about asthma, eczema and hay fever specifically but now I do. This makes me wonder too. Why would people continue to go to those places knowing their risks. Like you said people now a days have the knowledge to make better decisions. I wonder if the fact that they are running a busy life and do not have time for the healthy home made meal impact their decision. But I definitely believe that people should change what they are doing. I felt like your connect to biology was great! It made me connect to when we learned about Supersize Me in both biology and gym. That movie made me really think about my health and eating healthier food. I never did eat that much fast food to begin with but the movie showed me the actual danger of those types of food and what it does to your body. Lastly, I loved your ending. I loved how you said that they are thinking they are saving money but in the long run they are not because of all the hospital bills. I think it was a great conclusion to a great post. Good job Julia!
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