Fast-Food, is it Truly Bad for Us?

Morgan Spurlock in Super Size Me
Image: Flickr

I’m sure a majority of people have come across the infamous documentary “Super Size Me” and been completely turned off by the notion of eating fast-food again. What if I were to let you know that the documentary was only half the story, and the leading cause of obesity is not solely because of the consumption of fast-foods?

On the contrary, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey have revealed that dietary adequacy and risk for obesity were strongly linked to poor nutrition outside of fast-food consumption (1). This can be as little as substituting daily fruits and vegetables intake with sugar-sweetened beverages and also relying heavily on processed foods (1,2). This also refers to the mythical legend of “Freshman 15” and how university students in their freshman year tend to reach for that can of Red Bull and that last box of Hungry-Man instead of an apple or choosing the right meals at the cafeteria. Convenience and poor choices will misdirect you on your path to a healthy lifestyle.

Also, other factors people are unaware of are the amount of calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients that they consume daily. Although micronutrients are a minor priority, macronutrients have a major effect on our bodies whether it be positive or negative. Exceeding the required nutritional demands such as total fat and saturated fat intake may result in obesity since these are the major contributors(1). Thereore, instead of having a New Year’s resolution to go to the gym every day, proper monitoring of macronutrients and calorie intake is a far better solution for shedding off that unwanted fat and maintaining a healthy cholesterol level.

The video below shows how John Cisna lost 37 pounds by simply walking 45 minutes a day and maintaining the dietary allowances of calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates. The catch is he did this by only eating McDonald meals for 90 days straight!

In conclusion, we are what we eat and in order to reduce the rising risks of obesity, instead of imprinting a negative connotation to fast-food, we should be more aware of the nutrition label on the foods we eat and begin to track our allowed daily nutrients.

– Samuel Choi

References:

1. Poti, J. M., Duffey, K. J., & Popkin, B. M. (2014). The association of fast food consumption with poor dietary outcomes and obesity among children: Is it the fast food or the remainder of the diet? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 99(1), 162.

2. Malik, V. S., Schulze, M. B., & Hu, F. B. (2006). Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain: A systematic review. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 84(2), 274.