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Introduction
There are several critical elements without which human life would be impossible, including fresh air, water, and food. People conduct research, share observations, and enhance their knowledge of achieving high-quality products and services and ensuring their safety. At the same time, in this intention to create the best conditions, many individuals neglect the fact that they continue damaging their health by preferring fast food at different ages. In the United States, fast food has already become a part of the American diet, disregarding associated caloric intake and poor quality (Fryar et al., 2018). According to the recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) findings, about 36.6% of adults and 36.3% of children and adolescents consume fast food regularly (Fryar et al., 2018, 2020). Many reasons to support the popularity of fast-food choices exist quick speed, accessibility, taste, and inexpensiveness. People enjoy visiting such places as Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s and get the necessary services and fresh food in a short period. Together with evident benefits, fast-food shortages concerning the nutritional perspective should not be ignored. Main fast-food ingredients are high-fat meat, sugar, and refined grains, rich in sodium, fat, and cholesterol (cited in Min et al., 2018). Multiple health problems are reported and related to fast-food consumption. The popularity of fast food affects Americans in many ways, but the threats of obesity, chronic diseases, and unstable immunity remain critical effects.
Cause
When a person visits a hospital to assess health and obtain professional recommendations, dietary habits become one of the first themes for analysis. Doctors and nurses pay special attention to what people eat and how different products may affect their physiological and emotional well-being. Unfortunately, fast food consumption is common in the United States, and many families, including adults and children, choose this option because of personal, social, and economic factors (Min et al., 2018). Even being aware of health risks, they continue visiting restaurants to save time and eat tasty and convenient food. The CDC reports demographic differences in fast food consumption: non-Hispanic black adults (42.4%) and children/adolescents (16.9%), non-Hispanic white adults (37.6%) and children/adolescents (12.9%), and Asian adults (30.6%) (Fryar et al., 2018, 2020). Their styles of life today have significantly changed compared to previous decades. The necessity to work hard and have no time for personal issues has increased the need for fast-food restaurants. Working parents are not able to cook at home for their children or even for themselves. To facilitate their everyday obligations, they find it normal to use fast food and fulfill their basic needs. Children follow their parents’ examples and get limited options and awareness of healthy food and lifestyles. When they are hungry, they choose between a pizza or a burger and use fries as their preferred snack. Besides, numerous advertisements and captivating slogans are available to everyone, regardless of their age. People do not need to make severe attempts to reach fast food because it is everywhere. It does not take much time to cook this type of food, and the required stomach-filling occurs. No hunger is felt, and staying occupied with more important things is possible. The popularity of American fast food is an option and a trend that grows fast globally.
Effects
Obesity
One of the most evident and dangerous effects of fast-food popularity is an increased risk for obesity. Nowadays, the number of obese or overweight people is relatively high compared to the previous five years: 71% to 66% (as cited in Fuhrman, 2018). Despite access to various data sources to improve dietary habits and reduce fast food consumption, many individuals willfully buy such products. In modern society, obesity is a serious public health problem at the global level. To reduce increased economic and health costs, many researchers and healthcare providers recommend avoiding fast food and considering dietary changes when possible (Min et al., 2018). According to Fuhrman’s findings (2018), only 5% of the American population demonstrates normal weight proportions because they follow healthy eating principles and active lifestyles. The author also introduces the term “Fast Food Genocide” to underline the significance of this problem (Fuhrman, 2018). Fast-food diets are characterized by high levels of saturated fatty acids and refined carbohydrates (Bohlouli et al., 2021). During the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people have made a decision to stay at home and use delivery services to buy food and drinks. Some individuals have no skills and knowledge about cooking, and they purposefully order fast food because it is cheap and available. However, this food also lacks fibers and other beneficial nutrients (Bohlouli et al., 2021). As a result, poor nutrition and unfavorable substances combined with an inactive lifestyle and isolation cause negative weight changes and obesity. Therefore, fast-food fashion and obesity are closely related concepts, and their analysis has to be enhanced to show people all the potential harms and damages. There are many options for people to feed and use healthy food on their tables. Although it usually requires additional time, it is never too late to learn something new and make the right choice. If obesity can be prevented by reducing the number of fats from fast food, human ignorance towards their health must be ceased.
Chronic Diseases
As dietary intake is predetermined by the decision to buy fast food, undesirable effects on health grow, provoking new risks for chronic diseases. The links between fast food consumption and the development of serious health problems have been established in many studies. Cancer, asthma, diabetes, kidney disease, heart attacks, and even Alzheimer’s disease lead to a list of chronic diseases that inappropriate fast-food preferences may explain. One should understand that irregular consumption, like one or two times per several months, is not that dangerous for human health. However, many Americans, either children, adolescents, or adults, like to increase the number of visits to at least once a day. As well as contributing to obesity, they should also know that excess weight is the reason for chronic diseases, explaining the relationship between fast food and chronic diseases (Fuhrman, 2018). When people experience weight discomfort because of fast food, they try to reduce the number of calories and lose weight by any possible means. Fast-food eaters consume about 11.3% of their total daily calories (Fryar et al., 2018). Their goal is to reduce this number and improve their body forms with time. Still, a wrong consumption and reduction of calories turn out to be serious damage to body systems and provoke metabolic requirements’ changes. Low body fat percentage does not affect the skeletal mass and bones in a short period, and the metabolic rate slows down, decreasing the respiratory quotient, lowering the temperature, and challenging the thyroid function (Fuhrman, 2018). Food with too fat or sugar concentration leads to abnormally high glucose levels and insulin amounts, aggravating angiogenesis and cellular replication (Fuhrman, 2018). These changes create a favorable environment for diabetes and tumor growth, meaning that people may be diagnosed with cancer. Energy intake cannot be properly controlled, and new problems grow disproportionally, proving that the popularity of fast food negatively affects American health.
Damaged Immunity
Maintaining immunity is a requirement for people’s well-being, and fast food devastates the immune system. Taking into consideration that American fast-food diets are defined as deficient in antioxidants and phytochemicals, not all immune functions can work properly (Fuhrman, 2018). These foods initiate intrinsic immune system activation and increase oxidative stress markers (Bohlouli et al., 2021). In other words, most body systems are not able to complete their functions, and the organism becomes weak. Resistance to harmful external factors plays an important role in human health promotion. When some failures in the immune system occur, there is no natural protection against ordinary illnesses, and people are not able to deal with infections and manage inflammation. During the coronavirus crisis, vaccination and hygiene are required not to damage the growth of immune cells (Bohlouli et al., 2021). However, protection against the virus is impossible when fast-food impairments are not recognized or neglected. In children, immunity is weak because of different factors, and the task of parents and other caregivers is not to allow other triggers to affect their development. Fast food fashion continues spreading through media and interpersonal communication, neglecting its harm to immunity. Young people and children do not recognize these threats but undergo the impact of their peers and other relatives who support the idea of visiting a restaurant and buying some fries or burgers. Healthcare providers are not able to cooperate with all individuals. If there is an opportunity to talk about fast-food outcomes, obesity and chronic diseases may be mentioned, and immune deficiency remains poorly discussed. Considering current virus threats, people need more information about how to protect and strengthen their immunity. If there is a chance to reduce harm to health, it should be used, and education of the youngest population is a vital step. If immunity is damaged and not restored, new comorbidities and diseases can be diagnosed as short- and long-term outcomes.
Conclusion
In total, the popularity of fast food in the United States is a serious cause for people to address their health problems and negative psychological changes. Sometimes, individuals are born with immune complications or chronic diseases, and such situations require immediate interventions and treatment. However, most Americans do not even understand or simply neglect the fact that they destroy their bodies by taking fast-food products. Increased glucose levels, fats, and sodium amounts are critical for the functioning of all body systems. Fast food is the source of this damage, and many people take this step consciously. They believe that small amounts of food are not dangerous and never notice when irregular decisions become a habit. If adults are more or less informed about the risks of obesity, chronic diseases, and weak immunity, children are not aware of these threats and follow the offered brand. The popularity of fast food is dangerous for American health and has become a significant social and health problem to be addressed.
References
Bohlouli, J., Moravejolahkami, A. R., Ganjali Dashti, M., Balouch Zehi, Z., Hojjati Kermani, M. A., Borzoo-Isfahani, M., & Bahreini-Esfahani, N. (2021). COVID-19 and fast foods consumption: A review. International Journal of Food Properties, 24(1), 203-209.
Fryar, C. D., Hughes, J. P., Herrick, K. A., & Ahluwalia, N. (2018). Fast food consumption among adults in the United States, 2013-2016. CDC.
Fryar, C. D., Carroll, M. D., Ahluwalia, N., & Ogden, C. L. (2020). Fast food intake among children and adolescents in the United States, 2015-2018. CDC
Fuhrman, J. (2018). The hidden dangers of fast and processed food. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 12(5), 375-381.
Min, J., Jahns, L., Xue, H., Kandiah, J., & Wang, Y. (2018). Americans’ perceptions of fast food and how they associate with its consumption and obesity risk. Advances in Nutrition, 9(5), 590-601.
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