Dangers Of Fast-food Restaurants

If you're too busy to prepare a home-cooked meal, hitting the drive-through at your favorite fast-food restaurant is an easy, affordable and quick alternative. Even though fast-food restaurants might fit conveniently into your hectic lifestyle, many of their meal options pose dangers to your family's health.

Proximity Linked to Obesity

Being near a fast-food restaurant may increase some people's risk of obesity. According to a 2009 study by the University of California-Berkeley, the state's ninth graders had a 5.2-percent higher chance of being obese if their school was within 1/10th of a mile of a fast-food restaurant. Ninth graders who attended schools 1/4 mile away from a fast-food restaurant were 4.4-percent more likely to be obese, meanwhile, and students 1/2 mile away were 2.5-percent more likely to be obese.

Ingredients and Cooking Methods Linked to Heart Disease

Some fast-food restaurants prepare fried foods with partially hydrogenated oils. Hydrogenated oils, which contain harmful fats called trans fats, can boost your risk of heart disease by lowering your levels of good cholesterol and increasing your levels of bad cholesterol. Many restaurants have stopped using these oils in recent decades as a result of increased public awareness and some local bans, but other aspects of fast food are also unhealthy. For example, many fast foods are rich in saturated fat and sodium, which also can increase your risk of heart disease if they comprise a large part of your diet, the American Heart Association warns.

High Calorie Content Linked to Diabetes

Eating at fast-food restaurant regularly can increase your risk of type 2 diabetes. According to a long-term study published in 2005 in medical journal "The Lancet," people who ate at fast-food restaurants more than twice weekly for 15 years gained an average of 10 extra pounds and were twice as likely to develop insulin resistance as people who ate fast food less than once per week. The major culprit for the weight problems and increased risk for diabetes is the calorie content in fast food. Some fast-food restaurants serve items that offer more than a day's worth of calories in a single serving.

Healthy Tips

While you might allow yourself the convenience and enjoyment of fast food every once in a while, avoid making fast-food restaurant trips a habit. If you still plan to eat fast food on a regular basis, find ways to make your meals healthier. Ask the restaurant where you can find nutritional information about its meals and pick the options that are lower in fat, calories and sodium, the MedlinePlus online medical encyclopedia recommends. These foods tend to be grilled rather than fried and are smaller in size, or are salads and soups. Avoid piling too many condiments on your foods; going light on the cheese when you order a pizza, staying away from cream-based soups and dressings, cutting the mayonnaise and avoiding gravies can save you hundreds of calories.