Eating fast food satisfies immediate hunger and part of your daily nutritional requirements, but the detrimental effects of such fare may be much longer lasting. While healthy choices are available at fast-food restaurants, marketing campaigns may steer you toward foods and beverages that place your health at risk. A 15-year study of some 3,000 young American adults between the ages of 18 and 30, reported in the January 1, 2005, issue of the medical journal "The Lancet," found that those who ate fast foods more than twice a week gained weight and developed insulin resistance, a precursor to type 2 diabetes, over time.
Caloric Effects
Among hamburger, sandwich, Mexican food and other fast-food restaurant menus, high calories from fat, protein and carbohydrates are common. Foods with higher proportions of these nutrients than vitamins and minerals are calorie-dense and push your diet toward its caloric limit faster than more nutrient-dense foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. A meal consisting of a double hamburger, large French fries and 12-oz. cola totals 1,572 calories -- most or all of the caloric allotment in some diets, especially children's.
Fat, Sodium and Sugar
Fat in foods makes you feel full, and salt and sugar make foods more flavorful. Fast-food restaurants use these ingredients to satisfy customers. Many fast-food meats, sauces and side dishes are loaded with fat and sodium, which comes from salt, while beverages, desserts and pastries may contain more than a whole day's allowance of sugar. High proportions of dietary saturated and trans fat, cholesterol, sodium and sugar can create health problems such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and obesity.
Protein, Vitamins, Minerals and Fiber
Fast foods do provide essential protein, vitamins and minerals, as well as beneficial dietary fiber, but they may do so in relatively more calories than other foods. Hamburgers, tacos, submarine sandwiches, coleslaw and French fries offer high protein, potassium, B vitamins and additional nutrients; but their high ratios of fat, sodium and sugar overshadow these benefits. The calories from sugar in fast-food sodas are their only nutritional offering.
Significance
Carrying extra weight, along with excessive dietary sodium and solid fats, increases your risk of chronic illness. Too much salty meat and fried foods contribute to high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and arterial obstruction. These are all risk factors for heart disease, which can end your life prematurely with strokes and heart attacks. If you routinely push yourself past reasonable caloric limits by eating fast foods, you will further increase your chances of developing these conditions. Becoming overweight also makes you more likely to get type 2 diabetes, gall bladder disease and some types of cancer.
References
- "The Lancet"; Fast Foods Associated With Weight Gain, Insulin Resistance; Mark Pereira, et al.; 2005
- USDA: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010
- American Heart Association; How Do I Follow a Healthy Diet?; June 2011
- Office of the Surgeon General; Overweight Consequences; January 2007
- USDA: Nutrient Database
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