The Atrocious Nutritional Facts of Fast Food

There is absolutely no question that fast food is bad for you. When you take a look at the total nutrition picture and hidden dangers of fast food, you find out it is even worse than you thought.
Fast Food has become a part of modern American culture and it is spreading rapidly around the entire World. In the United States, almost every town with more than 5,000 people living in it has its fast food strip on the edge of town. It does not matter if you live in Oregon or Maine, driving along the fast food strip will make you feel at home. There is virtually no unique American regional culture visible in these restaurants beyond the pictures on the wall. People might argue this is not a bad thing. People can go into a fast food restaurant in any part of the country and be pretty sure of what is on the menu. They will have their familiar food in a very short time, and be on their way with their stomachs filled.
The real problem goes beyond the loss of regional uniqueness in our eating habits. The fact is that fast food is just plain bad for you in almost every way and in almost every case. America is a country of overweight people who long to be thin, and yet the fast food industry is the leading culprit of the almost epidemic obesity in the country. The problem is spreading to our children. It is said that Ronald McDonald is the second most recognized figure to American Children, second only to Santa Claus, and it is estimated that every American child averages at least one meal a month at McDonalds or a similar restaurant.
The problems are many with fast food, but the biggest problem is the amount of fat and the high calorie count in the average fast food meal. The recommended American diet suggests an intake of around 65 grams of fat and about 2,000 calories per day. This may vary depending on exercise and age, but in most cases the variations call for less for dieting purposes. When you start reviewing some of the common fast food meals, the problem becomes evident. At Burger King, a Whopper with Cheese, French Fries, and a vanilla shake measure in at 87 grams of fat and 1480 calories. Even if this is your only meal of the day, you have taken in almost 1/3 too much fat.
McDonalds Big Mac, Fries, and a shake do better. They get under the mark at 57 grams of fat and only about 1200 calories. Once again, this is only for one quick meal and is usually not all that is eaten each day. Of course, you are being urged to “super size” everything and doing so is going to increase the fat and calorie count. Excessive amounts of fat and high calorie counts may be the leading cause of problem, but they are not the only negatives by a long shot. Fast food is low in basic fibers, nutrients, and vitamins needed to maintain good health.
There are also many hidden dangers to fast food. These dangers run the whole gamut from danger of contamination to excessive amounts of Trans fats due to the hydrogenated cooking oil that is used. The body can not even recognize Trans fats as food and so immediately stores it as fat tissue. There are even social problems associated with fast food such as poor working conditions and inhumane treatment of animals in slaughtering plants and problems associated with the underage work force that operates most fast food restaurants. Fast foods are very, very bad for you.