Most everyone knows that fast food isn’t the healthiest choice. However, our nation seems addicted to fast food and the population’s obesity epidemic is the result. The CDC says that 34 percent of adults are obese and 34 percent are overweight (and not obese).
Despite a supersized nation, the population still keeps feeding off of fast food. According to Fast Food Facts, approximately 25 percent of the American population consumes fast food on a daily basis. In the United States alone, people spend a whopping $100 billion on fast food every year, which is almost 40 times than what was spent in 1970s. And one third of American children eat fast food on any given day.
Some feel that ignorance is bliss but I hope people will take back their health. The first step is to acknowledge and make conscious choices. Learn what you are putting into your body. For example, a typical fast food drive thru stop may consist of a burgers and fries. Website fatcalories.com compares fast food menu items and calories. Note these supersize calories:
- Hardee’s 2/3 lb. double thick burger 1,300 calories
- Burger King Double Whopper sandwich 920 calories
- McDonald’s Big Mac 540 calories
- Arby’s large curly fries are 631 calories
- Wendy’s large fries 550
- McDonald’s large fries 500
Add extra for sugary drinks and you’ve more than likely exceeded in one meal the amount you should eat for the entire day! For my weight, I would need to run for 90 minutes to burn that Burger King Double Whopper. No thanks! I’d rather pass.
Additionally fried foods offer little nutritional value and are too easy to digest. Foods that are harder to digest like raw vegetables burn more calories. And as we see with fast food, these fried foods are also very high in calories and saturated fats. Saturated fat is a fat that is solid at room temperature and comes mainly from animals. Examples include butter, lard, meat fat, solid shortening, palm oil and coconut oil. These fats tend to raise the level of cholesterol in the blood and also slow down your metabolic rate.
So next time if you find yourself in the fast food drive thru, instead of ordering the French fries select a side salad or vegetables and opt for a grilled basic lean burger with whole wheat bread to maximize your metabolic rate. Also ask if they have the calorie counts on all your selections so you can monitor your intake.
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