Nayely Rodriguez

Lynnette Morinini
English 114B
3 March 2014
Fast Food vs. Home Cooked Meals
Eating out used to be a treat to ourselves occasionally to eat at fast food restaurants to
celebrate special occasions, a get together with friends, or simply to spoil yourself and your
family once in a while. Now that has all transformed throughout time, meaning that many
individuals and families eat out almost on a daily basis! Whatever happened to home cooked
meals, healthy food ingredients, and family time around the table? In todays modern society,
fast food has taken over almost every household in America. Apparently, fast food and eating out
is more convenient for every working household. However, home cooked meals provide us more
control over what we eat; we generally know what types of ingredients are going into our meal
and where our raw ingredients are coming from. Individuals and families must be aware of the
negative effects of eating fast food versus a healthy home cooked meal.
Eating out to fast food restaurants has grown high in todays society since it is so
convenient, cheap, done in a couple of minutes, and tastes so good. Fast food makes people lazy
to get up to cook; instead many buy cheap ready meals from supermarkets, and save the cost of
the ingredients they would have bought, preparation time, and cook. People need to know that
those unhealthy foods lead to devastating health problems and become a burden on the health
care system. In Surprising Health Dangers of Fast Food, a recent study found eating significant
amounts of fast food can contribute to atherosclerosis (clogged arteries which can increase your
risk of conditions like a heart attack or stroke), increased risk of arthritis, sleep apnea (sleep
disorder when a persons breathing is interrupted during sleep) some kinds of cancers, diabetes,
liver disease, obesity and mental health problems. Most meats used at fast food restaurants
contain nitrates, artificial sweeteners, and monosodium glutamate. These contents are known to
increase high blood circulation and often cause migraines. Junk food on the other hand contains
emulsifiers, preservatives, stabilizers and flavor enhancers, the consumption of meat and junk
food lead to an increased blood flow can cause prolonged headaches and which could affect the
mental health, according to the article Encourage anti-fast food campaign. . Then again there is
an explanation to why many cannot stop eating so much fast food leading to those horrible health
problems. In the article, Why Do We Eat So Much Fast Food? Sarah Clark mentions a study
in 2003 controversially suggested that fast food is as addictive as heroin due to the sugar and fat
content, that some people could not stop eating out because they begin to crave it and will not
be able to give up fast food because it is so delicious. Unfortunately people have a great range of
fast-food easily available, easy access, and cheaper than other healthy alternatives. Obesity has
grown to be the leading number one problem with fast food among children and adolescents.
Children are now overweight or obese, children aged 6-11 years in the United States who were
obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. In adolescents aged 12-19 years who
are obese from 5% to 21% over the same period, states the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Todays children may be the first in history of North America to live shorter lives
than their parents.
Not only do we have to worry about those bad health conditions affecting yourself and
your children but the way those employees working in fast food restaurants treat our food. It can
carry unsanitary diseases in our food by the same employees! For instance, in Surprising Health
Dangers of Fast Food, it mentions some of the recurring problems at franchises such as
McDonalds, Taco Bell, Wendys, and Burger King, were rodent droppings, insects, food borne
illnesses, debris, and grime on counters and prep areas, and poor employee sanitation. Can you
imagine the unsanitary conditions your fast food is being made in and then to find out a fast food
employee sabotaged it. Given the fact that 25% of Americans eat fast food every day, there
may be a high chance of a person going through a bad case such as: a McDonald's worker in
South Carolina arrested for spitting in two customers' cups of iced tea after they returned them
because they weren't sweet enough, states Surprising Health Dangers of Fast Food. I know no
one wants to be that person that results to get the very unsanitary fast food that the employee
made nasty for you and without knowing you may be eating it.
In addition to fast food being unhealthy for you it takes away time from communicating,
sharing, and interacting with family at dinner time. According to Carrison Hager, this is a
special time that is necessary in taking away from the drudgery of work and school. The
convenience of fast food has taken away from the family dinner. This trend has gotten worse
over the past thirty years and today it is rare to find families eating together more than twice a
week. All of the above are solid reasons for preferring home-cooking to the drive-thru window.
Benefits of preparing a home cooked meal is everyone can contribute to preparing the food and
spend family quality time together. Eating a home cooked meal at home versus fast food is much
more healthy and convenient for individuals and families in the long term. Cooking your own
meals gives you the peace of mind that goes along with having complete control over the type
and quality of ingredients in your meals and the degree of cleanliness that goes into their
preparation. You are able to accommodate to those people at your home who have allergies or
any other types of sensitivities. Fast food is not as healthy as regular diets those type of foods
are fine for special occasions. More meals cooked and eaten at home may help trim the waistline
and lower the obesity epidemic. Tracey Roizman in The Advantages of a Home Cooked Meal,
states that food-borne illnesses caused by bacteria-laden or under-cooked meats and vegetables
regularly make headlines and occasionally claim lives. According to University of Kansas food
safety expert Dr. Douglas Powell, up to 25 percent of the population succumbs to a food-borne
illness each year to a total cost of $1.4 trillion. While food you buy at the grocery store might be
similarly contaminated, attention to proper food handling and cooking techniques may keep you
safer. For families, eating right has become a challenge. Cultural messages convince us that we
no longer have time to cook, and food marketers spend billions persuading us that packaged,
processed food is convenient, satisfying and the key to happiness. But many studies have shown
that eating home-cooked meals helps reduce obesity and develop lifelong healthy eating habits.
Personally, I have come to the conclusion that a home meal is always better for you than
fast food all the time. Making fast food your regular diet is like leading yourself into your own
deathbed of health issues in the long term. I know we all enjoy a treat and its okay to have
some of these foods now and then but do not exceed the amount of what you should have.
Schools should provide healthier lunch, have informational information to the students to be
aware of the consequences of an eating fast food on a daily basis, and encourage parents to cook.
The government should lower prices in vegetables and fruits so they can be affordable and used a
lot more in the kitchen. Turn the dining room into a family place again of rejoice and healthy
choices!




Works Cited
Anonymous, . "Surprising Health Dangers of Fast Food." The Jacksonville Free Press, 25.29
(2012): 7.Web. 2 Mar. 2014
Clark, Sarah. Why Do We Eat So Much Fast Food? UK.UK, 16 Jan. 2014.Web. 2 Mar. 2014
"Encourage Anti-Fast Food Campaign." The New NationAug 08 2012. ProQuest. Web. 2 Mar.
2014 .
Hager, Carrison. "Fast food?" Skipping Stones Jan.-Feb. 2008: 5. General OneFile. Web. 2 Mar.
2014.
Roizman,Tracey. The Advantages of a Home Cooked Meal. SF Gate. SF Gate. Web. 2 Mar.
2014