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Important Facts About Eating Too Much Fast Food

Fast food is a tasty, convenient, reasonably cheap alternative to a home-cooked meal, and is often chosen by people with busy schedules and limited free time. The downside is that many ingredients in fast foods are bad for your health. French fries, burgers, fried chicken, pizza, sub sandwiches, tacos and soft drinks are laden with calories, saturated fat, trans fats, salt and sugar, and have little nutritional value. Many fast food restaurants provide detailed nutrition information about the food on their menus for consumers who are concerned about their health. Choose your options carefully.

  1. Calories

    • Fast food is often high in calories; if consumed on a regular basis, it quickly adds up, causing excessive weight gain, obesity and related illnesses. A typical fast food meal consisting of a burger, fries and a drink can amount to around 1,600 calories, which is enough for two people. Meals from fast food restaurants are over-sized, encouraging you to overeat.

    Saturated Fat

    • A small amount of fat is needed each day as part of a healthy diet, and unsaturated fat should account for the majority of your fat intake. Fast food is often high in saturated fat -- unhealthy fat which clogs arteries and may increase your risk of heart disease. A Big Mac with medium fries contains 55g of fat -- this is more than two thirds the fat needed for one day, warns the Cooperative Extension System.

    Trans Fats

    • Trans fats, or partially hydrogenated oils, are made when hydrogen is added to liquid vegetable oils to solidify them. Trans fats are cheap to manufacture and can be used multiple times to deep-fry foods. They add flavor and texture to foods and offer a cost-effective way of cooking for fast-food restaurants. Trans fats raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and type-2 diabetes. Your daily intake of trans fats should amount to no more than 1 percent of your total daily calories, says the American Heart Association.

    Sodium

    • A high sodium intake is one of the main contributors to high blood pressure and heart disease -- healthy adults should consume no more than 2300mg of sodium per day, says MedlinePlus. Fast food is often high in salt. A double cheeseburger with large fries can easily contain more than 1500mg of sodium and four chicken nuggets may contain 850mg.

    Nutrients

    • Fast food offers little in the way of fruits and vegetables, which are an important source of vital vitamins and minerals. A diet consisting largely of fast food can lead to a poor intake of essential nutrients and cause malnutrition. As a result, you may lack energy and vitality, feel depressed, suffer from poor skin, hair and nails and feel generally unwell.

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