Fast Food Consumption and Obesity

The relation between fast food consumption and obesity cannot be neglected. Fast food is one of major causes of obesity. Fast food is also known as ready to make food and there is a remarkable difference between fast food and junk food. When food contains no nutritional value, it is called junk food. Currently, eating fast foods has been increasing day by day and spending money on home away foods has increased rapidly. In back 1970, money spent on away-from-home foods represented 25% of total food spending and the percentage of spending money on fast foods increased to 53% in 2010. Fast foods are widely available in the local environment and it always competes with the nutritional foods which are also found in the area.  Children aged from 6 to 11 years gained at least 20% of their needed energy from beverages, snacks, food juices, etc. 

Obesity due to imbalance diet:

Obesity results from an imbalance between the amount of energy taken in, through eating and drinking, and the amount of energy spent on metabolism and physical activity. In children the energy is also spent in large parts in growth and development.

      Fast foods fall into this category of food. Fast foods are typically high in:-

• Calories.
• Fat (Saturated and trans fat).
• Sugar.
• Simple carbohydrates.
• Sodium (salt).

What is Obesity ?

Obesity and overweight, in the last decade have become a global problem – according to the World Health Organization (WHO), back in 2005 approximately 1.6 billion adults over the of age 15+ were overweight, at least 400 million adults were obese and at least 20 million children under the age of 5 years were overweight.39% of adults aged 18 years and over were overweight in 2016, and 13% were obese. 39 million children under the age of 5 were overweight or obese in 2020. 

The scale of the obesity problem has a number of serious consequences for individuals and government health systems.

CAUSES OF OBESITY:-

however, there may be many causes of obesity and overweight.

• The main reason is imbalance of calories intake and calories used. If the calories consumed is more than the calories expended, it results in obesity and being overweight. 

• Another important thing that people, while outside, prefer to eat fast foods, which are high in fat and calories, causes obesity. 
• Lack of Exercise, people ignore the importance of health and do no physical activities. In this digital era, people prefer to spend their time on social media scrolling and internet use instead of physical exercises.

Management of obesity:

Check your Body Mass Index (BMI), it can be checked dividing weight in kilograms by square of height in meters (BMI = weight/height²).

Adult BMI Calculator

The main aspects of healthy behaviors are a healthy diet and regular physical activities. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy diet would include fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins and a limited intake of high-fat foods. According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should engage in 150 minutes of moderate exercise and/or 75 minutes of intense exercise, as well as strength building exercises.

Failing to adhere to these guidelines by eating an unhealthy diet and not exercising enough. Lack of physical activities may also increase the risk of overweight, obesity and the associated complications. Overweight people attracts more diseases such as heart attack and type 2 diabetes.

The first thing to get rid of obesity, plan a healthy diet plan. So that you are aware of how much calories and fat, you are consuming. For most people, losing a small amount of weight to the tune of 5% can have benefits. Finally, this may be sufficient to reduce the risk of developing diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease.