Health experts have been debating since quite a long about the negative impacts of junk food on our health. Junk food is not the healthiest type of meal as it contains huge amounts of fats and sugars. It is considered to be the key factor in rising obesity epidemic in the world. In a recent survey, India came out to be the third worse hit country by obesity epidemic, followed by China and United States. Fast food and sedentary lifestyle is largely blamed for population being overweight and obese.
Fast Food Consumption: Poor Vs. Wealthy
There’s a common notion that wealthier people eat more fast food than the poor ones. But a fast food journalist Mark Bittman begs to differ and reveals some shocking facts about junk food consumption.
This fact cannot be denied that junk food is cheaper than real food, this reflects why so many Americans are overweight. In fact, in America, people belonging to lower income groups are mostly overweight.
The recently published research analysed who consumed fast food by using samples of random Americans. The results are surprising. Poor people are more likely to eat fast food and in fact, they eat fast food way too frequently. Regardless of income, people belonging to both rich and poor group are guilty of indulging into consecutive days of fast food.
Many famous personalities like Donald Trump, President of United States is a lover of fast food himself. Trump even made a commercial for McDonalds in 2002, praising the virtues of a ‘Hamburger’! Warren Buffet, one of the richest people in the world says he loves to eat oreos and coke EVERYDAY!
When people ageing from 40-50 years were questioned how many times you have fast food from outlets, 79% of them said they ate fast food at least once during the three weeks. When talking about the monetary price of fast food, there’s a common myth that fast foods are cheap. On an average, east fast food costs over $8 which is cheap only in comparison to a full-fledged meal in a restaurant. $8 is a big amount for a family living under poverty. So it is doubtful that a family would like to spend such money on eating fast food. Limiting fast food restaurants in lower-income areas is not the way to go.
So what is the solution?
People should check the ingredients before eating. This might help them lower their fast food intake. It will help consumers sway away from fast food and toward healthier eating options. Making these delicious fast foods at home can be another way to check the fast food consumption from outlet. Use healthier cooking oil and keep your hands off the unhealthy ingredients.
