Fast Food

by Atlal Saffouri

Joined Jan 2016
Published Books 4

Fast Food

Definition:

It is a type of mass-produced food that is prepared and served very quickly, was first popularized in the 1950s in the United States, and may be relatively less nutritionally valuable compared to other foods and dishes. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away. Fast food restaurants are traditionally distinguished by their ability to serve food via a drive-through. The term “fast food” was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.

Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. Fast food can also be defined as any food that contributes little or no nutrient value to the diet, but instead provides excess calories and fat. Fast food can be a good way to save time, but it is not the proper way for nutrition. Some of these foods are of little nutritional value and often high in fat, sugar, and calories. Common foods include salted snack foods, gum, candy, sweet desserts, fried fast food, and carbonated beverages. Fast food may include chips, hot pies, pasties, sandwiches, burgers, croissants, kebabs, pizzas, chicken, soups, and salads. It also includes drinks, for instance, milkshakes, and soft drinks.

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Disadvantages of fast food:

When you feel like eating something and think of food, the things come to mind first are the taste, odor or color. Those who have to look after their weight will think of the portion size, many others think of energy, fats, sugars, vitamins or minerals. But do you know that the food we eat may cause side effects and a list of disadvantages. We are not talking about spoiled or poor quality food. Freshly harvested or just cooked food may also cause side effects, some are serious, some are just disturbing, and some may put you into embarrassing situation. Over time, this can lead to an increased risk for illness and disease. Fast food is harmful to health. It is a cause of various diseases. Here we discus some most common disease and other side effects caused by fast food.

Worst Effects of Fast Food:

Obesity

Heart Disease

Type 2 Diabetes

Peptic Ulcer

Lack of Family Gathering

Irregular Timing of Eating

Waste of Money

Loss of Appetite

Lack of Essential Nutrients

Stress

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Different Kinds of Fast Foods:

Fast food can be a quick, easy and cost effective way to feed the whole family. Due to recent bad publicity over nutritional value, most modern fast food chains offer a selection of healthy choices with their menu. Fast food is usually based on traditional dishes, cooked using production line techniques to reduce preparation time and cost.

American Style Fast Food:

American fast food has defined the genre across the globe. Brands such as McDonalds, Subway and Burger King have set the standard for streamlined service at low prices. Food is served mostly in burger variants, most notably the “Whopper” from Burger King and the McDonalds “Big Mac.” Both feature a beef quarter pounder with cheese, onions and pickles and are usually served with fries. The Subway franchise differentiates itself from other fast foods by mainly serving sandwiches and offering a production line style service where the customer chooses how the sandwich is made.

Italian Food:

The biggest name in Italian style fast food comes from Pizza Hut. The brand is famous for its ‘all you can eat’ buffet lunches which feature not only pizza, but pasta and salads. Pizza Hut offers a large variety of different pizzas, pastas and salads to suit most tastes. The Pizza Hut brand is part of Yum!Brands, the largest restaurant chain in the world. The Olive Garden serves up a similar blend of traditional Italian fare and boasts a menu developed at its Culinary Institute of Tuscany where it trains its chefs.

Mexican Food:

Taco Bell is another Yum!Brands enterprise that delivers Mexican style food. Taco Bell has more than 5,800 restaurants in the U.S., serving tacos, burritos, enchiladas and fajitas. The Chipotle Mexican Grill serves a similar menu with a focus on naturally sourced ingredients and use of small, local farm suppliers. Health.com recently listed Chipotle at no. 6 in its list of the healthiest fast food restaurants. However, the average burrito contains 1,000 calories, twice that of a McDonalds Big Mac. The listing was due to Chipotle’s commitment to organic and chemical-free foods.

Asian Food:

Asian fast food is one of the least healthy choices as most menu options will be fried in oil rather. Asian fast food also frequently contains MSG. Panda Express is the largest chain of Chinese restaurants in America with more than 1,000 sites across the country. They serve meals such as Orange Chicken, Beijing Beef and Kung Pao Chicken. Panda Express aims to pay its employees $1 to $2 per hour more than neighboring restaurants, which they claim ensures greater care and attention to quality and service.

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