THE EFFECTS OF
FAST FOOD ON THE BODY
Fast foods often contain too many calories and
too little nutrition. If fast food is a regular component of your diet, you
might find yourself struggling with weight problems and ill health
Effects
of Fast Food on the Body
Food
is fuel for your body. It has a direct impact on how you feel as well as on
your overall health. Fast food isn’t necessarily bad, but in many cases it’s
highly processed and contains large amounts of carbohydrates, added sugar,
unhealthy fats, and salt (sodium).
These foods are often high in
calories yet offer little or no nutritional value. When fast food frequently
replaces nutritious foods in your diet, it can lead to poor nutrition, poor
health, and weight gain. Tests in
lab animals have even shown a negative effect in short duration diets. Being
overweight is a risk factor for a variety of chronic health problems including
heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.
According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,
most people underestimate the number of calories they’re eating in a fast-food
restaurant. A 2013 study published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that children and
adolescents take in more calories in fast food and other restaurants than at
home. Eating at a restaurant added between 160 and 310 calories a day.
Digestive
and Cardiovascular Systems
Many
fast foods and drinks are loaded with carbohydrates and, consequently, a lot of
calories. Your digestive system breaks carbs down into sugar (glucose), which
it then releases into your bloodstream. Your pancreas responds by releasing
insulin, which is needed to transport sugar to cells throughout your body. As
the sugar is absorbed, your blood sugar levels drop. When blood sugar gets low,
your pancreas releases another hormone called glucagon. Glucagon tells the
liver to start making use of stored sugars.
When everything is working in sync,
blood sugar levels stay within a normal range. When you take in high amounts of
carbs, it causes a spike in your blood sugar. That can alter the normal insulin
response. Frequent spikes in blood sugar may be a contributing factor in
insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.
Sugar and Fat
Added sugars have no nutritional
value but are high in calories. According to the American Heart Association, most Americans take in twice as much sugar as is
recommended for optimal health. All those extra calories add up to extra
weight, which is a contributing factor for getting heart disease.
Trans fats are a manufactured fat
with no extra nutritional value. They’re considered so unhealthy that some
countries have banned their use. Often found in fast food, trans fats are known
to raise LDL cholesterol levels. That’s the undesirable kind of cholesterol.
They can also lower HDL cholesterol, which is the so-called good cholesterol.
Trans fats may also increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Sodium
Too much sodium causes your body to
retain water, making you feel bloated and puffy. But that’s the least of the
damage overly salted foods can do. Sodium also can contribute to existing high
blood pressure or enlarged heart muscle. If you have congestive heart failure,
cirrhosis, or kidney disease, too much salt can contribute to a dangerous
buildup of fluid. Excess sodium may also increase your risk for kidney stones,
kidney disease, and stomach cancer.
High cholesterol and high blood
pressure are among the top risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Respiratory
System
Obesity
is associated with an increase in respiratory problems. Even without diagnosed
medical conditions, obesity may cause episodes of shortness of breath or
wheezing with little exertion. Obesity also can play a role in the development
of sleep apnea, a condition in which sleep is continually disrupted by shallow
breathing and asthma.
A recent study published in the
journal Thorax suggests that children who eat fast food at least
three times a week are at increased risk of asthma and rhinitis, which involves
having a congested, drippy nose.
Central
Nervous System
A
study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition showed that eating commercial baked goods (doughnuts,
croissants, and, yes, even bran muffins) and fast food (pizza, hamburgers, and
hot dogs) may be linked to depression. The study determined that people who eat
fast food are 51 percent more likely to develop depression than those who eat
little to no fast food. It was also found that the more fast food study
participants consumed, the more likely they were to develop depression.
A junk food diet could also affect
your brain’s synapses and the molecules related to memory and learning,
according to a study published in the journal Nature. Animal tests have shown a
similar effect. Rats fed a steady diet
with over half the calories from fat (similar to a junk food diet) for just a
few days had trouble completing a maze they had previously mastered in a 2009
study.
Skin
and Bones
Chocolate and greasy foods are often blamed
for acne, but they’re not the real culprits. It’s carbs that are to blame.
According to the Mayo Clinic, because foods that are
high in carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels, they may also trigger acne.
The
study in Thorax showed a higher risk
of eczema (inflamed, irritated patches of skin) among children with a diet high
in fast food.
When
you consume foods high in carbs and sugar, bacteria residing in your mouth
produce acids. These acids can destroy tooth enamel, a contributing factor in
dental cavities. When the enamel of your tooth is lost, it can’t be replaced.
Poor oral health has also been linked to other health problems.
Excess
sodium may also increase your risk of developing osteoporosis (thin, fragile
bones).
Obesity
Junk
food plays a major role in the obesity epidemic. By the year 2050, the rate of
obesity in the U.S. is expected to reach 42 percent, according to researchers
at Harvard University. Children who eat fast food as a regular part of their
diets consume more fat, carbohydrates and processed sugar and less fiber than
those who do not eat fast food regularly. Junk food in these children's diets
accounts for 187 extra calories per day, leading to 6 additional pounds of
weight gain per year. Obesity increases your risk for cardiovascular disease,
diabetes and many other chronic health conditions.
Diabetes
Your
insulin levels become elevated when you eat processed sugars, such as those in
soft drinks, white flour and other foods devoid of fiber and nutrients
necessary to properly metabolize carbohydrates. Eating junk foods throughout
the day causes chronically high insulin levels, which eventually prompts your
cells to begin to ignore this important hormone, resulting in a condition known
as insulin resistance. Ultimately, obesity and Type 2 diabetes may set in.
Since the 1980s, Type 2 diabetes, which was minimal in teenagers, has risen to
15 percent.
Depression
Junk
food may lead to depression in teenagers, according to Andrew F. Smith, author
of the book "Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to
Eat." Hormonal changes at puberty make teens more susceptible to mood and
behavioral swings. A healthy diet plays a part in keeping hormone levels on an
even keel, while a diet high in junk food falls short of these requirements.
Consuming trans fats, saturated fats and processed food is associated with up
to 58 percent increase in risk of depression.
Nutrient Deficiencies
Processing
that removes vitamins, minerals and fiber makes junk foods into the sources of
empty calories that nutritionists disparage. Children who eat a lot of junk
foods may develop nutritional deficiencies that lead to low energy, mood
swings, sleep disturbance and poor academic achievement, among other health
conditions, according to the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.
Sodium
High
sodium levels are a defining characteristic of many junk foods and one of the
contributing factors to the overconsumption of salt that typifies the Western
diet and contributes to high blood pressure and heart, liver and kidney
diseases, according to Harvard Health Publications. The average American eats
five to 10 times more salt than the 2,300 milligrams per day recommended by the
U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Considering the high rates of high blood
pressure among Americans, that level should be even lower -- about 1,500
milligrams per day -- for 70 percent of adults. However, the trend since 1988
shows that fewer people with hypertension adhere to a low-sodium diet now than
did then.
Effects on Society
According
to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC),
the definition of obesity is when your body mass index (BMI) is 30.0 or higher.
BMI is a calculation of your height and weight. You can calculate your BMI here. There’s also a category
referred to as “extreme obesity,” which is defined as a
BMI of 40. Across all race groups, one in three Americans is considered obese
while one in 20 is considered
extremely obese. Those statistics are higher in the black and Latino
communities. Approximately 75 percent of people in these
groups who are over age 20 are considered obese.
The Obesity Action Coalition
(OAC) reports
that the number of fast food outlets has doubled since 1970, a period during
which the number of obese Americans also doubled. It’s likely that many
factors have contributed to the obesity epidemic, but the correlation between
the availability of cheap and fattening fast food and national weight increase
is stark. Obesity increases the likelihood of heart disease, high blood
pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, joint problems, and more. In 2008,
obesity-related medical costs were estimated at $147 billion. Diabetes alone was
estimated to be responsible for $69 billion just in lost
productivity. Numbers like these suggest that the costs of cheap fast food are
surprisingly high.
Nama
: Syahrian Alvi Utama
Kelas : 4KB01
NPM : 27112237
Reference
:
http://www.healthline.com/health/fast-food-effects-on-body
http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/reasons-eating-junk-food-not-good-3364.html
