Photo Credit: KAYLEE OBERFIELD
BY JESSICA WEAVER
Getting one McDouble, two small fries, a small coke, and a hot fudge sundae for desert, all for less than six dollars, sounds ideal for most teens whose hunger is much larger than their wallets. However, the dangerous effects of these cheap yet satisfying foods are not nearly worth the bargain. With 12.5 million kids struggling with obesity in the U.S, why do fast food industries keep lowering their prices and making unhealthy food more affordable? As long as fast food restaurants keep their prices cheap, most teens won’t splurge for healthier food.
Although fast food can’t be eliminated completely, it should at least be more costly than healthy, natural food. Just because fast food is cheap does not mean it’s the best choice. Fast food fuels obesity, and according to the American Medical Association, 300,000 Americans die each year from the effects of it, including diabetes, heart attacks, respiratory problems, cancers, and other serious issues.
Fast food restaurants know their food is deadly, that is why they make you believe you’re receiving better deals by buying bigger portions. Cheap fast food is not worth the future affects of obesity, and although you might be taking care of your wallet, you aren’t taking care of your body. Fast food goes hand in hand with bad eating habits and obesity. A typical meal from a fast food restaurant is about 1,000 calories for a cheeseburger and fries. This is about half of a persons daily recommended calorie intake. At restaurants such as Taco Bell, bigger portions are often a better deal. The seemingly great deals that are associated with fast food are their ways of blinding you to its danger.
There are many reasons why fast food is cheaper than a healthy meal. To begin with, more people would rather eat healthy. This causes the demand as well as prices of healthy food to rise, there for resulting in fast food becoming cheaper. Also, agricultural policies, farm grown products and amount of labor required to produce it all cause the prices of healthy food to skyrocket. With the prices of fast food so much cheaper, it’s hard to resist despite the extra calories.
Overall, if a person had the choice between a $1 hamburger or a $1 apple, the hamburger would be their choice. It’s a fast and filling meal for under $5, but the end result could cost so much more. It could cost you your health, or worse, your life.
