Growing Into You

“The journey of a thousand pounds begins with a single burger.” –Chris O’Brien

Every day, millions of people around the world stop by their local McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King, and Taco Bell. These people are in a rush, looking for convenience, or just do not feel like fixing any food in their own home. They order value meals with Biggie Fries and a Biggie drink, paying $5 or more per person.

These people understand that they are paying for convenience, but they do not understand the other high costs associated with eating at these fast food establishments on a regular basis. Eating at fast food restaurants diminishes a family’s “togetherness,” makes them psychologically dependent on the food , forces them to spend more time and money than they are expecting, and destroys their health.

The first added cost that fast food chains give to their customers is the fact that customers lose valuable family time. The fast food industry makes being in a rush a very acceptable part of everyday life. Instead of waking up in the morning and sitting at the table eating breakfast with your family before work and school, everybody wakes up at the very last possible second; quickly taking their showers and then heading off in their different directions; stopping to grab food on the way. Then, on the way home, one of the parents usually grabs a to go order from the nearest place to bring home for the family. Then, the family will grab their own order and go eat in their own individual rooms.

There are very few times throughout the day that families have the opportunity to be able to spend any kind of quality time together. I understand the busy lifestyle of families these days; kids have their extra-curricular activities and parents have long work weeks. Each day, these families should make it a goal to eat at least one meal together. Instead of trying to get as much sleep as possible, these families could wake up 20 to 30 minutes earlier and plan on having a good healthy breakfast. If the kids are old enough, another possibility would be for every night of the week, have a different member of the family cook the dinner. This would be a great, and sometimes adventurous, way to spend 30 minutes together as a family. On top of that, it would teach children cooking skills they need in order to live a healthy life.

The next added cost fast food brings to their customers is the psychological cost. How many people do you know that have constant cravings for carrots, celery, or almost any other vegetable? Not very many, right? On the other hand, how many people do you know that constantly crave French fries, super-sized fountain drinks, or fatty hamburgers? There are probably dozens of people you know that would fall into this category. I know I have my moments. Why is this? Research has shown that people that constantly eat foods high in fat and sugar can become “addicted” to these foods. Their body craves the food as it would any drug, many times to the point of obesity. These fast food restaurants rely on these addicted people to come back regularly to help support their business.

The third cost that people receive is they end up spending MUCH more time and money eating at these places compared with what they would spend if they prepared a home cooked meal. A meal for a family of four at ANY fast food restaurant is usually a minimum of $20. If they would take that same $20 to a local grocery store, they would be able to buy much more food that would help lead to healthy lives. The cost of an egg and cheese sandwich from home is about fifty cents, give or take a few, while ordering an egg and cheese sandwich from a fast food place will cost about $1.50. As you can see, if you would multiply that out, a family could easily spend two to three times the amount at a fast food restaurant compared with what they would spend if they ate at home.

People also tend to eat MUCH more food at fast food restaurants then they would with healthy, home-cooked meals. Have you ever over-eaten on the amount of healthy vegetables or fruits you have eaten, to the point of being sick? I know I haven’t, but I sure have had that sick, bloated feeling after I threw down a combo meal from my favorite hamburger place. When people are in a rush, they tend to eat VERY quickly. If the person eats too fast, the brain cannot send a signal to the body telling it it is full, so the person almost always overeats. If the person would eat a sit-down dinner at home, spread over 30 minutes, he or she would be able to eat slowly, enjoy the food, and also prevent him or her self from over-eating. This alone would help cut down on the amount of health problems from eating related factors.

Many people eat at these places for their added convenience. They save the time and energy needed to fix a meal at home. However, if the person would add up all the time it takes to drive out of their way to the restaurant, sit in line to order, wait on their food, and then get on their way, they would see they spend almost as much, if not more time at a fast food joint compared with fixing a quick meal. It only takes a few minutes to make and eat a healthy turkey sandwich, but a person could spend 10 minutes waiting on their food at a FAST food place. The only con to fixing a meal at home; the two minutes it takes to clean up!

Finally, the largest cost fast food restaurants bring to their customers is the dangerous health hazards it presents to them. If you have ever seen the movie “Super Size Me,” you would have seen how a perfectly healthy person basically destroyed his health by eating McDonald’s every meal for just 30 days. Now, take the effects he received after 30 days (weight gain, loss of energy, heart palpitations, and feelings of depression just to name a few) and multiply them by the years of over-eating on this type of food. I could only imagine what kind of shape he would be in. This is one of the main reasons for the obesity problems facing the United States.

Now don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy a hamburger, chicken nuggets, or French fries every once in a while. The key, however, is to eat at these types of places and consume these types of foods in moderation only. On occasion, they will not hurt you and can even be beneficial because they can serve as a reward for a goal achieved; any more than that and you could fall into the pitfall of the “fast food routine.”

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This entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 4:23 am and is filed under General Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.