Criticism of fast food includes claims of negative health effects, animal cruelty, cases of worker exploitation, children-targeted marketing and claims of cultural degradation via shifts in people's eating patterns away from traditional foods. Fast food chains have come under fire from consumer groups, such as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a longtime fast food critic over issues such as caloric content, trans fats and portion sizes. Social scientists have highlighted how the prominence of fast food narratives in popular urban legends suggests that modern consumers have an ambivalent relationship (characterized by guilt) with fast food, particularly in relation to children.[1]
Some of these concerns have helped give rise to the slow food and local food movements. These movements seek to promote local cuisines and ingredients, and directly oppose laws and habits that encourage fast food choices. Proponents of the slow food movement try to educate consumers about what its members consider the environmental, nutritional, and taste benefits of fresh, local foods.
Many fast foods have a lot of mayonnaise, cheese, salt, fried meat, and oil. Some of these ingredients have a high energy content (rich in calories) and also a high fat content (Schlosser). Eating too much fat results in an unbalanced diet. Dieticians recommend a diet with adequate proteins and vitamins, and lower amounts of carbohydrates and fat. Thus many fast foods are implicated in poor health and various serious health issues such as obesity and cardiovascular diseases. There is also strong empirical evidence that fast foods are detrimental to appetite, respiratory system function,[2] and central nervous system function (Schlosser). In a cross-sectional data study of more than 100,000 adolescents in 32 countries (including low-, middle-, and high-income countries), it was found that fast food is associated with an increase in suicide attempts.[3] [4]
According to the Massachusetts Medical Society Committee, fast foods are commonly high in fat content, and studies have found associations between fast food intake and increased body mass index (BMI) and weight gain.[5] In particular, many fast foods are high in saturated fats, which are widely held to be a risk factor in heart disease.[6] In 2010, heart disease was the number 1 ranking cause of death.[7] A 2006 study[8] fed monkeys a diet with a similar level of trans fats as that of a person who ate fast food frequently. Both diets contained the same overall number of calories. It was found that the monkeys who consumed higher levels of trans fat developed more abdominal fat than those fed a diet rich in unsaturated fats. They also developed signs of insulin resistance, an early indicator of diabetes. After six years on the diet, the trans fat fed monkeys had gained 7.2% of their body weight, compared to just 1.8% in the unsaturated fat group. A five-year study conducted in Singapore showed that frequent fast food consumers (more than twice a week) had a significant increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of death from coronary heart disease, when compared to non-consumers.[9] The American Heart Association recommends consumption of about 16 grams of saturated fats a day.[10]
The director of the obesity program for the Children's Hospital Boston, David Ludwig, says that "fast food consumption has been shown to increase caloric intake, promote weight gain, and elevate risk for diabetes". The link between eating fast food and developing diabetes is a major cause for alarm. Consuming fast food on a daily basis has been linked to an increased risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes. Insulin resistance and impaired glucose metabolism are common health consequences of a diet heavy in processed carbs, bad fats, and added sweets found in fast food. Type 2 diabetes is a chronic, disabling disease with serious health effects, and its development is influenced by the aforementioned risk factors.[11] Excessive calories are another issue with fast food. According to P. Block, R. Scribner and K. Desalvo, from "Fast Food, Race/Ethnicity, and Income: A Geographic Analysis", 2004, referring to a U.S. Department of Agriculture sponsored study, "the percentage of calories which can be attributed to fast-food consumption has increased from 3% to 12% of the total calories consumed in the United States from 1978 to 1995. In 1995, "away-from-home" foods provided 34% of total caloric intake and 38% of total fat intake compared to 18% for both categories in 1977–1978."[12] A regular meal at McDonald's consists of a Big Mac, large fries, and a large Coca-Cola drink amounting to 1,430 calories. The USDA recommends a daily caloric intake of 2700and for men and women (respectively) between 31 and 50, at a physical activity level equivalent to walking about 1.5 to 3 miles per day at 3 to 4 miles per hour in addition to the light physical activity associated with typical day-to-day life,[13] with the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety guidance suggesting roughly the same levels.[14]
However, besides fast food consumption, there are many other reasons for overweight among children while they are growing, including sex development, "hormonal changes", and social interactions. At those moments young people can feel depressed, which may lead to increase or decrease in appetite. In fact, increased hunger may lead to obesity in some cases. "...seasonal effective disorder affects 1.7 – 5.5% of youths ages 9–19 years old based on a community study of over 2,000 youth."[15]
The fast food chain D'Lites, founded in 1978, specialized in lower-calorie dishes and healthier alternatives such as salads. It filed for bankruptcy in 1987 as other fast food chains began offering healthier options.[16] McDonald's has been attempting to offer healthier options besides salads. They have incorporated fruit and milk as options of Happy Meals and have promoted healthier ads and packaging for children. The Alliance for a Healthier Generation has set a standard in hopes of pressuring fast food companies to make recommended healthier adjustments.[17]
Besides the risks posed by trans fats, high caloric intake, and low fiber intake, another cited health risk is food poisoning. In his book Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser argues[18] that meatpacking factories concentrate livestock into feedlots and herd them through processing assembly lines operated by employees of various levels of expertise, some of whom may be poorly trained, increasing the risk of large-scale food poisoning.[19]
Manure on occasion gets mixed with meat, possibly contaminating it with salmonella and pathogenic E. coli. Usually spread through undercooked hamburgers, raw vegetables, and contaminated water, it is difficult to treat. In 2008, the Health Protection Agency in the United Kingdom showed that in a salmonella tryphimurium outbreak of 179 cases, consumption of pre-packaged egg sandwiches was associated with illness.[20] Supportive treatment can substantially help patients; however since endotoxin is released from gram-negative bacteria such as E. coli upon death, antibiotic use to treat E. coli infections is not recommended.[21] About 4% of people infected with E. coli 0157:H7 develop hemolytic uremic syndrome, and about 5% of children who develop the syndrome die. The rate of developing HUS is 3 in 100,000 or 0.003%. E. coli 0157:H7 has become the leading cause of renal failure among American children. These numbers include rates from all sources of poisoning, including lettuce; radish sprouts; alfalfa sprouts; unpasteurized apple juice/cider; cold cooked or undercooked meat; and unpasteurized animal milk. Additional environmental sources include fecal-contaminated lakes, nonchlorinated municipal water supply, petting farm animals and unhygienic person-to-person contact.[22] An average of sources leads to the number of 0.00000214%