he Social Impacts of Fast Food The food society consumes eventually affects the way they live their

life. Convenience, time, and money are all essential to our lives; however, there are consequences for those who use them unwisely. Fast food consumers face the dangers of social consequences, societal costs, and family issues. American society has changed the way they live because of eating fast food. Social consequences are one of the big impacts from eating fast food. It occurs to Americans who are known for their impatience and their pursuit to make things faster, easier and cheaper. Our fast food services caused many Americans to lose their patience for other aspects in our lives. Impatience will cost you. Having patience in our lives is essential in gaining friendship, goals, and almost anything one can think of. We get many rapid services and products now days, for example: internet service, 2-in- 1 shampoo and of course, fast food. We got used to our rapid speed services in which we find very efficient for our lives. This unfortunately caused our society to become impatient. Family issues had increased as much as social consequences. As a tradition in the past, families would all get together at the table for supper to eat and spend quality time with the family members but, ever since fast food chains became a big impact in our society, family dinners reduced a lot compared to before. Fewer family dinners equals less communication and traditions between the family members. Children these days need more family time due to their change in behavior most of the time. They need their familys support for their mental health and stability. In her article, The Family Dinner: Nutrition and Nurture, Kathleen Zelman maintains that Its very comforting to children to know that their parents want to know whats going on in their livesChatting around the dinner table encourages kids to talk to their parents about sensitive issues(Zelman). Without proper communication, parents are less aware of their childrens lives outside of their home. Knowing how our society has changed compared to the

years before, parents should be able to know what their children are going through especially with school and friends. This tends to create an unhealthy nation because of the lack of communication. Our society should desire the need for having family dinners in order to have a healthy relationship and life. There are many ways to reduce social consequences. Families should start planning slowly and work their way up if they are not cooperating in family dinners. If families start changing their eating habits slowly instead of making dramatic changes, I believe that their children will eventually adapt to the routine. Making everyone involved in preparing the table and dinner can help bring the family closer. Communication and teamwork are great examples of family bonding. When children have the opportunity to help out with dinner, they will sooner or later get to learn how to set up the table, shop and prepare the food, and also getting a habit of cleaning after themselves. According to Davies, A Harvard Medical School study found that there are nutritional, as well as social, emotional and academic advantages that occur in children when families share meals together (Davies). There are many positive effects from eating with your family instead of individually. Another danger of buying fast food is societal costs. Since fast food is convenient and inexpensive, people have a hard time resisting at times. Unfortunately, it is one of the worst selections when it comes to a persons diet. Researchers have found that fast food leads to addiction. They found out that it affects the brain the same way narcotics do. Doing drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the so-called pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D (Klein). These researchers theory of saying fast food is addicting is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of our society spending way too much money and time. By the time a customer has a bad addiction to

fast food; they have already spent way too much money on it, which could have been used on fresh vegetable and fruits. Addiction can also lead to danger health risks, for example health disease and diabetes. These problematic factors are very costly; fast food now does not seem so inexpensive after all these problems occurred. After knowing about all these dangerous factors, we have to inform children about their health risks because they are most likely surrounded by fast food restaurants these days. In the article Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills, Birch stated that children should develop consumer skills for fast food knowing how much fat and grease is contained in the food. Without a doubt, children who lack the knowledge of health risks are most likely in danger of having health problems. There are many ways our society can start lowering down their consumption of fast food. From what I have personally experienced, fast food chains trick you by their supersize portions. This is a common offering at many fast food restaurants where bigger items are priced only slightly higher in order to encourage patrons to purchase more. Generally, even the smallest size available is a more than enough on its own (Henshaw). We have to train ourselves to not fall for that trap. The best option is to be completely away from them even though they are everywhere in our sight. It is crazy how much we get lured in by the menus and advertisements on the television and billboards. According to DeNitto, Healthcare advocates are putting at least some blame on fast food companies (DeNitto). Social consequences, family issues, and societal costs is conflicting our American society. By working together to have our society informed with the right knowledge of what is good to eat and to start having family dinners again, we are able to live our life happier and healthier.

Works Cited Birch, David. Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills. Journal of Health Education, 27 (1996): S60-S61. Davies, Leah. "Is Family Mealtime Important?" Children's Books. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. DeNitto, Emily. "Fast-food Ads Come Under Fire." Advertising Age, 65 (1994): S14. Henshaw, Ashley. "The Major Health Hazards of Fast Food." Symptomfind.com. 29 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.symptomfind.com/nutrition-supplements/health-hazards-offast-food/>. Klein, Sarah. "Fatty Foods May Cause Cocain-like Addiction." CNN. Cable News Network, 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/28/fatty.foods.brain/index.html>.

Zelman, Kathleen M. "The Family Dinner: Nutrition and Nurturing." WebMD. 04 June 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. <http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/the-family-dinnernutrition-nurturing>.

Annotated Bibliography Birch, David. Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills. Journal of Health Education, 27 (1996): S60-S61. 20 April 2012. Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills explains how students these days should develop consumer skills for fast food. It has been known that fast food contains a high percentage of fat and sodium. Although fast food restaurants continue to offer foods high in fat, sodium, and sugar, many have responded to consumers increasing nutritional awareness by adding to or modifying menu selections(Birch). Children should be aware of what can happen to their health by the overconsumption of fast food. This article also explains how children should differentiate the amount of sodium, sugar, and fat in their different types of food. Without the proper education on what could happen to their health, children are most likely increasing their health risks of many diseases. Many children have no knowledge on how to spend their money correctly. Some parents need to make sure that their money is used wisely. DeNitto, Emily. "Fast-food ads come under fire; Advocates of healthy-eating decry high-fat diets for youngsters." Advertising Age. 14 February 1994. LexisNexis Academic. Web.23 April 2012. In this article, DeNitto explains how fast food advertisements are part of the cause of children being attached to eating fast food. They found the percentage of high-fat foods advertised during Saturday morning children's TV viewing time increased from 16% to 41% of all food advertising between 1989 and 1993(DeNitto). She explains if we gave a plate of a hamburger or veggies to kids, they would automatically choose the hamburger. It has been said that some healthcare advocates are blaming food companies for the rise of child obesity. Throughout the article, Lisa Cohn stated how she did not have a problem with fast food advertisements;

however, she is concerned about the education of good health for the children who are surrounded by these ads all the time. It has been said that Coca-Cola and other sodas have avoided being on childrens television commercials unlike fast food places. Durning, Marijke V. "Type 2 Diabetes and Fast Food." EverydayHealth.com. 09 Jan. 2012. Web. diabetes-and-fastApr. 2012. <http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/type-2food.aspx>.

Type 2 Diabetes and Fast Food by Durning explains how humans usually get type 2 diabetes. It is usually caused by how individuals live their lifestyle. Controlling ones fast food cravings and diet can help lower down a persons risk of getting diabetes. Without a doubt, many people say fast food is cheap, convenient and easy to handle. There's no denying that these quick-bite chains seem to be everywhere the United States currently has about 7.52 fast-food restaurants per 100,000 residents, according to a recent article in the journal Critical Public Health(Durning). Planning ahead before ordering what one wants at a fast food place is smart. These places seem to rush people which causes them to order random things they were not about to eat. Many fast food chains now provide a nutritional guide along with their menu. This informs their customers how many calories and other factors in their body. Haines, Cynthia D. "Health Guide." Fast Foods Nutrition. A.D.A.M, 6 Aug. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. In this website, Haines explains how fast foods provide a nutritional and ingredient guide along with their food now. Even with the help of the guide, customers have to choose wisely of what to eat at a fast food restaurant. Fast food items have been modified to reflect consumers' concern about the fat content of their food. Many fast food restaurants have switched from beef tallow or lard to hydrogenated vegetable oils for frying(Haines). This article also explains the side effects

of fast food. Society should eat more food from places that have a variety of salads, soup and vegetables. There is no control over what these restaurants put into their food like the amount of fat and oil. Sometimes, we would want to have less sauce for example. Making a home cooked meal is more convenient for a person who wants to know what is in the food. This website gives tips on what to order on our pizza, burgers, sandwiches and more. It informs you how to eat healthier. Kaufman, Francine R. "Clinical Diabetes." Type 2 Diabetes in Children and Young Adults: ANew Epidemic" Oct. 2002. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. In Clincial Diabetes, they explain how type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically throughout these years. It explains the ethnicity of people who usually have type 2 diabetes. They also explain how children should be inform with what is healthy and not. Nutrition counseling needs to be available in school so that children understand the importance of healthy eating (Kaufman). She took a stand of how children these days should not be allowed to buy candy or anything containing sugar in the drink in school. They explained all about type 2 diabetes; they talked about how a person can get it and other risk factors. They do not know of any effected regimens except for exercising and having a good nutrition. She convinces us that we are in an epidemic. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print. The very first chapter in this book describes how everything comes from corn. Throughout this book, Pollan explains how we are what we eat. In one of the chapters, he started explaining about McDonalds. He bought a meal for his son and family. He explained how the chicken nuggets contained ingredients that were not from corn. According to the handout, McNuggets

also contain several completely synthetic ingredients, quasiedible substances that ultimately come not from corn or soybean field but from a petroleum refinery or chemical plantkeeping the organic materials in them from going bad(Pollan 186). He also points out that our eating decisions come from a tradition, for instance, he gave an example of the French Paradox of how they ate. French people ate mostly cheese and drank wine.

University of Minnesota. "Fast Food As Family Meals Limits Healthy Food Intake, Increases Obesity Risk." ScienceDaily, 8 Jan. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. This article explains how eating at home with your family can benefit your health than eating out on a daily basis. According the article, Families whose meals frequently consist of fast food are more likely to have unhealthy eating habits, poor access to healthy foods at home, and a higher risk for obesity, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School(Science Daily). The longer a family consumes fast food throughout the week, the more chips and soda are usually distributed. Researchers have found that consuming fast food as a family meal affects their food choices negatively if they are consuming it as a daily routine. It also explains Project EAT, which stands for Eating Among Teens. It is a study of obesity and nutrition among adolescents in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro areaexamine the prevalence of fast food purchases for family meals and the association between eating fast food for dinner and home food availability(Science Daily).

Zelman, Kathleen M. "The Family Dinner: Nutrition and Nurturing." WebMD. 04 June 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. In this article, Zelman explained how she thought having family dinner was a very important tradition for her family. According to Zelman, Sitting down for a family meal is a symbol of

love, connections and communication. Quality time has many positive outcomes for families. During family dinners, traditions and cultural heritage are able to be passed down and taught to their children. Better grades and less depression are outcomes from family dinners. It also explained how many adults struggle to know when they are actually full. This is why we should not let kids under the age of 5 serve themselves, because they do not know when to stop eating. They have to learn when they are satisfied and not super full. Having family dinners make the parent a role model towards their children as well. It is better to show your children then to tell them. By being a good role model, they will be able to have good eating habits and good table manners.