Proliferation of Restaurants - Essay Example

Introduction Each era is characterized by things that distinguish it from others. The variables of our time are the proliferation of restaurants, in particular fast food restaurants. The main reasons for this proliferation are changing lifestyles and working hours. In these days, people have got no time to cook something because it needs a long time to buy ingredients from market and then make some dish from them. So, people prefer to go to restaurants for food rather than making it at their homes. Promoting fast food The advertising and promotional campaigns led by the media in favor of restaurants played a significant role in changing lifestyles of the people because publicity always play a major role in attracting public’s attention towards any specific thing. These advertising campaigns promoted several benefits of the restaurants. Some of those benefits which were promoted by the campaigns included time-saving, fresh atmosphere, fresh food and money-saving. So, these benefits motivated people to go to the restaurants and have fresh and delicious food at relatively cheaper prices. Causes and effects of fast food Now, let’s come to the positive and negative aspects of eating fast-food. But first we should know what actually fast-food is. Fast-food is that type of inexpensive or reasonably priced food which is prepared and served quickly. Low preparation time is mainly considered as one of the chief characteristics of fast-food. If we talk about the positive aspects of fast-food, we would say that it saves our precious time which is wasted in cooking at home and also it is prepared by those cooks who are professionally trained to make such food. When a person goes to a fast food restaurant, he wants some sort of quick meal. But his desire is not only to get quick meal but also to have very delicious and mouth watering meal. Combination of different sausages is used to make a meal tastier than that of ordinary food cooked at home. It is not only the quick service but also the lusciousness of meal which attracts people towards fast food restaurants. Fast-food is not only delicious to eat but also it is cheaper to buy as compared to the food which is cooked at home. It is a noticeable fact that most of the fast-food lovers are children and teenagers. And they have made fast-food a basic and the most important entity of daily life. While talking about benefits of fast food restaurants, we should not forget that eating too much fast food doesn’t have a good effect on health as it causes many health problems including hypercholesterolemia, insulin resistance and corpulence. It should also be kept in mind that eating too much fast-food increases the level of fats in the body while reduces the number of required vitamins for the body. Fast-foods have a high level of energy density which is harmful for health as it confuses the brain control mechanism for appetite. Fast-food restaurants add too much salt in products in order to make them tastier but it results in high blood pressure and certain heart diseases. Vitamins are also lacked in fast-food as it doesn’t contain fruits or vegetables which are the primary source of vitamins for humans. Another effect is that due to good taste of fast-food products, it is eaten much more than that of any normal food cooked at home which results in obesity. “Obesity leads to other complications like increase in the cholesterol level, blocking of the arteries, the increased risk of coronary diseases, in addition to the general physical discomfort posed by the extra weight” (Manohar, 2008). One of the most dangerous aspect is that fast-food contains artificial colors, flavor, textures and palatability which is extremely dangerous for our health. Another dangerous aspect is that fast-food leads to the clogged-arteries problem which may lead to heart attacks for a person. While talking about the negative and positive aspects of fast-food, let’s discuss the harmful effects on human health as a result of obesity which is created by eating too much fast-food. In these days, obesity is seen as one of the biggest threats to health. Diabetes and heart diseases are two major aftereffects of obesity. Abdominal fats can be one of the most important symptoms of heart disease. Some of the other major diseases caused by fast-food are increased level of serum triacylglycerol, hyperinsulinemia and negative effects regarding insulin resistance. We can also say that the health risks that are caused by obesity, heart problems and diabetes increase the risk of stroke, as well as, liver damage and liver disease. Fast food lacks vitamins and fiber which are essential for health. If a person doesn’t eat the required amount of fruits or vegetables, it leads to the scarcity of essential elements needed for maintaining health. Also, if we take less number of vitamins and minerals than the required level, then it adversely effects the body and leads to different sorts of diseases which include diabetes and severe heart diseases. Fast-food contains a large number of fats as compared to the typical meal. It is a known fact that heart attacks occur if we eat too much fats. So, if we eat too much fast-food or if we make it a habit to take fast-food as meal and not to take any ordinary meal cooked at home, it will cause damage to the blood vessels in the body and raises the risk of sudden heart attacks. Fast food contains a relatively high level of sodium in it which is dangerous for health as it increases the level of blood pressure. The requirement of sodium in our bodies is very less as compared to the fast food meals. So, increased use of sodium always has a bad effect on our health. If we talk about cholesterol level in fast food meals, we should say that fast food meals contain a higher level of cholesterol which puts our health in serious dangers. The meat which tastes very delicious in fast food meals has a very high level of cholesterol which results in accretion of bad cholesterol in our bodies. The effect of high cholesterol is that it gets added up in our arteries as a result of which arteries begin to get thick and clogged which is very dangerous for any person as it results in obstruction of blood flow through arteries and our blood pressure may go high because of it. Another bad effect of fast food meals is that it contains a high amount of trans fat which is commonly known as a very bad form of fats. It is dangerous to health because it adds to the level of bad cholesterol in our bodies. Bad cholesterol is known as low density lipoprotein level of a person’s body. Not only that, trans fat results in the decrease of good cholesterol in our bodies. Good cholesterol is also known as high density lipoprotein level of a person’s body. While talking about these negative effects, we should also discuss the effect of fast food meals on healthy lifestyles. If a person eats too much fast food or gets addicted to fast food meals, it will result in obesity which will not only make him fat but also it will add to various complications for his body. Some of these complications can be increased cholesterol level in the body, clogging of the arteries and a very huge amount of risk of coronary diseases which may become unsafe for a body. A person shouldn’t get addicted to fast food meals because of these effects. Eating fast food seems good for a person as it tastes more delicious than regularly cooked food at home but it will result in serious diseases for his body. Conclusion Summing it up, fast food meals are not only attracting people towards it because of quick service and tasty food but also becoming seriously harmful for our health. We should go to fast food restaurants but shouldn’t become addicted to them because extent of anything is bad and in case of fast food meals, it’s really dangerous to make it a habit to eat fast food meals rather than ordinary meals. References Manohar, Uttara “Fast Food Facts: Effects of Fast Food.” Fast Food Facts: Effects of Fast Food. 15 May 2008. Buzzle.com. 12 Dec. 2009 Read More