Fast food has become popular in modern society. This is because it is considered convenient and time-saving when eating from a fast-food restaurant, not forgetting the excellent taste fast food has. Many working people believe that they do not have enough time to even go for a decent lunch break and so ordering from the fast-food restaurant has become the only solution to their problem. Those working in offices have limited lunch break time, and they prefer just ordering ready to eat food from any fast-food restaurants, and the food is delivered. They do not have to move from their desk. There are many fast-food restaurants in America, such as KFC, Burger King, and McDonald's. Through the intersectionality theory, the popularity of fast food has affected working-class people who believe that they do not have enough time to prepare a healthy meal. While utilizing the intersectionality theory in this paper, I argue that the popularity of fast-food restaurants affects consumers' health, and they should reduce consumption. These effects are discussed along with how fast food can be replaced with fresh fruits, vegetables, and other indigenous foodstuffs to make sure they lead a healthy life and protect themselves from preventable diseases such as diabetes heart disease.
Theoretical Framework
According to the framework, social inequalities come about through the difference in class and gender. This indicates that more working men than are likely to consume fast food because women are wired to plan, and most of them tend even to carry packed lunch from home. Men prefer eating from fast-food restaurants across the street because they find it convenient. (Alsabieh et al., 2019). The working-class men are vulnerable as they feel that they can afford that tasty meal from the restaurant compared to carrying packed lunch from home, which they feel can lower their egocentrism as men. Without even considering the risks involved, a large number of working men go for fast food. However, fast foods are disadvantageous since they have extra calories from the fats and redefined sugars, which causes obesity if eaten frequently and without exercise (Jia et al., 2019). They can also cause diabetics because of the sugars they have and heart diseases because of the calories. As a result, this framework is essential as it aids in the identification of the reasons behind opting for fast foods and its effects.
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Findings
Causes of Fast Food Restaurant Popularity
These restaurants have increased in America in the last few years. The good taste and affordable prices of fast food and the convenience of time have made them so popular among the young and working classes. The restaurants are available in the malls, across the street, and even just around the estate. Many people have opted to order even online to make work easier. Many parents feed their children junk food: the most popular being chips, burgers, and pizza. Fast-food restaurants are close to working places, homes, and learning intuitions, and this has made them convenient for most people because they do not have to go many miles in search of food. People with a higher income tend to eat more fast-food. This is because they feel that they can afford it as they have extra money to eat out after paying for all their necessary bills. Besides, Fast-food restaurants have also given the middle class and the wealthy people a reason always to eat out as some fast-food restaurants have made sure they are located in prestigious places that attract the rich. The popularity of the restaurants in the malls or areas where the rich have their meetings has made fast-food unavoidable.
The Impacts of Fast Food
The modern generation is characterized by people who want things to happen in a twinkle of an eye. They do not have time to get into the kitchen and prepare a healthy meal; this has seen the rapid increase of fast-food restaurants, which have become efficient in delivering junk food. These restaurants offer home or office delivery, so the consumers do not have to leave the comfort of their seats. And when they leave the house or the office, the restaurants offer them free Wi-Fi, internet connect, and children's playground. With all these, people become obsessed with the restaurants and hence encouraging laziness. Besides, it has brought significant effects on consumer's health – for instance, the rise of diabetic disorders due to consuming sugary fast foods. It is important to remember that health is wealth, and people need to maintain healthy eating habits so that we can protect our bodies. Eating a healthy meal is essential for sustaining excellent health. People should consume more fruits and vegetables and make sure to consume homemade food, which will help prevent diseases like obesity and diabetes.
Additionally, people's lifestyles have changed, and most do not have time to prepare a decent meal or even find the ingredients for making a tasty homemade meal. And this has caused many of them to abandon their culture of preparing family meals. As a result, people opt for online food ordering. Besides, many people love the efficiency and convenience they get from the fast-food restaurant. Fast foods have made sure that the meals are tasty that every consumer would like to have a bite of it. Many people prefer eating from fast food because they want to experience the excellent taste their friends talk to them about.
Discussion and Conclusion
If fast-food consumption is not reduced, more and more restaurants will come up because junk food demand will continue increasing. Fast-food is delicious, and it attracts people of all ages. The impacts of the popularity of fast food have adverse effects. The intersectionality theory has of been of significance in this paper has it helped in identifying the most affected groups of persons who are subjects of fast foods. Also, it is essential as it provides an overview of what to be expected in the future. However, fast foods have several negative impacts. They cause obesity, among other conditions, due to the high content of calories they have (Jia et al., 2019). It can also be expensive to eat junk foods daily rather than preparing a meal at home. The most affected people by fast food’s popularity are the middle and working classes because they feel they do not have the time to make food at home.
Many people feel that they do not have enough time to handle office work or their businesses and still spare some minutes to go and have a good meal. They feel like ordering online for an office delivery will save them a lot of time and hence they opt for the fast-food. This has prompted the increase of the fast-food restaurants in the cities (Turbutt,2020). Fast food restaurant popularity has brought poor feeding habits, and it can be termed as oppression through nutrition because there is nothing good that comes from fast food apart from diseases. To help curb the growing fast-food rates, individuals should turn back to their traditional ways of having meals from home. Also, there is a need to plan, which entails having prior meal schedules. In this case, one carries their food from home. There is also a need to think about fast food differently, more so junk food. In this case, people need to think about with a negative perspective, which results in a lessened desire (Moor, 2017) . Hence, this will help reduce consuming fast foods.
References
Alsabieh, M., Alqahtani, M., Altamimi, A., Albasha, A., Alsulaiman, A., Alkhamshi, A., ... & Bashir, S. (2019). Fast food consumption and its associations with heart rate, blood pressure, cognitive function, and quality of life. Pilot study. Heliyon , 5 (5), e01566.
Jia, P., Luo, M., Li, Y., Zheng, J. S., Xiao, Q., & Luo, J. (2019). Fast ‐ food restaurant, unhealthy eating, and childhood obesity: A systematic review and meta ‐ analysis. Obesity Reviews .
Turbutt, C. L. (2020). Hot Food Takeaways around schools: Can fast food be healthier? (Doctoral dissertation, University of Plymouth).
Moor, E. (2017, October 11). How to Stop Eating Junk Food: 10 Tips to Control Your Cravings. (N. Butler, Ed.) Healthline . Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/how-to-stop-eating-junk-food#shop-the-perimeter
