Fast Food Tubby Tips

An article on Fast Food that was posted online today really took my eye! With college students choosing Fast Food options so frequently, complete with convenience calories, it is no wonder that weight gain and obesity on the rise in this sector of the population. In all fairness weight gain and obesity are on the rise in most all population sectors.

The author of this article stated that even though there are healthier food choices at fast food restaurants, individual items appear to be larger than they once were. Plus after one chain dropped their super size portions, three others introduced 1000 calorie items.

I agree with the author that an occasional splurge would not be bad, but the fact is that many people frequent these fast food establishments and choose the high calorie, fatty options on a more regular basis. Her research showed an alarming parallel between the rates of obesity and the increasing portion sizes.

There are actually 42 oz soda drinks available at several fast food chains. I had read where there was approximately 12 teaspoons of sugar in a can of soda, and that is about 3 and a half cans worth. Wow. This is what is called 'hidden' calories and I feel it packs on the pounds significantly apart from the food.

If one looks close and compares the current size portions with previous options, it might be discovered that the new small was the old medium, or the new medium was the old large. This means that we are getting more than we may think, and realistically who counts calories at fast food restaurants?

It seems to be true that when we eat out we look for value, and that traditionally means quantity. We know, or at least if we read about healthy eating through any number of sources we are told, that we should consume smaller portions. Maybe we try at home to follow this, but when we eat out, we want that 'value'. Eating out more often today than most folks did twenty or so years ago seems to translate into packing on more pounds.

Put all of these facts together and we should be able to agree that eating like this adds up to unhealthy pounds we are putting on our bodies. We haven't even discussed how little nutrition is available for our bodies with these large portion, high calorie fast food items.

On a 'lighter' note, we do have choices:

Avoid large size orders.

When you eat at a fast food restaurant, choose a bottle of water for your drink to avoid those hidden calories in soda.

Choose at least one healthy side item. There are usually several salad choices available.

Eat your food slowly, and stop when you feel full.

If you find that fast food is in your diet more often than not, evaluate the nutrition you are getting. Sometimes lack of nutrients will show itself early on when you get sick more often than everyone else or lack energy. Other times it takes longer but more serious illnesses develop.

Supplementing our diets with vitamins and minerals to insure that our bodies get what they need is pretty much a necessity today. We need this insurance for both our current health and to build good future health.