Fast Food Fantasy | Teen Ink

Fast Food Fantasy

October 10, 2009
By abaxter94 BRONZE, Manassas, Virginia
abaxter94 BRONZE, Manassas, Virginia
3 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist,but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."- G. K. Chesterton


Fast food may taste good to some people, but the truth is, it is terrible for your health. More and more people are eating fast food, which is doing bad things to their health. Some people live in a fast food fantasy, eating it every day, and believing that it is fast, convenient, and inexpensive.

Fast food is very expensive. On the very rare occasion that my family of five eats fast food, it costs about forty dollars. At Burger King, it costs sixteen dollars for two Hamburgers, three large fries, and three bottles of water. That was for two people. My mom can make dinner (for five people) for around four dollars. The difference: twelve dollars and a much healthier dinner.

The expense is not only in money at the restaurant or even money at all. It cost money to use gas to drive to the establishment. It is also very wasteful of paper; all the wrapping of burgers, tacos, and burritos uses a lot of paper, which come straight from the trees.

Fast food is very unhealthy for you. A Big Mac has 540 calories! And are most people satisfied with that? Most people aren’t. They go on to have a Medium Fries, which has 380 calories. Don’t forget the drink. A large Coke has 310 calories. And you may still want something for the road. A 21oz of Vanilla Triple Thick Shake has 710 calories! You have just had 1,900 calories, and that was for a meal. Morgan Spurlock (Creator of Super Size Me) gained thirty pounds in one month from eating McDonald’s everyday for a month. Morgan says that if you just had a burger, you wouldn’t be so bad. He says it is the French Fries that are really bad for you.

Besides the fact that fast food isn’t good for you, it is also addictive. More and more kids are getting obese. McDonalds is a favorite hang out for teens. And trust me; teens don’t just hang out at McDonalds without something to eat.

Fast food restaurants are also very good about attracting kids, especially McDonald’s. Ronald McDonald the clown is widely known and little kids love playing in the play area. McDonalds gives out happy meals too, which come with little toys. Burger King is now using a system that you get to scratch a little coupon, and you can win prizes, such as onion rings, French fries, and shakes. Burger King also gives out crowns, so you can be a Burger King too.

If fast food was designed to be quick and easy, why is there a McCafé? McDonalds now has a café, a Wi-Fi zone, and an eat-in restaurant. Those are not things a person in a hurry would use; McDonalds is now trying to lure customers to linger longer.

Fast food is dangerous to your health, hard on your wallet, addictive, and bad for the environment. Through the power of the media, advertising lures in children, teens, and adults to come eat fast food, making false promises of happiness to all who eat it. A healthy, well balanced diet will improve your health and save you money.


The author's comments:
I wrote this in seventh grade, and recently edited it.

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This article has 8 comments.


Akey585 said...
on Jun. 9 2014 at 12:10 pm
He did not say anything about fast food being cheap. However, he mentioned that it is expansive. But you are rite, fast food  is cheap.  

on Apr. 10 2013 at 7:21 pm
IndigoElisabeth SILVER, Woodbury, New Jersey
5 articles 1 photo 171 comments

Favorite Quote:
John 1:1

Right after I finished reading this, a Burger King commercial came on. :D Pretty good job on the article, you made some good points.

on Sep. 7 2012 at 11:56 pm
countrygirl28 GOLD, Colleyville, Texas
15 articles 137 photos 74 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Expose yourself to your deepest fear. After that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free." -Jim Morrison
"Don't think or judge. Just listen." -Sarah Dessen

I completely agree with you. Fast food is junk. Pure junk. It's repulsive and yet, at the same time, addicting. I used to eat fast food a lot. I didn't think much of it. But then, I gained weight like crazy. Now, since I've started eating healthy, I've lost 18 pounds! I did a reset- not a starvation diet- that really showed me how good healthy can taste and feel. Losing weight is 80% of what you eat and 20% working out. Also, you're correct in your statement that fast food is cheap. Sure, it only costs a couple of dollars, but is a couple of dollars spent on junk food worth a few extra spent on good, clean food? Feeling healthy is the most wonderful feeling in the world! It is totally worth it! Although I do raise animals to show and sell, I'm a vegan right now. Sure, that sounds gross, but it's really not! The sooner you get away from fast food, the better you'll feel!

on Feb. 13 2011 at 7:52 pm
LovableD BRONZE, Killeen, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
Are you living or are you exsisting

I totaly agree, but there are people that are constantly on the go so we never know what the reason for to much fast foo

taco5 SILVER said...
on Oct. 24 2010 at 5:27 pm
taco5 SILVER, Palo Alto, California
5 articles 3 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing at all," -Helen Keller

Nice piece, but I think this has already been brought to the media's attention. And contrary to what you said, fast food is very cheap, and that's one reason why it's popular, especially for those with low income. It's definitely a problem, but one that has already been addressed by Fast Food Nation and things like that. Many people are aware of the problems with fast food. Anyway, I appreciate the message.

Joyce said...
on Sep. 12 2010 at 8:32 pm

Wow nice piece! Good points and great arguments! Nice use of personal voice and dictum.

I agree that fast food is unhealthy, expensive, and luring. I try to limit my fast food intake when I need to. It is also a waste of plastic and paper material that just stores up in trash, hurting the environment. Fast food is good only for rare occasions, but not for daily intake.


on Oct. 28 2009 at 10:01 am
abaxter94 BRONZE, Manassas, Virginia
3 articles 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist,but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."- G. K. Chesterton

I agree. I too am a hard-core vegetarian, and a sophomore.

What I find hard to grasp is why others have problems "comprehending" vegetarianism. Its not anything weird... well, maybe a little, at least to them. But They seem very confused when I tell them "no I won't try just one bite of meat."

on Oct. 24 2009 at 9:42 am
icingonthecake BRONZE, Riverside, California
3 articles 3 photos 82 comments
True. Fast food is just disgusting- you never know what they put as their "secret ingredients". I'm a sophomore in high school and I stopped eating fast food when I was like in middle school. In french fries, they have natural beef flavor- that's just absolutely disgusting. -A hardcore vegetarian