MEANING OF FAST FOOD
Fast food is a type of food that can be prepared and served quickly so that it can be consumed
immediately. This type of food is generally popular because the price is relatively easy, tastes good,
and is practically easy to carry anywhere.
INFORMATION ABOUT FAST FOOD
1. According to Wandansari (2015), fast food is grouped into two types, namely:
Western fast food. Several fast foods that are classified as modern fast food are fried chicken,
pizza, sausages, nuggets, hamburgers, sandwiches, french fries, donuts, ice cream, milk
shakes and soft drinks.
traditional fast food are meatballs, fried noodles, chicken noodles, fried rice, soup, satay,
batagor and martabak.
2. According to Bonita (2016), fast food generally contains high calories, fat, sugar and sodium
and is low in fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and folate. Some high content in fast food is
as follows:
High in calories
Calories obtained from one serving of fast food can meet half of the calorie needs in a day,
which ranges from 400-600 calories or even up to 1500 calories. High calorie intake with
frequent frequency can lead to obesity.
High fat
The calories of a fast food meal contain 40-60% saturated fat. Fried chicken, which is
generally fried with the skin on, contains quite high cholesterol. Foods that are fried in oil plus
meat and eggs contain high cholesterol. Fat and cholesterol are needed by the body, but if
consumed in excess it can cause blockage of blood vessels.
High sugar
Fast food menu contains a lot of sugar. The sugar used is artificial sugar which is not good for
health. Artificial sugar can cause diabetes or diabetes, tooth decay, and obesity. Soft drinks,
cookies and cakes contain a lot of sugar and very few vitamins and minerals.
High in sodium
Some fast food contains high sodium. Excessive sodium consumption is a risk factor for the
emergence of hypertension. High sodium intake increases the secretion of natriuretic hormone.
These hormones inhibit the activity of sodium pump cells and have a suppressive effect on the
sodium excretion system. This can occur an increase in extracellular fluid volume resulting in
an increase in blood pressure.
Low fiber
In general, fast food is very low in fiber or does not contain vegetables. Vegetables used by
fast food are limited to lettuce and cabbage which do not contain many vitamins and minerals.
One serving of french fries contains 3 grams of fiber, and fried chicken contains less than 1
gram of fiber. This is very far from the recommended fiber requirement per day, which is 25-30Â grams. Low fiber intake results in less bile acid being excreted in the feces, so that a lot of
cholesterol is absorbed from the rest of the bile.
3. According to Septiyani (2011), some of the negative effects of frequently consuming fast food
include the following:
Obesity
Obesity occurs due to an imbalance between energy consumption and expenditure over the
long term. Fast food is known as high-energy food, high in fat and sugar and low in fiber, so it
is associated with increased body fat stores due to an imbalance in energy intake and
expenditure.
Trigger Diabetes
The high content of calories and saturated fat in fast food will trigger insulin resistance which
leads to diabetes. Insulin resistance occurs when the body's cells do not respond to insulin,
thereby reducing the absorption of glucose which causes a lot of glucose to accumulate in the
bloodstream.
Triggers High Blood Pressure
Salt can make cooking much more delicious. Almost all fast food contains high salt. Salt
contains sodium, when sodium levels in the blood are high and cannot be excreted by the
kidneys, blood volume increases because sodium attracts and retains water. This increase
causes the heart to work harder to circulate blood throughout the body which causes high
blood pressure.
Increases Risk of Heart Attack
High cholesterol content in fast food can cause blockage of blood vessels. Clogged blood
vessels will make blood flow not smooth which can lead to coronary heart attack.
TARGET READERS
for the general public and specifically for youth and adults.
