Fast Food - Should It Be Banned?

[Clint]

If fat ****s want to eat themselves to death, who cares? It's their choice. I like the odd cheeseburger or takeaway pizza every now and then, and their stupidity has no right to deny me that. I feel like slapping obese people when I see them in a fast food place.

Obviously you know nothing of obesity, so perhaps you should shut up about it, and stop generalizing, before you make another incredibly ignorant comment that pisses me off even more. My mother is obese, and yes, she eats fast food occasionally, but when she does, she orders small portions of a healthy meal. Food consumption has absolutely nothing to do with her problem. She watches what she eats, taking in less than 2,000 calories a day, whereas, I'm as skinny as a rail, consuming nearly 7,000 calories a day.

I eat fast food at least four times a week. It's convenient, fast, and it tastes good. A common misconception is that people get fat from eating that kind of food, whereas, it actually depends on a lot of factors. For example, somebody with a fast metabolism can eat as much as he or she wants to, and will not gain a pound. People with a thyroid condition, on the other hand, can eat one cheeseburger and a small fry, and gain five pounds.

However, I think fast food should be banned, because then it would eliminate the need for ignoramuses to keep generalizing against my mother.

[RagnaToad]

Obviously you know nothing of obesity, so perhaps you should shut up about it, and stop generalizing, before you make another incredibly ignorant comment that pisses me off even more. My mother is obese, and yes, she eats fast food occasionally, but when she does, she orders small portions of a healthy meal. Food consumption has absolutely nothing to do with her problem. She watches what she eats, taking in less than 2,000 calories a day, whereas, I'm as skinny as a rail, consuming nearly 7,000 calories a day.

I eat fast food at least four times a week. It's convenient, fast, and it tastes good. A common misconception is that people get fat from eating that kind of food, whereas, it actually depends on a lot of factors. For example, somebody with a fast metabolism can eat as much as he or she wants to, and will not gain a pound. People with a thyroid condition, on the other hand, can eat one cheeseburger and a small fry, and gain five pounds.

However, I think fast food should be banned, because then it would eliminate the need for ignoramuses to keep generalizing against my mother.

1. Obesity is almost always a consequence of an unhealthy life style, but if you're mother only consumes the amount of calories you say she consumes, she must just have a slow metabolism, meaning that she also needs more exercise to lose calories. Diabetes and similar conditions can be a major factor too. It's just a fact that some people get overweight easier than other people, but you're not telling me that those 200 kg adults are merely suffering from "genetics". If they watch their eating pattern they should be almost like a regular person. It's unfair that they have to watch their eating habits more carefully to look the same as we do, and that some people (like me) could effortlessly look healthier even though they not necessarily are, but when has the world ever been fair?

2. You seem te believe that "being fat" is the only unhealthy thing about eating fatty food. People don't die from too much fat between their organs as likely as they die from a cholesterol level that is way too high and decreasing space in their veins. I myself, for example, can impossibly gain weight, but that doesn't mean that eating all the fatty food in the world is healthy to me and bad to all the rest. Imagine that . Being skinny does not equal being healthy. If anything, I probably don't weigh enough for my height.

Being fat is not so much a problem itself as it is a sign. It shows your body isn't doing too well on the inside. Which is why we naturally like larger people less than "regular" sized people.

P.S. 1/2 people in the UK die because of a high cholesterol level. Or so I saw in a quite reliable documentary. I was like, wuh...

[Unknown Entity]

Obviously you know nothing of obesity, so perhaps you should shut up about it, and stop generalizing, before you make another incredibly ignorant comment that pisses me off even more. My mother is obese, and yes, she eats fast food occasionally, but when she does, she orders small portions of a healthy meal. Food consumption has absolutely nothing to do with her problem. She watches what she eats, taking in less than 2,000 calories a day, whereas, I'm as skinny as a rail, consuming nearly 7,000 calories a day.

My mother is obese too, yet I didn't feel any offecnce to what Govinda said. Yeah sure, if Govinda just happened to show up while my mother was eatting to go hit her, I'll have a problem with it and fight back, but... chances are she won't.

Tax "unhealthy" fast food like countries tax alcohol, smokes, and any other vices.

We got enough money problems atm to worry about taxing fast food. I'd say most fast food branches now are getting a little pricey anyway.

Don't buy into bullshit food related studies. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that has absolutely no shown negative effects on human beings. It doesn't cause weight gain, it contains 0 calories, is way sweeter than sugar per unit of measurement, and cannot in any way be linked to cancer in humans. These "tests" are performed by force feeding RIDICULOUS amounts of substances into laboratory animals, amounts that are inhuman to consume when converted.

Aspartame makes the food taste better, hence making you want more of it. Maybe not in the same day or whatever, but it'll make you crave more. Haha, we all know what it feels like to eat something GOOD, and want more. ^^

[Sean]

Aspartame makes the food taste better, hence making you want more of it. Maybe not in the same day or whatever, but it'll make you crave more. Haha, we all know what it feels like to eat something GOOD, and want more. ^^

Aspartame is the sugar substitute used in diet sodas and other sugar-free drinks, also packaged as equal table sweetener and/or nutrasweet. It in no way tastes nearly as good as sugar, and they don't exactly add it to the burgers and fries. The reason people "crave" fast food is because of a saying we all have as cooks... "fat equals flavor."

Flavors really come from one of three things... protein, salt, or fat, or a lovely mixture of all 3 known as a hamburger.


Edit:

foot-long subways or a large meal at lunch time.

I had a footlong Subway today... it contained less than a quarter of the calories in a McDonald's burger, and nearly no fat. The main reason being, I basically ate calorie and nutrient free lettuce stuffed with a bit of chicken between starches with some silly sugar based sauce.

It also left me hungry, go figure.

IIRC, fat contains 9 calories/gram, alcohol 7 calories/gram and protein and carbohydrates 4 calories/gram, but your body only uses protein for energy (calories) when necessary, as it uses the amino acids in proteins to build body tissue, and even a fat-free diet doesn't mean your body will lose fat, because your body has the ability to convert any excess alcohol, protein, and carbohydrates into fat, as well as convert any fat in your body into a simple carbohydrate and burn it as calories when needed.

[Furore]

Aspartame is the sugar substitute used in diet sodas and other sugar-free drinks, also packaged as equal table sweetener and/or nutrasweet. It in no way tastes nearly as good as sugar, and they don't exactly add it to the burgers and fries.

Aspartame is used in many products as an artificial sweetener and that's what could cause it to be so alarming. While a little bit won't harm you much as long as you're not allergic to it, too much has been shown to likely carry negative effects.

And some studies have linked it to brain tumours among other things. Might be nothing as other studies have reported otherwise, but I felt it worth a mention. Also of note is the original studies were thought to be influenced by those wanting it to be a legally usable substance, but if I get too into that I'll likely sound like one of those aspartame conspiracy theorists.

[Azuteor]

It's a shame that something so delicious can destroy you. I don't think that fast food should be banned since basically everyone eats them and will eventually crave for the greasy, fattening delicacies. I would recommend that fast food restaurants enforce moderation rather than continue putting out unhealthier foods at cheaper prices.

Btw, check this out to see why you're fat. The website puts out photos that we actually consume (ex. Pizza Burger With Bacon And Baked Beans). Disgusting, yes, but it kinda makes you hungry or feel your heart burning in hell. This is nothing compared to McDonalds and Burger King.

In supporting the opinions of both Govinda and Sean, I found a website that compares nutritional values of the salads from different fast food restaurants. They are not as healthy as these restaurants say they are.

[Clint]

You seem te believe that "being fat" is the only unhealthy thing about eating fatty food. People don't die from too much fat between their organs as likely as they die from a cholesterol level that is way too high and decreasing space in their veins.

No, I don't seem to believe that. The comment that I responded to mentioned obesity, and not cholesterol levels. The only reason why I responded to it is because that person generalized my mom into a category of "fat ****s," and if anybody is surprised as to why that pissed me off, then you're completely retarded.

My mother is obese too, yet I didn't feel any offecnce to what Govinda said. Yeah sure, if Govinda just happened to show up while my mother was eatting to go hit her, I'll have a problem with it and fight back, but... chances are she won't.

That's great for you, but when somebody stereotypes my mother into a "fat ****s" category, I tend to find the need to defend her.

[RagnaToad]

[...] when somebody stereotypes my mother into a "fat ****s" category, I tend to find the need to defend her.

I don't think Govinda was attacking fat people in general, but isn't it a logical response to diss on overweight people that complain about being fat yet chóóse to eat at McDo (to stay on the Mac subject here), while complaining the food is too fat? It's not like there's no alternative...

Again, offering healthy food is not McDo's market. They offer what many people seem to want, be it once in a while, be it every frikkin' day.

But I do think misinforming people who already have a problem staying away from fast food is not very righteous, and I do believe they could do more effort in the US to inform the customers. Quick, the better version of McDo over here in Belgium and France, has huge posters of the number of calories in every meal and the amount every person needs on the wall in every restaurant.

I'm really interested in you Americans' responses, since obesity is not that big an issue over here, even though we're more liberal and all that stuff, hehe.