Fast food
Fast food... do you know what is the main definition of fast food on Wikipedia? "Fast food is food that can be prepared and served quickly". Really? That's not exactly what comes to my mind when I think about that type of food. When I think about it, I think of Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock's documentary about McDonald's restaurants. Basically, his goal was to eat every meal at a McDonald's during a month. At the end, he gained 25 lbs and it took him 14 months to lose the weight he gained. No American would eat every meal at a McDonald's, but a lot of people often at a fast food restaurant... So, what is my definition of fast food? "Fast food is one of the biggest industry in North America that causes various diseases including heart problems, because people are dependant to it."Honestly, when I go to McDonald's, which doesn't happen often, I try to choose what's better for my health. I usually pick a Deli Sandwich and a medium iced tea. The best choice would probably be a salad and a glass of water, but I want to have some energy too... I don't know if you ever heard about this, but McDonald's allows you to see the composition of what you eat there. It might not be that bad if they allow you to see the nutritious facts, doesn't it? Certainly not! Let me explain my point. Let's take a typical example of a lunch at this restaurant: a Big Mac, some French fries (medium) and a Coca-Cola (medium). The Big Mac contains 29g of fat, which represents 45% of your daily value! There is also 1020 mg of sodium, so 43% of your daily value. The French fries contain 360 calories, almost the same as the Big Mac that contains 540 calories! The Coca-Cola is not better: 56g of sugar! I'm accusing McDonald's, but it's not the only one! Subway is not really better if you consider the quantity of sodium in a sandwich, but the fat amount is really inferior. There are also a lot of vitamins, especially vitamin C!
The major consequence of eating fast food is obesity. You need to understand that there is a difference between being a little overweight and being obese. Obesity can lead to various diseases and problems: high blood pressure, diabetese, heart attack, cholesterol, hardening of the arteries, cancer... If you're a little overweight, you can start now to change your habits. Prefer fruits, cheese, milk, whole grain bread, yogurt, nuts and meat. They contain much more proteins and vitamins than your favorite snacks (chips, cookies). You can build your own food guide here. You can also do some more exercise. There are a lot of fun activities in winter too: ski, hockey, ice skating... Even on some video games, you can find an exercise mode, like on Dance Dance Revolution! See, it isn't very complicated. It just takes some will and motivation!