The article “Fast Food & Heart Disease” by Susan Burke, from an article published on eDiets.com in 2006, is as relevant a read today as it was when it was published, if not more so. Burke is a credible source for the material she presents, as her name is followed by multiple capital letters in the byline, including M.S., R.D., L.D., and CDE. Also, according to a brief “about the author” type of statement at the end of the article, she is a registered and licensed dietitian and “a certified diabetes educator who specializes in both general and diabetes-related weight management.” So she knows what she’s talking about.
Burke’s article reminds me vaguely of the 2005 documentary “Super Size Me,” where star and director Morgan Spurlock decides to eat nothing but McDonald’s food three meals a day every day for a month. What the article is about as a whole is how eating too much fast food can be harmful to your health because it leads to obesity, which is associated with heart disease, and Burke, like Spurlock, gleans her examples of how bad fast food is from McDonald’s menu.
Burke begins by empathizing with the reader, saying how she understands why one would eat fast food – i.e. it’s cheap, quicker than cooking at home, etc. – and goes on to describe that regardless of the reasons or excuses, eating to much fast food is still harmful. According to the article, the American Heart Association (as well as many other health experts) recommends a diet that’s low in fat and saturated fat, avoids all trans fat and increases fiber intake, as well as one that limits sodium to 2,400 milligrams daily.
Compare that with the author’s description of a Quarter-Pounder with Cheese, having 25 grams of fat, 12 grams of saturated fat, and 1,150 milligrams of sodium. And that’s just in one sandwich – only 510 calories of a person’s daily calorie needs. Yet of all the foods from McDonald’s that the author reports on, the worst has got to be the Spanish Omelet Bagel, which contains in one serving alone 710 calories, 38 grams of fat, 15 grams of saturated fat and 1,520 milligrams of sodium, leading the author to exclaim when writing this, “Hold on to your heart.”
As a frequent fast food consumer, and also because of the interesting, sometimes surprising statistics that the author threw in for good measure, I enjoyed reading Burke’s article. One such statistic is that approximately 33 percent of American children eat fast food daily. The worst part is that this statistic is referring to children, who are still in the early or middle stages of key developmental areas and who would probably benefit from eating more fruits and veggies and less fatty, fried food. Another interesting and surprising statistic that is similar is that, “The National Restaurant Association reported in 2002 that the typical American age 8 and over eats out more than four times every week.”
Burke continues her article with the moral of the story: “When you do eat fast food, choose wisely.” She doesn’t say people shouldn’t eat out, she just says they shouldn’t do so too often, and that when they do they should keep their portions down. However, her personal opinion on the matter is that people who are really concerned about the health of their heart should plan ahead and make their own food.
The author ends her article with five suggestions on how one can get their fast food and keep their heart healthy at the same time. These suggestions are that one should adopt a “mantra” about eating out (to guide you in making healthy choices); that one needs to remember that portion sizes count; that one should always order dressings or condiments “on the side”; that one should always hold the mayo (cutting down on fat and caloric intake); and that one should always order the “Junior” size (which in reality is closer to a “normal” size portion).
The author notes finally that what a diet really comes down to is how much is put on a person’s plate – where the more that’s on your plate, the more you’ll eat. As an added bonus she offers another startling statistic, that according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association women who drink soda or sweetened fruit drinks at least once daily had double the risk of diabetes compared to women who drank less than once a month.
Burke’s article was interesting and informative, and being that, like me, you probably want to keep as many years on your life as possible (and have a healthy heart to boot), it would be smart for us all to take the author’s advice and start making some changes to our diets.
Source:
Burke, Susan. (2006). Fast Food & Heart Disease. eDiets.com Retrieved June 15th, 2006 from http://www.ediets.com/news/printArticle.cfm?cid=5&cmi;=21194386_06.html
Reference:
- For the health and wellness site Burke’s article originally appeared on, please visit www.ediets.com/eDiets/
