In many countries, fast food is becoming cheaper and more widely available. Do the disadvantages of this outweigh the advantages?

Fast

food

has become widely available in many countries and the consumption of it has increased significantly in recent years. India's

fast-

food

industry is expanding at the rate of 40% every year and ranks 10th in

fast-

food

per capita spending. It is agreed that the disadvantages of consuming fast

food

outweigh the advantages. Studies have shown

junk

food

can cause cancer.

For instance

, a study conducted by the

Food

and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that additives and preservatives present in the

food

can cause cancer to individuals as well as high levels of fat causing a greater risk of acquiring cholesterol and other diseases.

Junk

food

has become cheaper, leading to a larger demographic consuming it causing various different health problems from obesity to heart problems. The average fitness score of adolescents has been on the decline in recent years due to

junk

meals

. In fact, a survey conducted by Oxford University in 2019 has concluded that consuming a cheaper convenience cuisine has been the main cause of obesity in children from age groups 8 to 15. Another drawback is that cheaper

junk

meals

have

also

led many employees in these dining establishments to get poorly paid and a plausible reason as to why

fast-

food

chains have reported greater earnings over the past few years. A study conducted by the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom in the year 2018 shows that over 40% of the staff in these meal chains are underpaid and are working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Conversely

, fast

food

has advantages

also

. It is a fact that

meals

can be affordable to wider income groups, which means most of the population would not go hungry. The average person spends around 2000 dollars on

meals

and

this

cost can easily be reduced if one switches to a

fast-

food

diet. The trump card as to why people prefer to eat

junk

meals

is because they are delicious to most people because they are made with strong artificial flavours.

Although

,

this

may be subjective and can depend on a person’s taste. In short, Fast

food

has been cheap and accessible to many people around the world due to cheaper prices and branch expansion. Eating in a convenience restaurant certainly has its advantages

however

, it cannot be recommended in the long run as individuals must

also

take extra precaution for their well-being due to the fact that it has a higher fat content