Lethal Fast Food - How Convenience Foods Are Contributing to Our Obesity Epidemic

Since the end of World War II, our style of eating has drastically changed. Before that time we mostly ate homemade foods and restaurants were only for special occasions, if we went to restaurants at all. After the war, fast food restaurants and frozen meals began to show up everywhere. Our prosperity allowed every home to have a freezer while our new TVs told us how convenient and nutritious frozen dinners were.

Today we eat mostly processed foods but how are these "convenient" foods affecting our health? We need to consider the price we are paying and how we can change this trend one step at a time. This article discusses three such steps we can take.

One step is to find alternatives to fast food restaurants. The second is to turn off our TVs and the never ending advertising that encourages unhealthy eating. The third is return to home cooked meals despite our busy schedules and hectic lives.

Just about everyone has their favorite fast food restaurant but our statistics about obesity tell us that it's time to put a limit on this type of food. We need to make better choices when we do eat fast food and pay more attention to the calorie counts of different menu items. One combo meal can have as many calories as we need for a whole day. If we must eat fast food, we can skip the fries or soda and never upgrade to a bigger size.

Advertising is all around us. It's hard to resist the sirens of Madison avenue when makers of convenience foods constantly remind us how tasty and easy their processed foods are. This may be true, but these foods are also full of fats, sugar, salt, and artificial ingredients. The problem is especially bad when they target our kids with cartoon characters and toys and create a lifelong craving for junk. We can help combat this temptation by buying healthy foods at the supermarket and substituting fruits for candy, homemade popcorn for chips, and whole wheat snack bars for packaged cupcakes. Better yet, we can fill our leisure time with physical activities and turn off the electronic devices for a few hours.

We can also create our own convenience foods by making extra portions at meal time and freezing them for times when we are rushed. A pot of homemade soup can feed the family at dinner and then the leftovers frozen in individual portions perfect for work or busy weekends. They will save a lot of money as well. With the help of information on the internet and a little imagination you can probably come up with a lot of ideas on how to substitute home cooking for convenience foods without too much extra effort. After all, what's more convenient than a peeled carrot of a fresh apple?

Solving our national epidemic of obesity takes small steps in lifestyle change that will have a big impact on our goal. One such step is to decrease our intake of fast foods and pay attention to the calories in our choices when we do eat fast foods. We also need to restrict the amount of time we spend watching TV and resist advertising messages for unhealthy food. By planning ahead we can also provide homemade convenience food alternatives for our families. These are worthwhile goals and worth the effort to improve our health.

There are several easy ways to start a healthy eating habit and improve your overall health. Access more detailed information and learn simple daily steps that you can follow by visiting my website at http://EverydayHealthGirl.com