Fast food is defined as a meal that can be swiftly made and served. It is well-liked because it is intended to be delectable, cozy, accessible, and affordable. And it was developed as a business strategy to serve a huge number of harried wage employees, travelers, and commuters. Fast food lovers are drawn to their favorite restaurants by the colorful menus and flyers, and also because of the yumminess and extreme convenience of the cuisines. Similarly, increased consumption of fast food is on the rise, which is attributed to factors like high wealth, fast urbanization, free home deliveries, enticing commercials, and multinational cuisines.

High-palatable foods have been the focus of studies on food addiction. Whereas fast food definitely fits into that category, it also has a number of additional characteristics that could make it more obvious. It can be made with refined grains as opposed to whole grains, may be heavy in sodium, which is used as a preservative and gives food more flavor and satisfaction. It may also contain saturated fat, cholesterol, and added sugar. The foods that are most likely to cause compulsive overeating share a potent combination of fat and carbs (such as refined grains and/or sugar), and companies who manufacture processed foods have the ability to combine flavors and chemically intensify ingredients to produce mouthfeels that are so alluring that you always crave more. Additionally, most fast-food meals usually come with a soda, resulting in a tenfold increase in blood sugar level. Moreover, the recent increase in fast food sales has been attributed to coffee drinks as well; caffeine is known a "model" chemical for addiction. Since fast food is so tempting, and it involves less chewing, the body break it down quickly in the mouth. And it quickly stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain to activate in developing the taste to favor these highly processed, highly stimulating foods. Thus, such pairings reduce a person's desire for whole, fresh foods. However, a person should generally aim to limit the amount of fast food they consume and look for fast food items that include lower amounts of salt, fat, sugar, and total carbs in order to maintain their health.

PDO I- Ayesa Gay A. Bejerano, RND

References:

Is fast food addictive?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21999689/

Fast Food Facts

https://youngwomenshealth.org/2013/12/05/fast-food/

is fast food bad for you? All you need to know about its nutrition and impacts

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324847