by Paul Lines

Created on: June 16, 2009

For a while now there has been a grumbling debate about the effect that fast food can have upon your health. One concern that seems to have been gaining prominence in this debate recently is that living close to a fast food restaurant might increase the risk of health problems. The question is whether there is any substance in this argument. Let us analyse the issue in three simple ways.

Living close

First of all perhaps we should analyse the term living close. In the context of fast food restaurants this can actually have three meanings. Two of these are physical interpretations. For example, if you walk out of your front door and there are one or more fast food restaurants within a few minutes walking distance of your home then you are my friend physically living close to one. Similarly, if close to the place of your work there is a fast food restaurant then it could be argued that a reasonable proportion of you living time, albeit while working, is spent close to such establishments.

Yet we must not forget the one other aspect of living close to a fast food restaurant. In this case we are not referring to a physical bricks and mortar closeness. This closeness takes place in your home. For instance, if I live in a house that is more than a mile away from the closest fast food restaurant can it be said that I am not living close to one. The answer of course is no. Even if I remain in my house for seven days without venturing once across its threshold into the dangerous forest of Fast Food restaurants this is not true. For during those seven days I guarantee that through my door I will receive at least three flyers from fast food outlets each day. It will become even worse if I dare to put on commercial television or radio, an event that will result in my being bombarded with messages about the convenience and pleasure of partaking in fast food products.

Therefore, unless one lives deep in the country or on a solitary island without mainland contact and inhabited only by puffins or seals, NOT living close to a fast food restaurant in the broader sense of the term is a real problem

Impact on Health.

Now let us discuss the impact on health. In this regard we will concentrate upon two aspects, these being the physical health and the damage that consumption of food content and ingredients can do to your health.

In terms of the physical health we could define this as activity and exercise. In this case it is easy to argue that, in relation to the

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