1
McDunn
Persuasive speech outline
Eating Fast Food
Introduction
Relevance: You all have probably experienced fast food sometime throughout your life.
Credibility: The first thing that comes to mind when mentioning fast food is greasy, oily,
unhealthy garb, yet most of us consume junk food on a daily basis anyway. There are
over 300,000 different fast food restaurants in the US. People frequent them because of
convenience (quick and usually cheap). In such a fast-paced society, people are eating
more fast food than ever before (Stefanov, Sebastien).
Purpose: To persuade people not to eat fast food.
Preview: I am now going to inform you about what fast food is, what a typical meal
contains, why fast food is unhealthy.
Body
I. A. What is fast food?
1. Fast food is any food that is quick, convenient, and usually inexpensive (Fast
Food Facts).
a. Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very
quickly. The term "fast food" refers to precooked foods such as fries or pizza that
typically must be used within a few hours, or they become dried out and unpalatable (Ali,
Sam).
b. Fast food places like McDonalds, Burger King, Jack-in-the-box,
Wendy’s, Whataburger, etc., are all considered fast food restaurants.
II. A. A typical meal and some facts
1. According to the "Nutritional Facts" that are posted on McDonald's web site,
one Big Mac contains 540 calories and 29 grams of fat, which is 45 percent of the
national recommended daily value based on a 2,000-calorie diet, according to
McDonald's. One large order of fries contains 500 calories and 25 grams of fat, which is
38 percent of the recommended daily value. The 32-ounce Coca-Cola Classic adds
another 310 calories (Ali, Sam).
a. Harvested potatoes contain about 80 percent water. What makes them
into fries is when most of this water is removed and replaced with fat. Americans, on
average, eat 30 pounds of these fat-enriched potatoes per year (Ali, Sam).
b. The new KFC Double Down sandwich, which debuted in April,
features two fried chicken filets in place of bread, two pieces of bacon, two melted slices
of Monterey Jack and pepper jack cheese and Colonel's Sauce. The Double Down
2
contains 540 calories and 32 grams of fat. It also has 1,380 milligrams of sodium (1,430
milligrams grilled). That's approaching the American Heart Association's recommended
daily limit for adults of 1,500 milligrams of sodium (Ali, Sam).
2. Facts about fast food
a. Did you know that most Americans eat three burgers a week and that
81% of Americans consume junk food while driving? It comes as no surprise, since
people spend more time on the road nowadays (Stefanov, Sebastien).
b. Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant (Fast food
facts).
c. McDonald's feeds more than 46 million people a day - more than the
entire population of Spain (Fast food facts).
Transition Sentence: Fast food is very dangerous towards your health and can lead to
many harmful effects.
III. A. Why fast food is unhealthy
1. However, while these products might look appealing and tasty, they contain a
wealth of hidden heath hazards which are not only dangerous if eaten in large quantities
but are a major cause of obesity, especially in children (White, Janice).
a. You are doing the following things to your body by consuming fast
food (White, Janice):
•
•
Raising your blood pressure
Increasing the levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol
•
Delaying your metabolic rate (the rate at which you digest,
process and eliminate food)
Weakening your immune system
Destabilizing your blood sugar levels
Reducing the ability of your colon to function properly
•
•
•
b. The effects of fast food include nutritional deficiencies, obesity,
increased cholesterol levels, cardiac problems and many other threatening heath hazards
(Manohar, Uttara).
c. Eating fast foods can also lead to an unhealthy lifestyle.
d. Eating fast food and leading a sedentary lifestyle leads to obesity.
Obesity leads to other complications like increase in the cholesterol level, blocking of the
arteries, the increased risk of coronary diseases, in addition to the general physical
discomfort posed by the extra weight. Fast food is also addictive and hence it is very
difficult to give up on their greasy and fatty foods and carbonated drinks and switch to
healthier options (Manohar, Uttara).
3
Transition sentence: Fast food can cause many concerns to your body and lead to a
unhealthy life.
Summary: Overall, fast food can damage your health and shorten your life. Eating fast
food can lead to clogged arteries, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and many other
health concerns you could not even think of.
Concluding Device: If you are on the road, and want to stop to get a bite to eat, try to
protect your health and not eat fast food.
Works Cited
4
Sam Ali - Apr, and 2010. "What Is Fast Food? - DiversityInc.com." DiversityInc Cultural Diversity - Diversity Management - Workplace Diversity - Workforce
Diversity. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. <http://diversityinc.com/article/7532/>.
"Fast Food Facts." Center for Young Women's Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.youngwomenshealth.org/fast_food.html>.
"Fast food facts from the Super Size Me Web site ." The VivaVegie Society, Inc. . N.p.,
n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.vivavegie.org/101book/text/nolink/social/supersizeme.htm>
Manohar, Uttara. "Fast Food Facts: Effects of Fast Food." Buzzle Web Portal: Intelligent
Life on the Web. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. <http://www.buzzle.com/articles/fastfood-facts-effects-of-fast-food.html>.
Stefanov, Sebastien. "fast food calories - AskMen." AskMen - Men's Online Magazine.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011.
<http://www.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_60/70_eating_well.html>.
White, Janice. "Why Fast Food is Bad for You." HubPages. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr.
2011. <http://hubpages.com/hub/why-fast-food-is-bad-for-you>.