by KYW's medical editor Dr. Brian McDonough
Fast food restaurants. For most Americans, you can't live without them but can you live with them? They dot the landscape of our country, city after city. But with a nation on the run with countless single parents or couples trying to split time between work and the demands of a heavy family schedule, those fast food restaurants can offer a quick and often cheap, filling meal.
Of course, fast food restaurants are not entirely to blame for our nation's growing weight problem. Many offer healthy options, but studies show most of us turn them down. The other reason fast food restaurants are so popular is because they are fast.
It takes time to choose healthy foods and for people on a limited budget it can get expensive. In addition healthy options aren't marketed heavily in the media and few pieces of fruit come with free toys for the kids. But there may be an important reason to skip that next high fat meal.
With obesity comes a metabolic problem that strikes many, the inability for our body to use insulin correctly. This can lead to problems with blood sugar and ultimately diabetes. Uncontrolled diabetes can lead to heart disease, nerve and kidney problems and diabetes, like obesity, is on the rise. It is worth the extra time to eat right.
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