Fast Food, a quick and easy snack or meal, has a dark secret that many chains don’t want you to know. The popular greasy food is liked by many for its convenience, taste, and affordability. While fast food may seem like an easy option, its negative effects on our health and environment outweigh the benefits.

Most fast food is extremely high in calories, sugar, and unhealthy fats which can cause obesity and many other health problems. Due to those factors the frequent consumption of fast food can lead to type 2 diabetes according to MedicalNewsToday. Fast food is designed to be addictive and to lead people to come back wanting more leading to overconsumption.

Fast Food packaging leads to massive amounts of pollution due to its one and done use. Look outside when you’re driving or going anywhere. It’s very likely that you will see a McDonalds bag or any other trash from a fast food chain. Many animals can get ahold of this trash and can harm them or their ecosystems.

Our students were asked to fill out a survey about their fast food habits. Out of the 195 responses 31.8% of them eat fast food multiple times a week. One of those students is Junior Sophia Rich. She says “I eat fast food a lot because it’s convenient and on the way home.” She gets Starbucks around 3 days a week and spends around $20-$30 each week.

Starbucks bakery items can be deceiving, while looking extremely tasty they hide high levels of fat and calories. Their drinks are no better either, Grande sizes of many popular cold drinks are extremely high in calories, sugars, fats, and carbs. These numbers are without any substitutions as pictured below in these two photos of the Starbucks menu. Next time before you grab your favorite drink you should be more conscious about the quality of what you’re taking into your body.