The most common issues amongst people who consume fast food often include obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. In the long run, eating such unhealthy food could even kill you. A 16-year study funded by the National Institutes of Health proved that people who eat fast food at least twice a week are 56% more likely to die of a heart disease. Even with other variable coming into play, it is a number that includes over half of the amount of consumers. With its health risks, fast food is almost as deadly as smoking cigarettes. The effects of both of these items can impact your body in monumental ways.

For one of my New Year’s resolutions two years ago, I told myself that I was going to completely stop drinking pop. If you didn’t know, pop is also unhealthy and shouldn’t be consumed as often as most people consume it. It increases heart conditions that are similar to the ones that occur when you eat fast food. When I stopped drinking pop, I struggled for a while. It took me about two weeks to stop feeling so exhausted. I had headaches that almost forced me to have to take four hour naps after school. I couldn’t go to work without wanting to pour myself a free pop, which I am allowed to do whenever I want. I had to constantly remind myself that I didn’t need it.

Over the three months that I didn’t drink pop, I lost fifteen pounds. I felt energetic, and I just felt like a healthier person all around. Of course, I did start drinking soda pop once again, but as of right now, I haven’t drank any pop in a month and a half. It’s at that point where I’m starting to feel better and more alert, but I still want to drink pop whenever I see a two liter on the counter at home. To me, I feel like this is an addiction, one that is very similar to fast food. I have watched documentaries and heard stories about people who have to get fast food everyday. To me, that sounds like an unhealthy addiction, just like the one I have with caffeine.