The Health Effects Of Eating Out
If the herpes sore above your lip is any indication, you already know one of the health effects of eating out. But given that you’re gaining weight and can’t seem to place your chubby little finger on where the pounds are coming from, it appears that you don’t know another.
Right?
Well, if you’re anything like the average American adult, you eat out a lot.1Unlike in the opening, I’m using “eat out” here to mean the consumption of food away from home — NOT in regard to your oral sex habits! That’s for starters. Secondly, you’re included as an “average American adult” despite your protestations that you’re not as average as you are. Last of all, I use the term “adult” here very loosely because your behavior is by no means indicative of one!
When I say that you eat out a lot, I mean as often as 4 to 5 times a week. Yeah, you can’t stand the taste of your own cooking that much!2We can more than likely blame most of your inability to find your way around the kitchen on the elimination of home economics classes in many school districts across the country as a result of budget cuts. The rest of the blame? It can go to your parents not liking you enough to want to hang out with you more than necessary to teach you shit.
While not having to eat your own cooking is good, what’s bad is that restaurant food is generally higher in calories, saturated fat, sugar, and sodium than home cooked food. That goes for the grub at chichi spots as much as at fast food joints. Compounding the poor nutritional content are the portion sizes, which are often worlds apart from the recommended serving size.
Still can’t see the problem with you going to such great lengths to avoid your own cooking, none of which I can blame you for?
Okay, let’s try this…
Eating just one meal away from home each week increases daily intake by about 134 calories and comes out to a weight gain of two extra pounds per year. Now you do the math if you eat out more frequently!
That, my friend, explains the mystery of your weight gain!!!
Now, I understand how important your appearance is so all you care about is what I told you about restaurant food fucking that up for you, but eating out has actual health effects.
Eating out more than twice per week is not only associated with weight gain but also insulin resistance.3Insulin is the hormone responsible for the storage of fat, among other things. When you eat, the body releases insulin in proportion to the amount of carbs consumed to help regulate blood sugar levels as those carbs are broken down into glucose. If you’re insulin sensitive, then the glucose will get stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen for immediate energy. If, however, you’re insulin resistant, then the body stores most of the glucose as fat for future use. That’s obviously no good!
That’s the finding of a 15-year study. Participants were between the ages of 18 and 30 at the beginning and were given dietary assessments over the years. At the study’s end, those who regularly ate out were an extra 10 lbs heavier than those who didn’t eat out as often. Moreover, the incidence of insulin resistance among the frequent restaurant diners was double that of those who ate out less than once per week.
The big deal?
Nothing…
…except that insulin resistance is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
The big deal?
Nothing…
…except that type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease.
The big deal?
Nothing…
…except that heart disease is a risk factor for death!!!
I don’t know about you, but that seems like a pretty important health effect of eating out so much!
Glossary: calories, fat, glucose, hormones, muscle
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