The Truth Hurts

The other day I came across an article in the Metro and I was completely shocked by the big bold statement that was right in front of my eyes. It screamed ‘Burger meal is a full day’s food’. I knew that a burger meal was not the best option in a restaurant or take away but I was absolutely gobsmacked at the realisation of this. As I read on I was informed that almost one quarter of an adults consumed food is prepared outside of the home, and one in four people admit that they eat fast-food once or twice a week. These numbers terrified me and made me realise how important healthy eating is.

As I walked around the buzzing city centre, I began to observe the shoppers. Instead of looking at their sense of style as I would usually do, I looked beyond the clothing and noticed the frame they were hanging on.  To my horror I noticed that almost every third person was overweight, I wondered to myself do they know the health risks they are imposing on themselves. I then began to think of the reasons behind Irelands expanding waist lines, and as I opened my eyes everything became clear. Meal deals in local stores have a lot to answer for, in these hard times everyone likes a bargain, so if you see a poster offering a lunch deal for less than 5euro you are in the queue like a shot. I decided to look into this matter and try and calculate the calories within these meal deals. The first deal I came across was a can of coke, a mars bar and a packet of Tayto crisps for 1euro, this clocks up an outstanding 604 calories. The next deal was a chicken fillet roll with three fillings and a bottle of coke for €4.50. A plain chicken fillet roll without butter or fillings can vary from 600-750 calories. The last deal I came across was any size pizza for 10euro, and horrifyingly the calories for a 6 inch plain cheese pizza was 620 calories. These are three examples of deals which should be avoided or eaten with extreme caution, after all these deal could be consumed for lunch or a mid day snack, and they take a huge chunk out of your daily allowance. These meals are generally not balanced and contain high portions of carbohydrates and fats and little fibre and vegetable. Although they are high calories foods, they usually contain empty calories and wont keep you full and energised for long periods of time. They contain huge amounts of sugar and will increase your blood sugar levels for a short time and then blood sugars will decrease drastically leaving you feeling tired. These are only three examples of the low priced high calorie meals out there, there are many more that a consumer should be aware of, try look beyond the price.

Back to basics, use this as your healthy eating guide.

It is widely known that if a women’s waits is greater than 32 inches and a man’s greater than 37 inches there is an increased health risk as does a BMI of 25 plus. These health risks include heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and various forms of cancer. Is this the future for Ireland, convenience over health? Its time people open their eyes and realise that this is a real issue, stop the self destruction. 

Measure your waist and see if your at risk