Fast food is not foreign to local communities, especially youth and children. Every day

the mass media advertise a wide variety of fast food such as fried chicken, French fries,

burgers, hot dogs, noodles and pizza. These foods are so readily available, tasty and

reasonably priced. Thus, fast food has become very popular and successful in changing

the diet and the type of daily meals consumed by our fellow citizens.

Fast food is also associated with modernization that covers the entire way of life

including nutrition and taste, and is said to meet the time-conscious modern era. Caused by

the phenomenon of globalization, the American style fast food has become something that

is common for most people in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The study was conducted

on more than 60,000 Chinese residents of Singapore thoroughbred. Referring to the

head of the study, Andrew Odegaard of Public Health University of Minnesota, the

study had found that "Many foreign people accept (Western fast food) because it's a

sign of developed economy".

McDonald’s and KFC are leaders in fast food business in Malaysia and globally.

McDonald's has 31,000 restaurants in every corner of the world and has a cycle of 47

million consumers each time. Kentucky Fried Chicken or KFC also has 14,800

restaurants in 80 countries including Malaysia, China and the United States. It is

estimated the number of McDonald's and KFC fast food restaurants will double each

time.

The trend in contemporary society has also encouraged a boom in the fast food

industry. People who are too busy, either occupied or busy due to the pace of modern

society encourage them to find a shortcut in getting their daily meals, which leads them

to consume fast food as an alternative rather than the traditionally prepared heavy

meal. The worst consequence of this attitude is when the attitude also affects children.

In the last few decades, instant noodles have also been introduced as a fast-food

option, and there are now thousands of instant noodle brands produced for the purpose

of fast food.

In addition to low quality and nutritional imbalance, many fast food cause harm

to our health as a result of excessive salt and preservatives. Nowadays, television is

available in almost every home. Therefore, fast food advertisements could be

broadcasted to the community easily. With advanced technology, various techniques

have been added to these ads and make them more interesting. This will attract people

especially teenagers and children. Additionally, ads can also be posted on the internet.

With widespread use of internet nowadays, fast food ads can be delivered effectively to

the consumers.

At present, fast food has become increasingly popular in the market. This

consequently lead to production increases from day to day. Today, there are many types

of fast food that we can choose from in terms of brand and price to cater for the whole

family. Fast food is increasingly popular in today's society, especially in the cities. It has

seeped into the lifestyle of modern society. Now there are more and more types of shops

and forms of fast food. There are many types of fast food that are packed in small

packets such as instant noodles, vermicelli, rolled bread, donuts, bread, and so on which

makes it very convenient for consumers to bring them everywhere before consuming

them. There are also many fast food chain restaurants, some examples include KFC, Mc

Donald's, Pizza Hut, Chicken Rice Shop, Cheese Cake, and many others. These fast

food meal could be enjoyed by anyone at any time. In this era, fast food contains a lot of

advantages and benefits to those who welcome it. Fast food has many varieties. It

provides many options for us to choose our own favourite foods. Among the reasons

that cause fast food to become food of choice for today's society include the convenience

of purchasing and eating a fast food meal no matter where we are. Some examples of

foods that are fun like this include instant noodles, which only need to add hot water.

This simple preparation saves a lot of time for busy individuals. Fast food can be

prepared quickly, without having to take a long time. Most of the housewives in the

present choose to cook or buy fast food because time is short. In addition, fast food has

become the housewives easy option at present because there is no need for them to learn

how to cook, as many housewives nowadays are not good at cooking. Besides that, many

fast food restaurants and convenience stores selling fast food items that surrounds our

communities, like 7-Eleven are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week which also facilitates

the consumption of fast food. Fast food is also sold at gas stations and rest stop areas

along the highway. There are also several other elements that encourage fast food

development such as the fast and friendly services offered, a fun, clean and comfortable

environment and reasonable prices. These factors make up the characteristics of a fast

food restaurant of choice for people today. For canned food, the public could buy them

in bulk at the supermarket. If no time, it is easy to open and eaten fresh or dried instant.

This also encourages people regardless of age, whether school children, adolescents and

adults to enjoy it wherever they are. Besides that, in these current times, fast food

provides advantages in terms of cost savings, over meals prepared traditionally in our

home kitchen If a person lives alone, then it is cheaper to buy food in supermarkets than

cooking at home. Also fast food such as fries and burger prices are quite cheap. Fast

food chain restaurants offer a wide selection of menu, making it easy for us to make a

choice. Choice offered is also quite interesting for customers, so customers do not need

much time to figure out their desired dishes. Fast foods are also convenient because if

we are running out of time or too busy with work we could place an order on the

restaurant to deliver food without having to line up to wait for our turn. For those with

low income or who want to save money, fast food has become the preferred choice

because it is cheap. With it, they can save their money carefully for other uses. Purchase

fast food every day profitable because of its low cost, nutritious nourishment while

getting a great deal. Fast food actually has many advantages that were not known to the

public.

Processed food or fast food is often a meal per person every time. This is because

of availability and preparation is simple and concise in accordance with the dictionary

of life where we are busy with daily work. But we do not realize the extent to which it

will contribute to the good of our health. A nutritionist from the United States, Frances

M Lappe study that people in his country have unhealthy eating patterns. In his book,

Diet for a Small Planet, he found the country's population consume too much meat, fat,

sugar, alcohol, and additives but poor in eating fibrous foods. These habits also began to

spread among Malaysians who generally consume more and more processed foods.

Without dietary fibre, food takes between 70-80 hours to pass through the digestive

tract. Reducing the time it takes for food to pass through the intestines can protect

against cancer attacking the colon and rectum with a dilute poisonous substance that

are present in the channel and speed up the production of the body. Fast food is not

only found in any fast food restaurant but also processed food that is ready to be eaten

without a long cooking process and require gastronomy. It may consist of canned food

(ready to eat), western food-based dietary patterns like 'hotdog', 'burger' and so on, as

well as frozen food. The need for fast food is more pronounced now because our society

today is more likely to move quickly at any time. Fast food is food that contains less

nutrition. It also affects our health poorly. If fast food dishes are enjoyed just

occasionally, they will be less harmful. But what was feared is that if fast food is taken

regularly, it will cause adverse effects in terms of nutrition required by our body. But in

terms of health, fast food actually has many negative effects that must be considered by

the general public. The bustle of everyday tasks in life has indirectly encourage people

today to find a shortcut to consume fast food as an alternative to heavy food. If in the

past instant noodles is the fast food of choice, there are now thousands of brands of fast

food being produced based on the needs of the market. Besides being low quality and

and causes nutritional imbalance, fast food also contains a lot of harmful salts and

chemicals in powder flavouring monosodium glutamate which poses a health hazard.

These chemicals not only cause a person to be prone to high blood pressure and kidney

problems but could also cause tooth decay, diabetes, constipation, obesity, clogged

arteries, heart disease and colon cancer. Today the problem related to obesity has

become a new syndrome in our society which is caused by the excessive intake of fast

foods containing fat and sugar. These foods like ice cream, soft drinks and so on are fast

food favourite among children and adolescents now. Obesity is a risk of increased

cholesterol in the blood which if unchecked will lead to heart disease. Studies by

nutritionists suggest that fast food can damage brain function. This is because the

human brain requires glucose to function properly, but too much fat could interfere

with the role of glucose which in turn can damage the power of concentration and

memory levels. Besides that, excessive consumption of fast food might also threaten to

cause inflammation of the lungs that can lead to chronic asthma. Based on a study of the

science of nutrition, it was found that of 100 children who consume fast food, itshowed

that those who consumed less food such as fruits, vegetables, vitamin E, iron and milk

very easily run the risk of asthma attack protracted. Fast foods do not contain the

vitamin A which is needed by our body. This vitamin is essential for building new cells,

in addition to working for the care of the skin and eyes. The fibres that are required to

aid digestion and prevent constipation is not found in fast food. The next effect, this

practice will affect family relationships. This happens because the food was not

prepared by the wife or the household and if this happens, then the children will not be

taught how to cook or prepare food. With this, there will be no time to eat with the

family and will reduce the value of friendship and communication between family

members. The practice of eating foods promptly also fosters individualistic attitude

which will weaken the ties between family members.

In conclusion, food is actually a source for health and well-being, unfortunately

nowadays food also brings misery to man. Therefore, to avoid getting infected with

various diseases caused by excessive consumption of fast food, we have to form the habit

of a balanced and healthy diet. Do not choose the easy way out when it comes to eating

and drinking. Take a nutritious and balanced diet to promote continuous health of the

body. Once again confirmed that fast food has adverse health effects if we do not choose

wisely and consume it excessively or frequently. Even though fast food is more delicious,

the hidden fat, calorie and preservative contents are enough to invite various

unwanted and chronic diseases if we take it excessively. Therefore, we should adopt the

approach advocated by Islam which encourages moderation (wasatiah) even in terms of

nutrition. This is because taking too much food in excess of our needs can also cause

health problems and lack of food is also showing an adverse effect. Therefore, we as

consumers should think wisely in choosing the best food for ourselves and prioritize

lawful source so as to promote and guarantee our spiritual health and well-being.