Kids 6-14 years old eat at fast food places 517,000,000 times a year. One fast food meal is more fat than a child under ten needs. People eat at fast food places because it tastes good and is convenient. I have to agree but it is greasy, fatty, and high in calories. Yes, we do need fat to grow, but fast food is where you should draw the line.

    Favorite fast food places are McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Subway, Domino’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy’s, Arby’s, Hardy’s, and Pizza Hut. Of course, we all know the basics—meat, pizza, anything deep fried, candy, sugar, oil, whole milk, cream, and ice cream.

    Subway uses more fresh vegetables and lower-fat deli meats while McDonald’s uses more fried foods and higher fat meats. This makes Subway a better choice for a healthier meal. A meal at Subway could consist of veggies and cheese sub (258) and a bag of baked chips (120) for a total of 378 calories.

    Children need 2,200 calories per day. If you eat at Hardy’s then you could get a Frisco burger (760), large fries (430), and regular strawberry milkshake (420). That makes 1,610 calories in one meal! That is over half of a day’s calories in one meal. An alternative is a grilled chicken salad (150), fat-free honey Dijon dressing (80), and a diet cola or water (0). That makes 230 calories for one meal. You can even add on a big cookie (280) and only eat 510 calories.

    At Burger King a good meal is hard to get. You can get a garden salad (90), a dutch apple pie (310) and a Tropicana orange juice (140) for 450 calories. You can also get a double whopper with cheese (960), a medium French fry (400), a dutch apple pie (310), and a chocolate shake for 2,130 calories.

    At Taco Bell it is hard to get a healthy meal. The healthy meal is 2 light tacos (140 each) with a sauce of your choice (0 – 51), seasoned rice (110), and a diet cola or water (0) for a total of 390 calories. The higher-calorie alternative is a big beef burrito supreme (525) with nachos (345) and a medium soda (160) for a total of 1,030 calories.

    At McDonald’s you can get a variety of foods. A healthy meal could be a grilled chicken deluxe (330), small French fries (220), and a diet cola or water (0) for a total of 550 calories. The other option would be a Big Mac (490) large French fries (400), and a chocolate shake (350) for a total of 1,240 calories.

    At Kentucky Fried Chicken, a healthy meal would be a drumstick without skin (67), corn bread (175), baked beans (132), and a diet cola or water (0) for a total of 374 calories. The alternative is a quarter thigh and leg (330), corn on the cob (222), corn bread (175), and a cola (160) for a total of 890 calories.

    At Arby’s there are many different choices. A poor choice of meals would be a super roast beef (552), curly fries (337), and chocolate shake (451) for a total of 1,340 calories. A much better choice would be a garden salad (117), light Italian dressing (23), plain baked potato (240), and a diet cola or water (0) for a total of 380 calories.

    At Pizza Hut you can get a personal cheese pizza (637) and an order    of breadsticks (750) for a total of 1,387 calories. A healthier meal could be 2 slices of thin and crispy veggie lovers pizza for 372 calories.

    At Wendys the healthy meal would consist of a small chili (190) and a garden deluxe salad (110) with fat-free French dressing (35) for a total of 335 calories. The bad meal could consist of a chicken club sandwich (520), biggie fries (420), and a medium frosty (460) for a total of 1,400 calories.

    What should we be looking for in healthy food? Low sodium because salt can raise your blood pressure. Low fat and low calorie because too much fat and calories will make you gain too much weight. Vitamins help keep you healthy. Calcium makes your bones stronger. Protein gives you energy. A good choice would be Subway’s roast turkey sub. The turkey will provide low-fat protein, the cheese for calcium, the bread for grains, and the vegetables for vitamins.

    It takes a lot more to make fast food healthy. Subway is the most healthy fast food place to eat. They only serve subs, chips, cookies and salads. It still has fat and calories, though.

    We know fast food has fat and calories. People think fat and calories are the same, but they are very different. Fat is an oily substance found in plant and other animal tissues. You need some fat to grow, but not as much as found in fast food. You need to cut down on fat once in a while, otherwise it can make you fat, and no one wants that to happen.

    A calorie is the amount of energy that is needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one-Celsius degree. If you eat more calories than you can burn, you will gain weight. Like the fat, you need them to live because they give you energy.

    All together, we all should know that fast food is not good for our bodies. You need to take care of your body—and fast food is not a necessity to your body.

    So what is a busy family to do? Plan ahead for meals at home suing a crockpot so dinner is ready when you are; packing a dinner of fresh fruits, vegetables, and low-fat sandwiches; and choosing restaurants such as Subway that offer lower calorie items.