Eight in 10 Americans eat fast food at least once a month and half eat it every week according, to a Gallup Poll. Yet most people who eat fast foodknow it’s bad for them. So why do they keep eating it?

根据盖洛普民意测验，10个美国人里面有8个至少每个月吃一次快餐，有一半的人每周都吃。虽然大部分吃快餐的人都知道快餐对身体有害。但他们为什么仍然一直吃呢？

The answer is simple: the benefits of eating fast food outweigh¹ the long-term implications for most people. However, once you read these reasons why all those trips to the drive through may be slowly killing² you, you may just want to stop eating fast food after all.

答案很简单：对大多数人来说，吃快餐带来的好处超出了其长期影响。然而，当你读到为什么吃快餐会慢慢夺去你的生命，你终究会想要停止吃快餐。

1. Fast food makes you fat.

1、快餐让你变胖

A 15-year study of over 3,000 people found that eating fast food is linked to weight gain and insulin resistance. In others words, fast food makes you fat and increases your risk of type 2 diabetes³. You probably know this already. But here’s something you may not know—

一个包含3000人的15年的研究表明快餐与体重增加和胰岛素耐受性有关。换言之，快餐让你变胖同时增加患二型糖尿病的风险。你也许已经知道这点。但是有的你可能不了解——

2. Fast food is addictive⁴.

2、快餐会使人上瘾

The more you eat fast food, the more you crave⁵ it. One study found that fast food is “a potentially addictive substance that is most likely to create dependence⁶ in vulnerable populations.” If you eat fast food once a week or more, you may be addicted⁷ to it.

你快餐吃得越多，就越想吃。研究发现快餐是“具有潜在上瘾性的物质，它会在脆弱人群中制造依赖。”如果你每周吃一次快餐或者更多，你可能已经对快餐上瘾了。

3. Fast food eggs are definitely not the breakfast of champions.

3、快餐鸡蛋显然不是冠军的早餐

Breakfast sandwiches at fast food restaurants are a true modern marvel⁸ of chemistry. The “egg” sandwich at Subway, for example, has ingredients like glycerin, which is found in soap, and dimethylpolysiloxane, a type of silicone found in Silly Putty and many lubricants.

快餐店的早餐三明治真的是化学的现代奇迹。比如赛百味的鸡蛋三明治的原料有在肥皂里发现的甘油，还有二甲聚硅氧烷，那是一类在弹性橡皮泥和许多润滑油里发现的硅树脂。

4. Fast food is affecting your kids.

4、快餐正在影响你的孩子

According to the CDC, childhood obesity⁹ has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Kids have an amazing ability to recall ads they’ve seen. Fast food marketers know this, and design ads accordingly. Research shows strong associations between increases in advertising¹⁰ for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity.

疾病防治中心称，在过去30年里，儿童期肥胖在儿童中双倍增长，在青少年中三倍增长。小孩具有惊人的可以回忆起他们看过的广告的能力。快餐店的营销者知道这点，并依此设计广告。调查显示无营养的食物的广告的增加和儿童肥胖率有很大的联系。

5. Fast food “burgers” don’t have much burger in them.

5、快餐汉堡中并没有很多肉

One study found that most fast food burgers are composed of about 50 percent water and the actual meat content is only 2.1 to 14.8 percent. So what makes up the rest of it, you ask? Chemical fillers and preservatives¹², mostly. That’s why we see read horror stories about burgers that don’t go bad.

研究发现大多数快餐汉堡里有50%的水，实际肉含量只有2.1%到4.8%。所以你会问剩余的部分是由什么组成的？大多数是化学填料和防腐剂。那就是为什么我们读到关于汉堡不会变坏的恐怖故事。

6. Fast food “chicken nuggets” are even nastier than “burgers.”

6、快餐店的鸡块比汉堡更脏

Many chicken nuggets at fast food restaurants contain a chemical preservative¹¹ called TBHQ, which can cause nausea¹³, vomiting¹⁴ and even death. Some also contain dimethylpolysiloxane (the stuff in Silly Putty). If Silly Putty nuggets don’t deter¹⁵ you from eating them, maybe this will: many fast food chicken nuggets and patties are still made from mechanically-separated chicken, which is a slimy mixture that’s created from the processed bones and carcass of leftover¹⁶ chickens.

许多快餐店的鸡块都包含一种叫TBHQ的化学防腐剂，那种物质会造成恶心、呕吐甚至死亡。一些也含有二甲聚硅氧烷(弹性橡皮泥中含有的物质）。如果弹性橡皮泥不能阻止你吃快餐，也许这个可以：许多快餐店的鸡块和肉饼仍然是由机械分离的鸡肉做成。那是一种由加工过的骨头和残留鸡肉尸体制成的黏糊糊的混合物。

7. Even “healthy” fast food isn’t that healthy.

7、甚至连标榜健康的快餐业也不是那么健康

Fast food restaurants are catering¹⁷ to consumer demands to produce healthier options. The problem is, their definition of “healthy” is quite lax. One of the healthiest dishes at Burger King, the Garden Fresh Salad Chicken Caesar with TENDERGRILL Chicken and dressing¹⁹, still has almost 500 calories and 28 grams of fat, and nearly a day’s worth of sodium²⁰.

快餐店为了迎合顾客的需要推出了一些健康的选择。问题是，他们对于健康的定义是很松的。汉堡王最健康的一餐嫩烤鸡肉堡配田园沙拉鸡肉凯撒仍然有近500卡路里和28克脂肪，以及几乎一天所需的钠含量。

8. Fast food is inhumane to animals.

8、快餐对动物来说是残忍的

Okay, this one may not be a reason why fast is killing you, but it’s still a compelling reason to stop eating fast food. 9 billion animals were slaughtered²¹ in the US alone in 2012 and much of that meat is for your fast food burgers and chicken sandwiches. Large factory farms resemble more of a “business” than a “farm.” Animals suffer in crowded spaces where they rarely have access to the outdoors or sunlight. They are pumped full of antibiotics²² to combat disease, which runs rampant²³ in these conditions. Livestock²⁴ is one of the biggest sources of pollution and environmental negligence²⁵, according to the UN.

当然，这可能不是为什么快餐在夺去你生命的理由，但是这仍然是阻止你吃快餐的一个强有力的理由。只是在2012年在美国就有90亿动物被屠杀，他们大部分的肉成了你的快餐汉堡和鸡肉三明治。大型工厂化农场更像是一种商业而不是一个农场。动物挤在一个拥挤的空间，它们几乎没有机会到户外或者沐浴阳光。在这些环境中疾病到处蔓延，为了抵抗疾病，它们被注满了抗生素。据联合国称，家畜是污染和环境疏忽的最大来源之一。

9. Fast food sodas²⁶ are loaded with sugar.

9、快餐苏打含有很多糖

High fructose corn syrup²⁷ (HFCS) is the cheap sweetener most fast food restaurants use in their sodas, desserts, and many other products. Princeton University researchers linked HFCS consumption to obesity in an animal study. Rats given HFCS gained more weight and body fat than those given table sugar.

果葡糖浆是大多数快餐店在他们的苏打、甜品和其他产品中使用的便宜的甜味剂。普林斯顿大学的调查者在一个动物的实验中将果葡糖浆的小号和肥胖联系在一起。被喂食果葡糖浆的兔子与被喂食蔗糖的兔子比起来体重增加更多，身体更胖。

10. Fast food doesn’t really taste that good.

10、快餐并不是那么好吃

What’s better: a fast food burger or one you cook that’s straight off the grill¹⁸? For my money, I’d rather eat a delicious grass fed beef burger that I cooked than a crappy fast food pseudo-burger.

快餐店的汉堡和刚你刚从烤架上拿下来的食物那个更好？为了我自己的钱，我宁愿吃一个我自己做的用草喂养的牛的肉做的牛肉汉堡，而不是吃一个糟糕的快餐店假汉堡。