Adolescents are growing socially and physically and the decisions they make throughout these years influence their current and future health (Marlow). The decision to indulge in fast food is an unhealthy preference that leads to a host of health problems. Teenagers desire instant gratification and quickly become overfed and underfed at fast food restaurants. (Ram). “It is extremely difficult to eat healthy in a fast food restaurant. Despite some of their recent healthy offerings, menus still tend to include foods high in salt, sugar and calories and low in fiber and nutrients,” said Mark Pereira, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology. at the University of Minnesota (Cornforth). First, fast foods are unhealthy because they contain too much salt; The Consensus Action of Salt Health conducted a study that found that many menu items at Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Burger King and Pizza Hut contained four times the recommended daily amount of salt for children and twice the recommended daily amount . of salt for adults. Excess salt can increase blood pressure, causing a stroke or heart attack and cause water retention (Ram). Another reason why fast foods are unhealthy is that they contain too many calories (Ram), correlated with the rate of overweight and obesity among adolescents which is increasing at a worrying rate. ; fast food is considered the main cause. In 1976, 5% of 12-19 year olds were considered obese, this figure rose to 18.1% in 2008. Around 35% of adolescents report eating fast food six or more times a week. American society has become an environment that fosters obesity by promoting increased food consumption, unhealthy foods, and sede...... middle of article ......ruary 2011.Neale, Todd. “Teenagers notice but ignore fast food calorie information.” MedPage today. February 17, 2011, Internet. February 18, 2011. Ram, Nanditha. “Fast food is an unhealthy option for growing children and adolescents.” Natural News, February 9, 2009, Web. February 19. “Teenagers ignore nutritional information on fast food labels. » Daily Science. February 16, 2011, Internet. February 18, 2011. Williams, Laura. “Fable about fast food labels.” February 16, 2011, Internet. February 18 2011.