This is an order of Outback’s Aussie cheese fries with ranch dressing. It has received the honor of the #1 position on the list of the 20 worst foods in America. It contains nearly three thousand calories, far more than an adult is supposed to have in a whole day. And this is what you eat before your dinner even arrives. I thought it would be a good idea to check the list to see if I was eating anything that made the top 20. To my dismay, the Quiznos Classic Italian sub came in at #14, winner of the worst sandwich category at 1,370 calories. So good, yet so bad. However, that was for a large, which is enormous. Even the regular size is really big. The Quiznos website lists the large at 1,220 calories, not 1,370 like Men’s Health says. Nearly a third of the calories and more than half the fat come from the red wine vinaigrette dressing. A regular size Italian sub without dressing is 630 calories. But it would be pretty miraculous if an American only had 630 calories for lunch. They’d be more likely to get a large sub with dressing and wonder why they can’t lose weight. Contrast this with Hira Ratan Manek, who has gone for 411 days without food, living on only sunlight and water. However, his site says that “Occasionally, for hospitality and social purposes, he drinks tea, coffee and buttermilk.” Wait a minute! Buttermilk is 100 calories per cup. That’s like saying that Winnie the Pooh has gone for years without food, living on only sunlight and water. Then the fine print says he occasionally has honey for hospitality and social purposes. Just how much buttermilk are we talking about?
Very bad: 20 Worst Foods In America
Teenage Smoking: Huff, puff, blow friends away
Smoking was the way for teenagers to show their parents that they were too old to live by their rules anymore. Teenagers took to smoking by the dozens because it was cool, especially because their favourite Bollywood heroes smoked, both on and off-screen. These were the days when tobacco companies could advertise freely, especially in films, and not many were aware of the ill-effects of tobacco.
A lot has changed after smoking was banned in public places. The government and numerous NGOs have undertaken various campaigns to educate people — especially teenagers — about the ill effects of smoking. Has any of this done anything to change the popular notion among teenagers that it’s cool to smoke? Anul Jain, a TYBA student of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, says, “I think that these days, it is ‘cooler’ to not smoke than to smoke, because there is more awareness about the ill effects of smoking.”
Namrata Gandhi, another TYBA student endorses this view. “Teens have a false idea that they can quit whenever they want to. Also, a lot of college-going students who live in hostels tend to start smoking, mainly because there’s no family around to tell them to stop. Personally, I don’t mind being friends with people who smoke, but I can’t stand it when they smoke around me,” she says.
However, Saumya Vaishnava, a smoker herself, begs to differ. She says, “When teenagers move out of the school atmosphere into the hostile environment of college, it’s very intimidating, especially when you don’t know anyone. Smoking in a group makes it so much easier to socialise, because that is when people let their guard down.” However, soon, the teen becomes addicted, and then, “they have no option but to convince themselves it’s cool, because they themselves are doing it!” says Saumya. “Nobody wants to admit that what they’re doing is stupid, so they say it’s cool!” she adds.
Even though the opinions are divided (as always) between smokers and non-smokers, there is an agreement among teenagers about awareness of the detrimental effects of smoking.