More and more people are opting for ready-made food instead of freshly cooked food. Do this development has more advantages over disadvantages?

Not having enough time to prepare meals at home, people are consuming ready-made products more frequently these days. Although having these foods might be easier and faster, numerous drawbacks are associated with them, which I believe are more than those benefits. Firstly, over-consumption of takeaways, which have high fat and sugar content, is the main cause of many serious health issues. Most restaurants serve unhealthy dishes due to the use of low-quality ingredients, to lower their production cost, meanwhile they add more sugar, salt, and oil to their foods to make them delicious. As a result, those who dine out more frequently, have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver, and obesity. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) recent studies show that Americans, with the highest percentage of fast-food consumption in the world, have been gaining weight with an alarming rate during the last decade. Secondly, ready-made foods are threatening children’s mental development. High level of vitamins and trace minerals are necessary for the development of brain cells in the early ages and these nutrients are mainly found in fresh fruits and vegetables, however most ready meals do not contain fresh greens. For this reason, the learning ability of students, who eat schools’ self-service lunch has lowered in recent years, and to solve this problem, in many countries schools have kitchens to serve fresh meals to the students. For example, in 2019 above 50% of primary schools in Turkey provided home-made meals to their pupils. In conclusion, Even though having ready-made dishes may be convenient, its demerits, which are serious health-related problems as well as lower brain development of children, are more than the merits.