Perempuan masih di Jurusan Sistem Komputer

Bismillahhirohmannirrohim
Terimakasih untuk para pembaca yang sudah berkunjung ke blog saya yang masih sederhana ini. Saya akan melanjutkan karangan saya dari tulisan sebelumnya yang berjudul Perempuan di Jurusan Sistem Komputer

Karangan ini saya tulis bertujuan untuk berbagi pengalaman saya selama saya berkuliah di Universitas Gunadarma Jurusan Sistem Komputer. Tulisan ini sangat bermanfaat terutama untuk para pembaca yang memiliki anak, saudara, kerabat, tetangga, kenalan perempuan yang berniat berkuliah di jurusan yang mayoritas laki-laki.

Setelah saya tercatat sebagai mahasiswa, saya diharapkan untuk mengikuti kegiatan PPSPPT, saat itu saya harus mengingat kepanjangannya. PPSPPT ini sama sekali tidak sama dengan OSPEK. PPSPPT berlangsung dua kali, setiap pelaksaannya diadakan seharian dari pagi sampai sore hari. PPSPPT yang pertama kami semua berkumpul di aula Univ. Gunadarma, di D46. Disana kami diberi tontonan tarian saman, nyanyian mars Gunadarma oleh SWARA DARMAGITA(maaf kalo salah tulis, ini adalah tim paduan suara UG), visi, misi, dan sambutan dari pada petinggi kampus. Kemudian kami diberikan brieffing untuk PPSPPT kedua.

Saya kita PPSPPT kedua adalah OSPEK yang sesungguhnya ternyata dugaan saya salah. Saat PPSPPT kedua, hanya diharuskan menggunakan pakaian kemeja putih dan celana hitam ditambah dengan nametag bertuliskan nama, kelompok, no. pendaftaran dan foto bertalikan pita berwarna ungu. Kenapa ungu? karena warna Fakultas Ilmu Komputer dan Teknologi Informasi berwarna ungu.
Nah, lalu dililitkan juga pita itu di lengan dan sebagai bros jilbab(karena saya berhijab). Namun baginya tidak berhijab, diharuskan menguncir 2 rambutnya dan ditambah dengan 2 pita yang dilingkarkan pada karetnya.

Semasa SMA, saya cukup tertutup dengan lawan jenis, maka itu saya cukup kaget saat mengikuti PPSPPT, hanya ada segelintir perempuan di Jurusan saya ini. Saat PPSPPT pertama, aula digunakan untuk Fakultas maka dicampur dengan mahasiswa dari Jurusan Sistem Informasi. Namun saat PPSPPT kedua, barulah terlihat. Oh tidak saya rasa saya salah Jurusan!!!!

Cerita ini akan saya lanjutnya di penulisan berikutnya
Alhamdulillahhirrobbil'alamin

Perempuan di Jurusan Sistem Komputer

Bismillahhirohmannirrohim
Alhamdulillah akhirnya saya dapat meluangkan waktu untuk menulis catatan karangan saya sendiri di dalam blog pribadi saya ini.
Semoga tulisan yang saya tulis ini dapat bermanfaat bagi pembaca sekalian.

Saat ini saya masih berstatus sebagai mahasiswa tingkat akhir di Universitas Gunadarma Jurusan Sistem Komputer di kelas 4KB01. Pada tulisan yang pertama ini, saya akan menceritakan sedikit tentang perkuliahan saya. Mungkin ceritanya akan sangat singkat dan Insya Allah akan saya perbaharui di lain hari. Kenapa tidak sekarang? Karena berhubung waktu saya tidak banyak untuk membuat tulisan ini.

Baiklah, saya adalah seorang perempuan yang mengambil jurusan yang notabene disenangi oleh kaum laki-laki. Ya, kebanyakan atau bisa dibilang pada umumnya, Jurusan Sistem Komputer dikenal oleh mereka yang bersekolah di SMK Jurusan TKJ atau sejenisnya. Sedangkan saya berasal dari SMA, lebih tepatnya SMAN 5 Depok Jurusan IPA. Iklan dulu nih, Univ. Gundar lebih banyak menerima mahasiswa dari Jurusan IPA untuk asal SMA, hanya beberapa jurusan yang menerima mahasiswa dari Jurusan IPS. Bukan bermaksud rasis, namun memang saat saya masih tingkat 1 pelajarannya Kimia Dasar, Fisika Dasar, Matematika Dasar yang erat kaitannya dengan materi pembelajaran Jurusan IPA.

Setelah saya memantapkan diri untuk berkuliah di Univ. Gundar, saya akhirnya bertekat memilih Jurusan Sistem Komputer. Saya masih ingat sekali saat itu, di tahun 2012 saya mencari PTN dan PTS yang cocok dengan skill saya di Warnet. Ya, jaman itu Warnet adalah usaha yang cukup menjamin, karena smartphone belum menjamur seperti sekarang. Bahkan, Alhamdulillah saya menulis judul ini menggunakan laptop yang terhubung dengan layananan Wifi di rumah.

Saat itu saya sama sekali belum mencari tahu apa itu Jurusan Sistem Komputer, bagaimana SKSnya, Silabusnya, lingkungan pembelajarannya dll. Yang saya fokuskan hanyalah sasaran pekerjaan untuk lulusan jurusan tersebut. Maklum sebelumnya memang saya sangat suka meng-upgrade, memodifikasi komputer saya sejak masih di SMP. Hanya bermodalkan hobi saya nekat mengambil jurusan ini. Maka itu saya sarankan untuk para pembaca terutama lulusan SMA/SMK untuk lebih selektif dan lebih kepo mencari tahu info-info mengenai jurusan  perkuliahan.

Pada tulisan saya selanjutnya saya akan menceritakan tentang teman-teman jurusan saya.

Alhamdulillahhirrobbil'alamin

Tips and Strategies in TOEFL Structure Written Expression Section

TOEFL Structure Written Expression Section aims to test your ability to recognize language that is appropriate for standard written English. Think about the simplest, clearest way to express an idea. If an answer choice sounds awkward or overly complicated, chances are good that it's wrong. Brush up on your English grammar for this part of the test. You will have 25 minutes to complete 40 questions. There are two types of questions in this section, with special directions for each type. There are 2 parts questions type in this section :

a. Structure

Questions are incomplete sentences. Beneath each sentence you will see four words or phrases.  Choose the one word or phrase that best completes the sentence. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

b. Written Expression

Each sentence has four underlined words or phrases. The four underlined parts of the sentence. Identify the one underlined word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be correct. Then, on your answer sheet, find the number of the question and fill in the space that corresponds to the letter of the answer you have chosen.

What things should be studied and considered:

# Ensure Compliance Sentences Has Subject and Verb

# Note the Right Object (Object) on Prepositions (Preposition)

# Beware of Appositive

# Beware of Present Participle

# Beware of Past participle

Reference:

http://www.geniustoefl.com/artikel-ilmu-kunci-toefl/artikel/structure-and-written-expressionhttps://www.petersons.com/college-search/toefl-test-tips-strategies.aspxhttps://www.ets.org/toefl_itp/content/sample_questions/section2_structure_written_xpression

Tips and Strategies in TOEFL Reading Section

The Reading Section in TOEFL consists of 3-5 texts;

•  Each text is about 700 words long. 
•  Each Reading text is followed by 12 - 14 questions related to the text.

The first passage stands alone for a time of 20 minutes and the 2nd and 3rd passages share a total time of 40 minutes for reading and answering the questions. The system will cut you off right after the time ends. Therefore, you must be not only good at reading but also very fast. To the end of this document we will provide some important guidelines on how to prepare for the TOEFL iBT Reading and how to behave at the reading test in order to improve your final score.

Tips

“Okay,” you may say, “I get it, I get it! Studying for the reading section of TOEFL is vital. But how does one do it?”

Glad you asked!

There are multiple study strategies and areas of improvement that you may consider to get a higher score on the reading section of the test.

1. Improve Your Reading Speed

Time is of the essence when it comes to the TOEFL. In fact, all other things being equal, good timing and the ability to pace yourself can make or break your TOEFL score.

In other sections, time is specifically called out. For example, when you are speaking, you will have 15 seconds to prepare an answer and 45 seconds to record it. In the Listening section, you can only hear the dialogue when it is played out to you.

The Reading section is where a sense of time and pace will need to come from you and you alone. You need to judge how much time you have left to complete the readings and give your answers.

This is trickier than it seems, because you will be faced by not one difficult-to-understand text, but several (three or four).

The Reading section can have up to 56 questions for 3 or 4 passages, and the maximum time given for the section is 80 minutes. That means you will have only 5 minutes to read each text and about 1 minute to answer each question in the Reading section.

If you want to have more time to answer the questions, you will need read each passage in just 3 or 4 minutes—and you’re probably going to want to read each passage more than once. That’s tough!

To succeed, you’ll need start improving your reading speed.

Time yourself when you study for the test and note how long it takes you to go through a given passage. You will likely notice that you slow down when your level of comprehension drops down, and that’s normal! When you understand less, you need to slow down and read more carefully.

Everyone reads at a different pace. Your task is to make your reading pace slightly faster for the very specific test-taking situation, so you can switch gears and go into full-speed mode if you need to.

Apart from studying TOEFL-style academic passages, be sure to read other English language material as well. Read English literature, newspapers andmagazines—reading a variety of English writing styles will help improve your reading speed.

2. Work on Your Comprehension Speed

Once you have worked on your reading speed and are comfortable gulping down a complex English passage in less time (in under 4 minutes, to be precise), you are ready for the next step.

Now you need to teach yourself to remain calm and avoid stressing out when you encounter an unfamiliar word. The reading section will be full of challenging words you have not seen before. They put in challenging words that you probably do not know on purpose. 

The reading section will ask you to deduce meaning and infer informationfrom words you do not understand.

This is what the reading section is actually testing. Not your ability to memorize a thesaurus before the test, but your skill at dealing with vocabulary words that you do not know. Not knowing a word is not only normal, but it is expected from speakers of English as a foreign language.

When you stumble across a word you do not understand, your first reaction might be to check Google Translate or consult a dictionary. When these tools are not available, you may panic and get hung up on trying to understand the word, wasting time that is extremely valuable for you during the TOEFL.

Well, relax.

Force yourself to skip that unknown word and continue reading. Often, you will find that the meaning of the whole text is easy to understand, even if you did not understand a few words. Cool, right?

3. Learn Specific Vocabulary

Even though you will encounter unknown words, developing a nice and wide vocabulary never hurt anyone. When you study for the Reading section of the TOEFL, whether you are at home or in class, go ahead and look up words you don’t understand!

Since you are practicing for the Reading section of the TOEFL, try to read every text completely without looking up any words. After you have read the whole text and tried to understand everything on your own, then you may look up words. This is very similar to the actual testing situation.

Make a list of unfamiliar words and translate them using an English-to-English dictionary. This is important! You must avoid the temptation to use a dictionary which translates words from English to your native language. Don’t give in!

The English-to-English dictionary will be very helpful to you. Not only will you read a clear English explanation for the word you do not understand, you will also familiarize yourself with synonyms (similar words) and antonyms (opposite words). Hint, hint! This is hugely useful and very much applicable to TOEFL.

Your vocabulary will grow and so will your confidence. By the time you get to your test day, you will have a much larger English vocabulary to help you out.

4. Keep Moving

Timing is everything in TOEFL.

When it comes to the Reading section, remember that you will not have more than 4 minutes per passage, so do not get hung up on every passage. Try not to stop! Keep moving no matter what.

There are multiple passages on the test, and you are guaranteed to feel more comfortable with one or another. Some will seem harder and some will seem easier. Skim the passage, note key words in sentences, leave unfamiliar terms behind and keep in mind that TOEFL passages may contain words that even native speakers don’t typically know.

Keep in mind that the TOEFL is highly specific.

You may see a question like: “The word X on line Y is closest in meaning to…” with four choices of words following. Rest assured—most of the choices will sound similar or have very similar meanings, so you will need to read the text carefully to identify the correct answer.

5. Use the Line Numbering

The TOEFL quirk of numbering every fifth line in the passage is meant to help you navigate to the words or sentences referred to in the questions. Practice locating specific lines by the numbers provided—you might be surprised by how much time you can actually waste looking for line 29 or 47!

That being said, when starting your actual TOEFL, take a deep breath and do not let the Reading section tire you out.

You have practiced and studied enough, and it is now time to demonstrate your excellent English reading skills!

Preparation Strategies

Read, Read, Read. Read in English regularly. Focus on academic texts from university textbooks or other materials. Do not stick to one or two topics that you are interested in. Read from variety of subjects - science, social science, business, arts, geography, history, economics, and others. Academic texts, apart from textbooks, could be found in variety of articles and academic publications on the Internet or university libraries.

Find the purpose of the passage. Knowing the purpose of the reading you may easily find what the writer is trying to accomplish. The purpose of the passage in most of the readings is embedded in the introductory paragraph which is one of the most important paragraphs in the text.

Increase vocabulary. When reading wide variety of texts on different subjects you should make a word list. Organize your list in topics for better results. Example topics could be business, geography, science and others. Make flashcards to help you learn those word lists. Use the words learned in your writings and speaking.

Take notes. During all sections of TOEFL iBT note taking is allowed. It is a crucial component for success. It is difficult to remember all facts and details from a reading text in order to answer the questions. You also don't have enough time to search for those again in the text. So, the solution is called note taking. When skimming and reading the texts you should write down all important facts and details in order to find them fast and easily when you need them. See also our effective note taking strategies.

Learn how to skim the text. Skimming means reading the text quickly to obtain very first general impression on what the text is about, what its main idea is. Skimming corresponds with Reading to find information objective in TOEFL iBT. You should develop your ability to skim quickly but at the same time to identify all major points in the passage. Take notes. See also our skimming strategies.

Read after skimming. Only skimming is not enough. Read the passage again. This time read it more carefully, but don't forget that you have limited time. Take notes. Identify the passage type - classification, cause/effect, compare/contrast, problem/solution, etc.

Try to guess the meaning of unfamiliar words in the passages, the context can help to do that. After that, check those words in the dictionary. Guessing the words from the context brings great advantages - you save time and it doesn't disturb your comprehension of the texts.

Highlight some of the pronouns (he, him, they, them, etc.) in the texts. Identify to which nouns in the particular text the highlighted pronouns refer.

Practice making general inferences and conclusions based on what is implied in the text.

Learn to organize the data presented in the passage in charts and tables. Create charts with categories and place the important data from the passage in the appropriate category. In TOEFL iBT you are not asked to create charts. Rather, charts are provided and you are asked to categorize the information in pre-defined categories.

At the exam strategies

Relax! You don't have to be familiar with the topic of the TOEFL  Reading passage. All the information needed to provide correct answers is in the text. The definition of some of the subject-specific words is available during the test. Those words are colored and underlined.

Be fast but try to avoid thinking about the clock. Concentrate on what you read and what exactly the questions ask for.

Take a guess. There is no penalty for an incorrect answer in TOEFL . Do not leave blank answers. In each case they don't bring you points. If you see you are running out of time, just take a guess and mark answers for all remaining questions. There is 25 % chances to guess the right answer.

Stop thinking about Reading. When your section time is over, just stop thinking about the Reading section. Prepare for the Listening section. If you have not done well in the Reading, you may compensate it with the next components. So, stop thinking about the Reading.

Reference:

http://i-courses.org/reading-tips 

http://www.fluentu.com/toefl/blog/toefl-reading-tips/

TOEFL Strategies and Tips for Listening Section

TOEFL STRATEGIES

TOEFL listening section, tests the ability of a student, especially a non-native English speaker, to understand spoken English (accentuated) in educational setting. Listening is an important skill to understand the concepts and ideas. Only when the concepts are understood completely it becomes a lighter task to score in the listening section of TOEFL test. In order to develop the listening skills for TOEFL, there are certain set of listening strategies or steps. They are explained in detail given below.

Requirements for TOEFL Listening Strategy

Listening strategies for TOEFL aims at providing each and every minute detail that are required to respond to all the questions within the given time in this section. Responding to the questions in time is very important because, it will help TOEFL candidates to save time, which they might spend on, one specific part of the test section.

There are certain steps in strategies that would help in managing time in each part of listening test section (recordings). There are some basic requirements for listening skills which serves the steps in TOEFL listening strategies as detailed below:

§  Basic Comprehension

When students listen to a recorded lecture or a conversation, they should understand the central or main idea in it. Then they should skim the recording for key points, important facts, purpose and the relevant details that connects the key points.

§  Practical Understanding

It may also be called as “pragmatic understanding” where the meaning of a word should be taken, according to the context. Students are needed to find the intended meaning of the speaker i.e. from his point of view. A wide range of vocabulary is necessary for this process because, the recordings in listening test are usually from academic background. Practical understanding also becomes a must to find the purpose of a lecture or a conversation.

§   Relate Ideas given in multiple information sources

Relating ideas is the final state where the key points and the important facts are compared to find the relationship between them. This method would initially lead to construct an argument. Then a string of supportive and non supportive elements are categorized and as a result the causes for the events are traced. This is where a student would end up identifying the conclusion which is expressed indirectly.

§   Inference

Inference is to find the implied conclusion in recordings from the author’s point of view. The conclusion might be implied or expressed indirectly anywhere in the passage.

These are the basic requirements necessary, in each part of the strategy of listening section, which consists of two recorded lectures and one long conversation. These fundamentals are to be followed, in the following few preparatory steps.

Strategies in Preparation

§  Spoken English From Various Sources And Accents

There are variations between the accents of English. It is the best to listen to English from various sources like television, music, radio etc. And also it is good to listen to the native speakers of English with different pronunciation and dialect. By doing this students would be able to improve their listening skills and also they will get used to different kinds of accents. It will be helpful very much if they listen to academic passages or conversations.

§  Making Notes

While listening to a recording, notes should be jot down. These notes would help you to remember the important points given by speaker. The reason is also that, during the test you will be given only one chance to listen to a passage. Note making will help you to remember the details and the clues effectively.

§  Main Idea

The main idea of a passage should be identified in a recording, as a first task while taking notes. Main idea of a lecture is usually given in the introductory part. The other details would be given in the rest of a lecture. Once the main idea is found it becomes a lighter task to find the purpose of the speaker.

§  Pointer Words, Important Facts And Relationship Between The Facts

The pointer words may be defined as signal words or clues, given by the speaker. These keywords should be collected along with important facts and events. This should be done in order to compare them and identify the relationship between them. In turn this would give you the cause of the events.

§  Summary of Observation

Give a summary of the recording which was listened, using the notes that are taken down. During this process, only important facts, relevant details, main idea and the key facts are covered. This is a good time saving technique, to prevent going through the notes again and again.

§  Building your Vocabulary

Above all it is also important to build a student’s vocabulary, to find the meaning of a word, according to the context of the speaker. Students should get familiar with the words which they consider as new ones and practice them in their everyday life.

The steps and the requirements in TOEFL strategies for listening section, which are elaborated above should be followed and practiced to manage time while taking up the test. The most important part in listening section is to concentrate on the subject of the speaker, and a student does not have to be distracted by the accent.

TOEFL TIPS :)

Here are five tips to help you be ready for the Listening section:

1.    Take notes while you listen. Only the major points will be tested, so do not try to write down every detail. After testing, notes are collected and shredded before you leave the test center.

2.    Pay attention to the speaker’s tone of voice. For instance, whether the speaker sounds excited, sad or confused can help you answer questions that are about the speaker’s attitude or opinion.

3.    When listening to a lecture, make note of the way the lecture is organized and the way the ideas in the lecture are connected. Referring back to your notes will help you answer questions about overall organization.

4.    If you are unsure of the correct response, try to figure out which choice is most consistent with the main idea of the conversation or lecture.

5.    Listening questions must be answered in order. Once you click on OK, you cannot go back to a previous question.

Don’t forget to continue to build your English skills by listening to movies, TV and the radio in English. Doing this regularly will have a great impact.

Reference:

http://www.toeflgoanywhere.org/5-tips-tackling-listening-section

http://www.studyabroad18.com/articles/toefl-strategies-for-listening-section.php

Toefl

Describe about TOEFL PREPARATION

The TOEFL preparation course helps you improve proficiency and gain the score you need. This program will help you to achieve a higher TOEFL score and prepare for academic life at a university

The TOEFL is formatted in four sections, each of which tests one language skill. The test isn’t adaptive, which means the questions don’t get harder if you do really well or easier if you get a few questions wrong. Multiple forms of the test exist and they change often, which helps to prevent cheating, but all of the tests are close to equally difficult (for more detailed information about how this works, check out how the TOEFL is scored). You can learn about each of the four sections individually below.

The Reading Section

This first section tests your ability to understand academic written English. The material in this section may be different from the English you’ve read before, especially if you read fiction or popular literature, because it is based on material that English-speaking college students are expected to read and understand.  So it’s a good idea to get familiar with this style of writing—here are some great pointers for finding TOEFL reading practice. The reading passages can cover a wide variety of topics including art, history, science, and social sciences.

You will have one hour to read the three reading passages and answer the accompanying questions. After the full text is printed, questions will be grouped by paragraph, which saves you some time and makes it easier to find the information you need. You will see some unfamiliar words in this section, but that’s OK–if the word is necessary, can’t be figured out from context, and is specific to the topic of the text (not used in normal English), the test may allow you to click on the word and get a definition. Each question is worth the same amount, so don’t get stuck for too long on one question. You will have 20 minutes per passage, including the questions.

The Listening Section

Now that your language skills are warmed up, you’ll move on to listening, which will test your ability to understand both academic lectures and conversations related to university life. Like the reading section, the listening section will last about an hour. Throughout the entire test, you will have the option of taking notes; in the listening section, this will be essential. Practice listening and writing at the same time, because the lectures are 3-5 minutes long, and you will not be able to remember all the necessary information. The conversations will be shorter, but note-taking will still be very helpful. In all you will listen to 4 or 6 lectures and 2 or 3 conversations.

The Speaking Section

The speaking section is the shortest, lasting about 20 minutes.  It will involve some independent tasks, which require you to express an opinion briefly (you will have up to a minute to speak), and some integrated tasks, in which you will need to use information from reading and listening in your spoken answers. There are two questions that require you to read, listen and speak, and two that require you only to listen then speak. In all you will answer 6 questions in the speaking section.

The Writing Section

As in the speaking section, you will complete an integrated task (20 minutes) and an independent task (30 minutes). The independent task is a persuasive essay, meaning you should express and support an opinion. The integrated task will give you an excerpt from a lecture, an excerpt from a written article, and a question. Your task will be to combine the information from the lecture with that from the written article in order to answer the question. Manage your time well! On the TOEFL you will use a standard QWERTY keyboard. If you need to, now is a good time to practice typing in English, as you will not want to waste time searching for the right letter on the keyboard.

About Implementation of Toefl

Section	Time
Reading	60-100minutes
Listening	60-90 minutes
10-Minute Break
Speaking	20 minutes
Writing	60 minutes
Total	3,5-4 hours

1. Reading

* 3-5 passages

  - Until 700 words

  - 20 minutes per passage

    . Not separated

  - 12-14 questions per passage

* Similar to university textbooks

  - Science, history, humanities, etc.

2. Listening

* 6 or 9 Recordings

  - Groups of three

  - 4 or 6 lectures

    . ~5 minutes each with 6 questions

    . Similar topics to reading

  - 2 or 3 conservations

    . ~3 minutes each with 5 questions

    . About living on campus

3. Speaking

* 6 tasks

  - Always the same order

    . Task 1: Independent

    . Task 2: Independent

    . Task 3: Integrated-reading and listening

    . Task 4: Integrated-reading and listening

    . Task 5: Integrated-listening

    . Task 6: Integrated-listening

4. Writing

* 2 essays

  - Integrated: read, listen, and write

    . 3 minutes to read, ~3 minute lecture with reading

    . Write for 20 minutes

      - Compare and contrast lecture with reading

  - Independent: just write

    . 30 minutes

      - Give opinion and reasons

Refference:

http://magoosh.com/toefl/2013/toefl-format/

THE EFFECTS OF FAST FOOD ON THE BODY

Fast foods often contain too many calories and too little nutrition. If fast food is a regular component of your diet, you might find yourself struggling with weight problems and ill health.

Grain-based desserts and pizza as well as soda, sports drinks and energy drinks make up the top sources of calories for kids age 2 to 18, according to the publication "Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010." With those stats, it's not so surprising that the obesity rate in children has risen from between 4 percent and 6 percent, depending on age range, in the early 1970s to between 10 percent and 20 percent by 2008. A diet laden with junk food not only affects weight but other facets of a child's life, too.

Effects of Fast Food on the Body

Food is fuel for your body. It has a direct impact on how you feel as well as on your overall health. Fast food isn’t necessarily bad, but in many cases it’s highly processed and contains large amounts of carbohydrates, added sugar, unhealthy fats, and salt (sodium).

These foods are often high in calories yet offer little or no nutritional value. When fast food frequently replaces nutritious foods in your diet, it can lead to poor nutrition, poor health, and weight gain. Tests in lab animals have even shown a negative effect in short duration diets. Being overweight is a risk factor for a variety of chronic health problems including heart disease, diabetes, and stroke.

According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, most people underestimate the number of calories they’re eating in a fast-food restaurant. A 2013 study published in JAMA Pediatrics showed that children and adolescents take in more calories in fast food and other restaurants than at home. Eating at a restaurant added between 160 and 310 calories a day.

Digestive and Cardiovascular Systems

Many fast foods and drinks are loaded with carbohydrates and, consequently, a lot of calories. Your digestive system breaks carbs down into sugar (glucose), which it then releases into your bloodstream. Your pancreas responds by releasing insulin, which is needed to transport sugar to cells throughout your body. As the sugar is absorbed, your blood sugar levels drop. When blood sugar gets low, your pancreas releases another hormone called glucagon. Glucagon tells the liver to start making use of stored sugars.

When everything is working in sync, blood sugar levels stay within a normal range. When you take in high amounts of carbs, it causes a spike in your blood sugar. That can alter the normal insulin response. Frequent spikes in blood sugar may be a contributing factor in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

Sugar and Fat

Added sugars have no nutritional value but are high in calories. According to the American Heart Association, most Americans take in twice as much sugar as is recommended for optimal health. All those extra calories add up to extra weight, which is a contributing factor for getting heart disease.

Trans fats are a manufactured fat with no extra nutritional value. They’re considered so unhealthy that some countries have banned their use. Often found in fast food, trans fats are known to raise LDL cholesterol levels. That’s the undesirable kind of cholesterol. They can also lower HDL cholesterol, which is the so-called good cholesterol. Trans fats may also increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Sodium

Too much sodium causes your body to retain water, making you feel bloated and puffy. But that’s the least of the damage overly salted foods can do. Sodium also can contribute to existing high blood pressure or enlarged heart muscle. If you have congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, or kidney disease, too much salt can contribute to a dangerous buildup of fluid. Excess sodium may also increase your risk for kidney stones, kidney disease, and stomach cancer.

High cholesterol and high blood pressure are among the top risk factors for heart disease and stroke.

Respiratory System

Obesity is associated with an increase in respiratory problems. Even without diagnosed medical conditions, obesity may cause episodes of shortness of breath or wheezing with little exertion. Obesity also can play a role in the development of sleep apnea, a condition in which sleep is continually disrupted by shallow breathing and asthma.

A recent study published in the journal Thorax suggests that children who eat fast food at least three times a week are at increased risk of asthma and rhinitis, which involves having a congested, drippy nose.

Central Nervous System

A study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition showed that eating commercial baked goods (doughnuts, croissants, and, yes, even bran muffins) and fast food (pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs) may be linked to depression. The study determined that people who eat fast food are 51 percent more likely to develop depression than those who eat little to no fast food. It was also found that the more fast food study participants consumed, the more likely they were to develop depression.

A junk food diet could also affect your brain’s synapses and the molecules related to memory and learning, according to a study published in the journal Nature. Animal tests have shown a similar effect. Rats fed a steady diet with over half the calories from fat (similar to a junk food diet) for just a few days had trouble completing a maze they had previously mastered in a 2009 study.

Skin and Bones

Chocolate and greasy foods are often blamed for acne, but they’re not the real culprits. It’s carbs that are to blame. According to the Mayo Clinic, because foods that are high in carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels, they may also trigger acne.

The study in Thorax showed a higher risk of eczema (inflamed, irritated patches of skin) among children with a diet high in fast food.

When you consume foods high in carbs and sugar, bacteria residing in your mouth produce acids. These acids can destroy tooth enamel, a contributing factor in dental cavities. When the enamel of your tooth is lost, it can’t be replaced. Poor oral health has also been linked to other health problems.

Excess sodium may also increase your risk of developing osteoporosis (thin, fragile bones).

Effects on Society

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the definition of obesity is when your body mass index (BMI) is 30.0 or higher. BMI is a calculation of your height and weight. You can calculate your BMI here. There’s also a category referred to as “extreme obesity,” which is defined as a BMI of 40. Across all race groups, one in three Americans is considered obese while one in 20 is considered extremely obese. Those statistics are higher in the black and Latino communities. Approximately 75 percent of people in these groups who are over age 20 are considered obese.

The Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) reports that the number of fast food outlets has doubled since 1970, a period during which the number of obese Americans also doubled. It’s likely that many factors have contributed to the obesity epidemic, but the correlation between the availability of cheap and fattening fast food and national weight increase is stark. Obesity increases the likelihood of heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, joint problems, and more. In 2008, obesity-related medical costs were estimated at $147 billion. Diabetes alone was estimated to be responsible for $69 billion just in lost productivity. Numbers like these suggest that the costs of cheap fast food are surprisingly high. 

Reference:

http://www.healthline.com/health/fast-food-effects-on-body

http://www.livestrong.com/article/456624-negative-effects-of-junk-food-on-kids/