Apple slices are one of the healthiest meal choices served at fast-food restaurants today, but only upon request of the customer. Instead the customer is automatically supplied with greasy trans-fat filled French fries. (Tucker,Charlotte) If the fast-food companies would give the apple slices as the standard the America Public Health Association (APHA) pronounced (affa) says that meals would be much healthier. APHA is a research company solely dedicated to studying health factors of food and the health of the individual who consumes the product. With three out of every five people in the United States obese or over weight, partly due to the very unhealthy options served at these fast-food restaurants. The fast-food industry does provide a few healthier choices but what they fail to do is display them as much as they do their unhealthier alternatives. The fast-food industry has made a few strides to provide healthier options, but they are not doing enough. A couple of the strides they have made are offering some items the McDonalds Corporations lists as “healthy options.” One of these products that I would like to bring to your attention is the oatmeal that McDonalds serves. McDonalds claims that this product is healthy for you with all of its dehydrated fruits and nuts they serve with it. What they do not show is the extremely high amounts of sugar and salts that this oatmeal contains inside its cup. The oatmeal is offered in the mornings as a healthy option but in fact it has the same amount of calories as a double-cheeseburger. (Bittman, Mark) In addition to the oatmeal being offered as an alternative many fast-food restaurants have began offering fruits such as apple slices, raisins, and dehydrated banana chips. These are... ... middle of paper ... ...ica on the horizon. Works Cited Yahia,Najat. “ Eating habits and obesity among Lebanese University Students.” Nutritional. Journal. 18, Oct. 2008 Web. 17 Feb. 2011 Tucker,Charlotte. “ Study Fast- Food Chains Targeting Kids Through Unhealthy Options.” The Nations Health. 7 Jan. 2011 Web. 21 Feb. 2011 “Fattening Up Asia” Investigators Chronicle Magazine and Web Content. 7 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Feb. 2011 “Fast- Food Restaurants In The U.S. Industry Market Research Report – New Report Published; Newly Released Report, Fast Food Restaurants In The U.S Industry Market Research Report, Provides Detailed Company Analysis.” Official Spin 10 Nov. 2010 Web. 21Feb 2011. Morrison, Maureen. “ Kids Seeing More Fast- Food Ads?” Advertising Age. 21 Dec. 2010 Web 17 Feb. 2011 Bittman, Mark “How to make Oatmeal … Wrong.” New York Times 7 Jan 2011 Web 20 Feb 2011
...f television advertisements for junk food versus nutritious food on children's food attitudes and preferences. Social science & medicine, 65, (7), pp. 1311-1323.
“Today, more than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choice, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise” Mike Adams (1967- present). People tend to believe our obesity epidemic is due to our high-calorie fast food restaurants. They are quick to blame others for their own mistakes and their willingness to change their eating habits. Fast food restaurants are not to blame for our obesity problem in our society but as a consumer, we are making that ultimate choice. We need to stop and think about what we are putting in our bodies and what they are doing to us. Yes, it’s true, it’s easier to find a McDonalds than a fruit or vegetable stand, but why not choose the salad with half the dressing at McDonalds
Obesity in the United States, which the media has labeled a national crisis, has also been connected to poverty rates. Big fast food industry’s target poor communities, and spend millions of dollars each year to create advertising that appeals to these specific areas. These industry’s also target naïve children when advertising because they know that eating habits developed in childhood are usually carried into adulthood. Children who are exposed to television advertisements for unhealthy food and who are not educated well enough on good nutrition will grow up and feed their families the same unhealthy foods they ate as kids. A big way fast food giants are able to make certain young people have access to unhealthy food is by strategically placing franchises in close proximity to schools. They will often place three times as many outlets within walking distance of schools than in areas where there are no schools nearby. The way fast food advertising is targeted towards children is very alarming considering how important good nutrition is for young people and how a child’s eating habits can affect their growth and
Americans are constantly facing obstacles to healthy eating. Obesity is something that is growing rapidly in the United States. Some Americans argue that fast-food restaurants play a major role in obesity. In “Preventing Obesity” Barbara Mantel states, “Four of the companies — Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Hershey and Mars — pledge not to advertise any food and beverage products on programming for children younger than 12, and the remaining firms pledge that 100 percent of their children's advertising would be for self-designated ‘better-for-you’ products ” (805-806). Whenever children see a junk-food or candy commercial they are instantly attracted to it, it might be because of how colorful they are or the usual toy they receive when they buy kids
One out of every three Americans is obese and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food became a big necessity. However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension” (May, Kuklina, Yoon). The food that they provide is made to be eaten quickly, causing problems for the digestive system. Also, the health problems lead to the use for health insurance, which adds to the costs of Medicare. Health care costs will only worsen an already failing economy. Therefore, the government should regulate fast food restaurants in the United States in order to repair the deteriorating health and economy in America.
Crouse, Janice Shaw. "The Fast-Food Industry Intentionally Markets Unhealthy Food to Children." Fast Food. Ed. Tracy Brown Collins. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 14 Apr. 2011.
(2012). Fast Food Advertising is linked to Rising Childhood and Teen Obesity. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Retrieved: April 24, 2014 from http://ic.galegroup.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=asuniv&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%...
The issue of children being more attracted to the shape, colour and features of a toy as opposed to what the meal beside it looks like, is expressed in this article. The children are far more interested in the paraphernalia that they are given with their meal, that what they are with the actual meal they are being served. Studies have shown, that children are to a large extent influenced by what they see and hear in the popular culture that what they are told at home, this indicates that they may suffer from peer pressure and do not have much of a home life if they are always involved in what is going on outside of their homes. Most of the advertisements that McDonalds and Burger King send out to be aired, are mainly targeted at children, they do this by making the packaging of the meals look inviting as well as the portion size is directed to them. Dr. James Sargent who is a paediatrics professor at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, says that these techniques used by McDonalds and other fast food brands are misleading. This technique also means that children make lifelong emotional connections to the fast food brands and will always remember them and long do what they can to always have something from the fast food restaurants. Children under a certain age, mainly the age that the advertisements are targeted at, are unable to purchase these poor nutritional
In another in-film experiment, Spurlock scours each of the McDonald’s restaurants in New York City for the nutritional information about their food. In a stunning turn of events, 50% of those locations had a single wall poster with nutritional information, roughly 20% had pamphlets with nutritional information, and less than 10% had both. Even though these statistics are circumstantial, they nevertheless illustrate how vast consumer ignorance is and how little McDonald’s is concerned about it in their pursuit of business.
Commercials make the viewer think about the product being advertised. Because of the amount of television children watch throughout the week, it allows the children to be exposed to the information over and over again. Per year, children are known to view thousands of fast food commercials. On a daily basis, a teen will usually view five advertisements and a child aged six to eleven will see around four advertisements (Burger Battles 4). Businesses use this strategy to “speak directly to children” (Ruskin 3). Although the big businesses in the fast ...
American life is quick paced and busy. Americans want quick reliable transportation, quick internet connection, quick money, quick healing, quick weight loss, quick energy, and even quick service from the restaurants they eat out at. When a busy person is looking for a quick, easy food, fast food is usually the best option. The main food at a fast food restaurant is usually a burger and French fries. Fast foods restaurants are popular in America because they are inexpensive and served very quickly. There’s no problem with eating fast food every so often, but if a person is eating it almost every day, it can lead to serious health concerns. Americans love to eat. However, it is important to understand that what goes into one’s mouth can affect the rest of the body. Fast food has brought a change into American lives. Hunting for food was once a full time job for humans. Today, such thoughts have become ancient. Food is delivered at the footsteps of your door. In addition, fast food's easy access has strongly contributed to the epidemic of obesity. Furthermore, the marketing of fast food through the media has become big business.
Termini, Roseann B., Thomas A. Roberto, and Shelby G. Hostetter. "Food Advertising and Childhood Obesity: A Call to Action for Proactive Solutions." ERIC. N.p., 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
Obesity is a big social issue in America. Due to the popularity of fast food and other unhealthy foods, more and more Americans are developing health diseases and disorders. We should be getting the correct daily nutrition amount, but because of our fast paced lifestyles we sometimes do not have enough time. Fast food restaurants make it possible to grab a meal and go. We often do not pay attention to the nutrition amount, but are simply looking for a quick bite to eat that will fulfill our hunger. Fast food is assisting in the increase of obesity in America (“Phrase” par.2).
While fast food restaurant options abound, the fast food market is nearly devoid of healthy alternatives. In the last ten years select restaurants such as McDonald’s and Wendy’s have taken steps toward balancing out their menus by offering healt...
Worcester Polytechnic Institution. "Fast Food Marketing to Children." Public Health Communication. (2007). http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-082107-231740/unrestricted/Appendix_1.pdf (accessed February 17, 2014).