The obesity epidemic in our society is a growing problem that affects more than half of the population. The two main medical problems associated with obesity are cardiovascular and diabetes. As of 2010 these problems have been addressed and change is a major concern for the government. Obesity especially in children is not the problem. However; the cause of childhood obesity is the true issue. Many people claim that fast-food restaurants are to blame. I believe that it is not only the fault of fast foods; instead there is socioeconomic, race and poverty issues that have a lot more to do with obesity than just fast food.
Banning fast foods are not the remedy, not only would it hurt the economy but it’s about personal accountability. Everything in moderation is fine, The Nutrition Profiling Index (NPI) and the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative’s (CFBAI) are institutes ensures the fast food industries are ensuring the healthiest possible meals. Since 2010 there has been a concern about potential negative effects of fast food marketing on the diets of children and teens. More than one-third of youth consume, including 33% of children (ages 11) and 41% of teens (ages 12-19).7 compared to, 36% of adults who consume fast food. Furthermore; one-quarter of teen visits to fast food restaurants were for an afternoon snack, much higher compared with all other age groups. Consuming fast food increases daily calorie intake by 126 calories for children and 310 calories for teens, as well as sugary drinks, total sugar, saturated fat, and sodium. Objective and transparent data are necessary to evaluate restaurants’ progress in reducing marketing that promotes consumption of unhealthy fast food by children and teens.
The Nutriti...
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...ng long enough you will gain weight and become over weight.
The fast food business is here to stay, its profitable, convenient, and international somewhat cheap and tasty to others. The fast food industry records over 10 billion dollars annually. In 1970, Americans spent about $6 billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education. McDonalds is responsible for 90% of new jobs, in 1970 they had 1000 restaurants, now they have 20,000 worldwide. The point is that’s just McDonalds, combine all other fast food restaurants, and how many people they employ nationwide. The fast food industry is a necessity to our economy. Regardless of who or what group tries to blame obesity, childhood obesity or cardiovascular disease or whatever else on fast food; it’s safer than alcohol and cigarettes.
Fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society. Everywhere you turn you can see a fast food restaurant. An industry that modestly began with very few hot dog and hamburger vendors now has become a multi-international industry selling its products to paying customers. Fast food can be found anywhere imaginable. Fast food is now served at restaurants and drive-through, at stadiums, airports, schools all over the nation. Surprisingly fast food can even be found at hospital cafeterias. In the past, people in the United States used to eat healthier and prepared food with their families. Today, many young people prefer to eat fast food such as high fat hamburgers, French-fries, fried chicken, or pizza in fast
The obesity problem in this country has gotten worse, a lot worse, and the surge in obesity can be tied directly to fast food. I was appalled by the fact that since 1980 the number of people either fat of obese has doubled, and in that time frame there are twice as many overweight children and three times as many overweight adolescents. Looking strictly at the numbers, it is very easy to find a direct correlation between the number of overweight or obese individuals and the number of fast food establishments. However these fast food outlets are not created in a vacuum, they are servicing a demand. Each day one in four Americans visits a fast food restaurant. Our culture has evolved to one of immediate gratification, we want it convenient, and we want it now. The fast food industry has simply seized that cultural demand and has taken advantage of it all the way to the bank. I think we have a cultural weakness that looks for someone to blame for our problems and McDonalds certainly makes a nice target.
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”
In order to impede the epidemic of childhood obesity, the actual causes of the problem need to be evaluated and dissected. Obesity in children is becoming a huge problem in American society. In the past three decades, the rate of overweight children has increased by 300%. This is an alarming rate that is only climbing higher. Every member in society should take steps to becoming healthier. This would help the present generations as well as future generations to come. The lifestyle of Americans keeps us too busy to be a healthy society.
Obesity is an epidemic in America, greatly impacting youth, the health care system, and economically vulnerable populations. Among all of the high-income countries in the world, obesity rates remain the highest in the US. According to Harvard, US obesity rates have more than doubled since 1980, although they have remained the same since 2003. (Harvard School of Public Health) Approximately 31.9% of children and adolescents from the ages of 2 to 19 are obese or overweight (NPLAN), while roughly 69% of adults fall into the category of overweight or obese. (Harvard School of Public Health) With obesity rates this high, America is facing a huge crisis that could become greater in the future. In order to understand the issue of Obesity in America it is important to evaluate the extent to which the problem effects large populations of children and adults and how the fast food industry has served as one of the major causes of this epidemic.
Since the fast food industry is targeting America’s youth, providing healthier options on children’s menus will reduce the rate of childhood obesity and allow for a healthy future.
44 percent of Americans eat fast food at least once per week (“Fast food statistics”, 2014) and kids between the ages of 6 and 14 eat fast food 157 million times every month (Ransohoff Julia, 2013). Just in the past 3 decades the obesity rates in children have more than tripled (Kalaidis Jen, 2013). Needless to say, whether once a year or 3 times a week, fast food is a definitely part of most Americans nutrition. Acco...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States more than one-third of adults and one-sixth of children are obese. Over the next twenty years, these numbers will more than double. By the year 2020, obesity will be considered a normal thing, and a healthy weight will be the exception. Who is to blame for the increasing obese population? Some say fast food restaurants that are on every block in the city. Others say it is the obese people themselves because they do not know how to control themselves. Many major health conditions come with obesity and it is costing the government millions in healthcare to pay for others lack of self control.
The American diet has changed dramatically in the past couple centuries and so has the restaurant industry. The result of this change in Americans actions and diets is a rising obesity rate among children. In the 1970s, the childhood obesity rate was five percent of children (2-19 years old). The obesity rates doubled in the 1980s and by 2008 16.9% of children were obese (Grossklavs and Marvlesin). The percentage of obese children has more than tripled in the last 40 years. The growing epidemic is dangerous and alarming. There are many factors that contribute to the dramatic rise of obesity children. As obesity has grown, so has the fast food industry. “Between 1977 and 1995, the percentage of meals and snacks eaten at fast food restaurants doubled,” (...
The United States needs to do something to change the amount of childhood obesity in the nation. If the government requires children to take classes that require physical activity, abolishes school vending machines, and teaches children about healthy eating, then the amount of children that are obese in the United States will decrease significantly. Obesity is defined as the increase of body fat over time to the point where it can impact health in a negative manner and decrease life expectancy. Since the 1980’s, obesity has increased dramatically in the United States. Children have been greatly impacted in the increase of obesity. This is a major problem as someday these obese children could possibly turn into obese adults. If the population of obese adults and children keeps increasing, than not only will our country have a lot of severely unhealthy people but the cost of health care will increase dramatically.
One way that fast food effects obesity is by advertising their products to children (Miller). In her article Food Advertising Contributes to Obesity, Patti Miller explains that the fast food companies are targeting kids and teenagers by advertising on television. The fast food advertisements are promoting unhealthy products as acceptable food which influences children to choose those meals. The American Psychological Association, an organization focused on improving the lives of individuals, expressed that with the exposure of different fast food commercials, children request to purchase these unhealthy products and cause the parents to be influenced by these requests. This concludes the idea that once children are encouraged by the commercials, they opt to consume the fast food advertised on television. Today, fast food companies are even advertising through schools by offering pizzas and burgers as school lunches, which consequently becomes a daily meal for children and teenagers to consume (Wadden, Brownell,
Is fast food to blame for the growing obesity in America? Obesity affects more than half of the population. With so many Americans gaining weight and so many health problems the matter has to be addressed. There is no one would argue that obesity, especially the children is considered a problem. In any case the cause of childhood obesity is fought about daily. Many people will say that fast food restaurants are to blame. In my research, I will explain the argument that who is to blame for the obesity in America: fast food restaurants or common laziness from the obese society.
The impact on children and adolescents that derive from the fast food industry raise questions in the details of the nation of fast food. The health of these people is the biggest concern among the issues that have raised questions from adults and health officials around the world and how later on the way these kids are eatin...
“We need to teach our children to eat real food. No fast foods. No junk foods. No processed foods. Just honest, nutritious, real food.” As the years go by many more people are becoming obese because they consume too much fast food. People need to get in habits to cook at home rather than eating out everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. People in this world are now always trying to look for the easy way out of things. Eating out at a fast food restaurant is not a healthy meal to eat. We the people need to avoid the fast food restaurants and stop being lazy and have home cooked meals everyday. Although fast food is convenient for everyone, it causes obesity and consuming too much fast food can lead to type 2 diabetes.
Junk food has been proven to be unhealthy long time ago. Junk food started to grow more and more recently and spread fast all over the world. Junk food reveals any food with high calories and low nutritional value. A big problem with junk foods is that satiation value of them is low, that means people need to eat a large amount of that unhealthy foods to feel full. So it is like eating a lot of poisons for a long time, what do you think the result will be on the health condition of the humans? Another problem of junk foods tend to replace other healthy foods; people who drink a lot of soda there is no room for healthy natural fruit juice in their stomach, people who are snacking on cookies, they’re not eating fruits and healthy vegetables (WebMD