Fast Food and the Increase in Obesity in America

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Recommended: The importance of societal factors and obesity

Every month, at least ninety percent of Americans visit a fast food restaurant and about forty- five percent of them make it a weekly occurrence. These statistics make it safe to say Americans are obsessed with fast food, but why are Americans addicted to these restaurants? Is it the low prices, quick service or the taste of the food? According to Eric Schlosser, the author of Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side off the All-American Meal, he believes “It’s easy, it's filling, and it's convenient and inexpensive.” Therefore, the consumption of fast food is now directly correlated to the obesity epidemic in America. Consequently, the recent obesity increase in the United States has labeled America the fattest country.
The savory taste of the food from McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, and many other fast food restaurants entices millions of Americans to visit one of these restaurants every day. What is it in fast food that attracts so many customers every day? According to “Why Does Fast Food Taste So Good?” by Sarah Clark, “the food contains just the right mixture of fat, sugar and salt to set off the pleasure chemicals in the brain”. Furthermore Clark found that this mixture can be addictive because of the release of dopamine into the body. This happy feeling, caused by the dopamine release, is believed to cause people to become physically addicted to fast food. A study done on rats using the same fat, sugar, and salt content showed addictive behaviors because when the scientists stopped giving the rats the mixture they exhibited withdrawal characteristics. Scientists noticed common behaviors of withdrawal such as chattering of teeth and anxiousness. The researchers also noticed long lasting changes in brain chemistry of rats ...

... middle of paper ...

...und guilty officially, it is easy to see based on facts that there product is a big contributor to the increase in obesity.

Works Cited

"Asymmetric Dominance Effect." PC America (n.d.): n. pag. Print.
CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.
"Harvard School of Public Health » The Nutrition Source » Sugary Drinks and Obesity Fact Sheet." The Nutrition Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
N.p., n.d. Web.
Spurlock, Morgan. Don't Eat This Book: Fast Food and the Supersizing of America. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2005. Print.
"Super Size Me: Data and Information." N.p., n.d. Web. .
"Unhappy Meals: Five McDonald's Items with More Fat and Calories than a Big Mac." PCRM. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
"Why Does Fast Food Taste So Good?" Why Does Fast Food Taste So Good? N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

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