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Health effects of fast food consumption
Obesity and fast food
Obesity and fast food
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Is Fast Food Becoming the New Tobacco?
When it all started it was just a hamburger, bun, and ice cold soda. However, things have taken a turn as what is witnessed nowadays is supersizes, extra cheese, bacon, and only a single state law to regulate on how large soda can be. When it comes to the fast food industry in America, or as some individuals now refer to it as the ‘fat foods industry’, with the effects of high-calorie fat-packed foods, the question arises if they have become the new tobacco. Baseball has been credited to be Americans top past time; however, fast food is quickly catching up to be at the top with baseball, and in some instances, being used as a stress reliever. Here is an example scenario from a friend of mine Mark showing fast food is the new tobacco; he got home from work only to find gallons of water dispersed throughout his house. His words were “I got so aggravated and mad I just had to grab a double cheeseburger and some fries.” This is an implication that the American lifestyle is reveals fast foods have become the new tobacco.
Obesity has increasingly become a significant public health concern in the United States. In the past four decades, the numbers of overweight children, adolescents, and adults has shot to high margins, and the rise cut cross all ages, races, and ethnicities for both males and females. A recent analysis by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 30% of the American adult aged over the ages of twenty, which is a representation of over 60 million adults, was obese. Still the same survey indicated 16% of those between the ages of 16years and 19 years, which is over 9 million children and teenagers, were obese. This has come with its share of repe...
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...insurance companies billions of dollars in health related issues associated with the increased unhealthy eating habits. Therefore fast food is the new tobacco.
In conclusion, this essay has provided a variety of facts on how fast-food industry is becoming the new tobacco. In addition, how the poor eating habits adopted by Americans are at their worst and culminating to health complications. Therefore, there need be more medical interventions dealing with challenges such as diet drugs, food substitution, and alternative food restaurants. The government should also advocate for foods and services that are more informative to the consumer on matters nutritional characteristics and safety standards in foods, all in all it is common sense that majority of Americans have poor feeding habits in comparison to those who follow health diets making fast food the new tobacco.
Throughout the United States many American’s go through and eat at fast food places such as, McDonalds, Burger King, and Jack ‘n the Box. Mainly unaware of the amount of weight one can gain if consuming it on a daily bases or even two times week, can cause health issues, diabetes and possibly obesity. This was the main premise for writer Dave Zinczenko essay Don’t Blame the Eater, who makes an argument that many people are becoming obese and diabetic because of the fast food they eat. He asks a regarding his concern; Shouldn 't we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?, As a way to engage the general public, like parents and teenagers, he expresses his argument through his own experience when he was a teenager eating at fast food places and information on the fast food industry in regards to how many calories are in the food.
We hear it all the time, regarding how fast food is bad for our health, and yet we continue eating it. Life doesn’t slow down and sometimes it is just much easier and better for you timewise to just go through the drive through. In the article “Fighting the Fast Food Habit: Can America Downsize?” it basically says that even though most of the fast food chains and food suppliers are trying to decrease the unhealthy options on their menus, it is too late for it because of our eating habits. We want the unhealthy food. Companies are going to market to what the consumer wants. That’s how they make their profits. To sum it all up, companies are food options it a little healthier, but not for us, they only do as much that is needed for people to keep buying it and still feel like they are eating a little healthier. (Garcia 94) Just because a company says they are making changes doesn’t mean you’re eating healthy. It simply means they are making the food and drinks people are consuming a little healthier, however, it still shouldn’t be considered healthy. They do what they have to do to make money. All in all, you should consider eating less fast food and work toward adopting some good eating
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
Common sense seems to dictate that fast food is bad for you, however, many Americans consume fast food on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. In “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that fast-food companies and the food industry are to blame for America’s obesity epidemic, essentially that it is not the individuals fault for becoming obese, and that in essence, fast-food companies ought to take responsibility for the health issues induced by consuming the food. He explains how bombarded you are with unhealthy, greasy, and fattening food everywhere you look; whereas it is much more difficult to access healthy alternatives. He describes the vicious cycle of purchasing cheap ailing meals, rather
American pay more in fast food than one does on entrainment like movies, books, and music combined. In 1970, The United States spend around $6 billion on fast food and by the end of 2011 the amount was nearly doubled to $110 billion. Fast food is now found all over the places like hospitals, airports, and zoos. “What We Eat”, wrote by Eric Schlosser reflects on his research on the far-reaching effects of the American life. “What We Eat,” is a look into the rapid increase and popularity in fast food for the American people along with the physical and social consequence of the rapidly growth of the service economy.
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.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
After Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser was published in 2001 and became a New York Times bestseller, the same titled movie and other food-related documentary movies such as “Super Size Me” (2004) and “Food Inc.” (2009) became smash hits, which may reflect the enhancement of people’s awareness of healthy food in last decade. However, the recent article of Time magazine online shows that today’s food situation does not seem to improve since then, it even got worse. Especially a social problem like a relation between child obesity and fast food draws more people’s attention and some kinds of legislation by the federal government is said to be required to stop the situation get worse (Melnick). There is something should be done by the federal government to solve this problem, but it does not need to get involved in legislating fast-food industry.
There is an alarming rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States, making it an epidemic in our country. Obesity has become a threat to the health of many children. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.(Childhood Obesity Facts, 2015)
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.
Nevertheless, some people insist that fast foods, such as chips, hamburgers and fizzy drinks, that are so cheap and tasty, are not a consequence of the health problems. However, I strongly disagree that fast food has no bad impact on people’s health. I believe that fast food has a negative impact on society and, therefore, people must take care of themselves and lead a healthy lifestyle if they do not want to face serious problems with their
Section 1: Typically, we need a well-balanced meal to give us the energy to do day-to-day tasks and sometimes we aren’t able to get home cooked meals that are healthy and nutritious on a daily basis, due to the reasons of perhaps low income or your mom not being able to have the time to cook. People rely on fast food, because it’s quicker and always very convenient for full-time workers or anyone in general who just want a quick meal. Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation argues that Americans should change their nutritional behaviors. In his book, Schlosser inspects the social and economic penalties of the processes of one specific section of the American food system: the fast food industry. Schlosser details the stages of the fast food production process, like the farms, the slaughterhouse and processing plant, and the fast food franchise itself. Schlosser uses his skill as a journalist to bring together appropriate historical developments and trends, illustrative statistics, and telling stories about the lives of industry participants. Schlosser is troubled by our nation’s fast-food habit and the reasons Schlosser sees fast food as a national plague have more to do with the pure presence of the stuff — the way it has penetrated almost every feature of our culture, altering “not only the American food, but also our landscape, economy, staff, and popular culture. This book is about fast food, the values it represents, and the world it has made," writes Eric Schlosser in the introduction of his book. His argument against fast food is based on the evidence that "the real price never appears on the menu." The "real price," according to Schlosser, varieties from destroying small business, scattering pathogenic germs, abusing wor...
Childhood obesity is an increasing problem here in the United States. According to Schuab and Marian (2011) “Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions” (P.553). The prevalence of child obesity and overweight has increased over the last 30 years all over the United States, becoming one of the biggest public health challenges (Moreno, Johnson-Shelton, & Boles, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to give a background of the obesity epidemic, a review of current policy, and make a policy recommendation.
First alcohol, then tobacco, now fast food. Is fast food the new tobacco? In the article “Don’t blame the eater”, by David Zinezenko, he explains the bad affects that fast food companies have, when their meals are consumed on a day by day basis. He blames fast food companies for causing obesity in young teens around the world. Fast food restaurants have become the only options for youths today whose parents are often at work during the day, so they become victims to the trap of delicious, cheap, and convenient meals that the fast food restaurants offer. He also talks about the massive amount of fast food chains located only in a community. I agree, the problem is that we as the consumers do not know the dangers of eating fast foods on a daily
We are facing a big problem that will make our life more miserable. We are eating junk food constantly that is bad for our health. Many people eat junk food because they think it’s cheap and faster or some people do not like to cook their own food. “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko. This article is talking about how fast food is making us eat bad because of their fast service and cheap prices. People tends to choose fast food instead of cooking a healthy meal. It is easy for teenagers to gain weight by eating fast food meals. Zinczenko also argues about the absence of nutrition information about the food. I agree with Zinczenko. However, Zinczenko could also have examined the issue of fast food advertisements, mention some benefits