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Problems of obesity
Obesity how it is becoming a problem
Obesity is a major public health problem and has become an important epidemic
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In the United States, there are many people who believe that if it wasn’t for fast food restaurants, they would be eating healthier and wouldn’t be overweight. People have even tried to sue fast food restaurants for their own self esteem issues. It’s ironic that people actually blame fast food restaurants, such as McDonald’s, for being obese. While fast food may be one of the contributors to the obesity outbreak, it certainly doesn’t stand alone. There are loads of reasons why people living in the United States are overweight. Some of these reasons involve dilemmas within the school arrangements, peer pressure, family genetics, educational issues, and even where a person lives. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion said that “Some illnesses may lead to obesity or weight gain. These may include Cushing's disease, and polycystic ovary syndrome. Drugs such as steroids and some antidepressants may also cause weight gain” (Overweight and Obesity, www.cdc.gov). Even though obesity has become a major problem in the United States today, the percentage in general, of obese human beings would definitely decrease if people would exercise more, eat healthier, and change their diets.
It’s apparent that fast food restaurants are evidently a major part of the problem; take a quick glance around your community and you’d notice that they’re all over the place. There has
to be at least one fast food restaurant every five to ten blocks on a regular street. If that’s the way you drive home from work, and you don’t feel like making a home cooked meal, what do you think your family will eat that night; whatever you feel like stopping to pick up, due to all the fast food spots on the way. The fast food industry re...
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...d their parents would feed them
unnhealthy foods.
"Obesity and Genetics." Medical Moment. N.p., 1 Jan. 2005. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
. This
source describes more how genetically its not the families fault for you
being obese.How you cant your genes but you can change your behavior, and
the way you eat and watching your diet.
Human Services, U.S Department of Health and. "What Causes Overweight and
Obesity?" National Institutes of Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.
.
This was a very helpful source! There was so much information i used from
here to provide in my essay, it had clear observations and so much info on
my topic and different reasons and it was just great.
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.
Almost everyone has eaten fast food at some point in their lives, but not everyone realizes the negative effects some fast food can have on our nutrition. My family especially is guilty of eating unhealthy fast food meals at least once a week because of our budget and very busy schedules. In Andrea Freeman’s article entitled, “Fast Food: Oppression through Poor Nutrition,” She argues that fast food has established itself as a main source of nutrition for families that live in average neighborhoods and have low-incomes. Freeman begins the article by explaining how the number of fast food outlets is beginning to grow in poor communities because of the cheap prices and quick service these restaurants are famous for. The overabundance of fast
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.
Obesity is an epidemic in America. Fast food can be compared to the same type of mindless addiction as cigarettes, and can be equally as dangerous. Not only is there a problem with fast food restaurants, but the food industry as a whole. Slaughterhouses that control 80% of the market produce meat in such a way that is not healthy for consumption, in turn the products are doused in harmful chemicals and still served to the public. No wonder the obesity rate in America is 69% and rising. Obesity is a true problem in our country- people are neglecting their health and quite literally eating themselves to death.
In “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinzcenko illustrates a very valid argument. His conflict seems to be with the food industry and its horrible variety of products. The results have been staggering to the public’s health, especially teenagers. Fast food restaurants are Zinzcenko’s primary target for causing this epidemic. Zinzcenko stated, “lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. Then as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal” (pg.241). This statement is very true and has been for a while. Fast food is very convenient, especially for teenagers. People are reaching obesity at a very early age and remain that way throughout their lives.
For millions, fast food restaurants are the source of positive associations with birthday parties, play dates and accessible comfort food. For others, they represent a lifeline meal on a busy day, or the secret to quieting a cranky toddler on a long trip because hurrying residents of cities have no time to cook a healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fast food presents even in the lives of people who are trying
Eating habits have become a cause of obesity because most people in America decide to take the fast route. Fast food has become so prevalent in the day to day lives of so many families and individuals. The cost and convenience of fast food has led to an increase in consumption, which does not help our cause. According to Carey Polis’ article in The Huffington Post, fast food is about $550 cheaper per year than choosing the healthy option. That means people are more likely to choose a cheeseburger from McDonald’s over fresh fruit and vegetables from the produce section at the grocery store. Along with how cheap it is to get our hands on fast food, the convenience makes it even more difficult to resist. With a fast food restaurant on every corner of every block in town, it makes it much easier for someone to pick up on a meal on their daily commute rather than actually trying to cook something healthy. Choosing fast food is not the most nutritious way to go either. Fast food is filled with sugar, fats, salts, and calories. It is usually low in nutrition and high in what are considered to be “empty” calories. By definition obesity is caused by the excess in...
Is fast food to blame? Fast food restaurants advertise all their ingredients in plain sight. They provide healthy options to their more popular foods such as grilled items, skinless options, low calorie/no calorie beverages, and small portion orders. Most obese Americans are overweight because they are uneducated about the dangers of the fast food. Once they learn about eating healthy, managing overweight issues becomes more elementary. Fast food restaurants should not be the blame of American obesity because there are healthier options, self-discipline, and self responsibility for each individual.
The first drive-in restaurant was created in Dallas, Texas (Alchin 3). Because of the creation of the drive-in restaurant, places such as McDonalds and Sonic now exist. These types of restaurants have made busy and stressful days easier. Drive-in restaurants are very convenient for the working class and provide fast service for people who have limited time. Even though drive-in restaurants have made feeding busy families easier, they do also have a negative side. Fast food has led to an increase in obesity all across the world. These chain restaurants have also led to a decrease in family interaction. More families eat on the go and are not spending quality time with one another. Even though drive-in restaurants were created over ninety-five years ago, they still have a huge effect on society
In 2002, two girls sued McDonalds because they claimed that it was making them fat. Many people in America blame the fast food industry for making them fat. Nutritional information is available for most fast food restaurants and one is forced to eat there. Even though the food is unhealthy, the fast food industry should not be held responsible for obesity in the United States. Many Americans have busy lives and do not have time to cook for themselves, so eating out seems to be easier and more convenient.
America is one of the most obese countries in the world, and the reasons are quite obvious. Take a look around. Fast food chains on every block, more and more technology to make our lives easier, and high amount of stress are just a few factors to weight gain in our country. There are many different views on obesity and how the people think it should be resolved, whether it's government making the change or the people taking care of themselves. Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years. Are we doing enough to bring these statistics down? No. In the last 40 years, there has been a growth to more than 160,000 fast food restaurants in America (“Adolescent and School Health”). Restaurants (such as Wendy's, McDonald's etc.) serve more than 50 million people per day, generating about 65 million in sales annually. Only since obesity has become a national epidemic have fast food restaurants changed their ways. But we need to do more than just change the kind of oil the french fries are fried in. Better yet, why don't we remove, or intensely decrease the number of the unhealthy fast food chains, and spread more healthy fast food chains, such as Subway? Is it something government could take act in? Should the United States government take measures to fight the rise of obesity in the country, or are choices concerning diet and nutrition better left to the individuals, free of government interference?
Individual problems such as addictions, illnesses and mental depression stalk us throughout our lives, but there is more to addictions, illnesses and mental depression than meets the eye. A good example of this theory is obesity. Obesity in Australia is turning into a problem and as the rates of obesity increase each year, the larger the problem expands. According to sociologist, C. Mills, problems can be divided into either troubles or issues and more often than not, a problem which is seen as a person trouble, when looked at globally, is in fact a social issue. This idea is referred to by C.Mills as the sociological imagination.
“For someone not to know that a big mac is unhealthy is ignorance, and ignorance is not the responsibility of the fast food industry,” (Daniel Speiser). The amount of fast food joints has largely increased which has become a problem for many people throughout the United States. Several people place the blame for the rising obesity among children on the rising fast food industries due to its convenience, price, advertising, and somewhat un-nutritional content. Some people even take it as far as court to place blame on the fast food industries and for those industries to make changes to their restaurants. The high percentage of obese children in the United States is not caused by the fast food industry. The obesity epidemic has other outside influences, the fast food industries have changed dramatically, and people should take responsibility for their own consumptions. It is time for people to stop placing the blame on others and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.
As Americans, we’re always on the go. When hungry and have no time there are many fast and healthy items available. Many people who say that fast food chains is the main cause of obesity in America because there are plenty of fast food restaurants on every block with very few healthy options ("Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity?"). Fast food business are very easy to find and offer quick service, but there are other options that are healthy, especially in urban areas. Restaurants such as Panera offer a range of items that are healthy and offer a quick service for those on a schedule. In addition to these healthier options, it is also possible to pack their own snack or meal. People often become lazy when it comes to just cooking their meals at home. This choice allows the customer, to control what they eat.