Summary

Libbie Wansink

Title?

It is no question to anyone that fast food is a major factor in the obesity epidemic that is currently sweeping through America. However, the question as to who is truly to blame – the servers or the consumers – remains relatively unanswered. If you ask David Zinczenko, author of the article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” the answer is clear. The blame of teen and childhood obesity belongs to the fast food industry. The industry takes advantage of young people with no other way to feed themselves, and fails to provide adequate nutrition facts to tell people exactly how much calories they are taking in. Children and teenagers with working or single parents are presented with an easy alternative to preparing their own meals, and parents don’t have to worry about the kid burning down the house trying to make themselves dinner while the parents are at work.

David Zinczenko centers his argument mainly on his own childhood memories. He recalls, “My parents were split up…my mom working long hours to pay the monthly bills. Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut.” Zinczenko probably understands better than most why these overweight children would feel that they are not to blame for their obesity. They didn’t have any choice but to eat what was available to them; it was either go out to eat with the money provided by hard-working parents, or go without lunch or dinner that day. Zinczenko points out that as a nation, obesity isn’t just the problem of the person it is affecting, it’s everyone’s problem. Obesity-caused diabetes in children and teenagers is skyrocketing, as are the costs of treating diabetes. When the point is brought up that we should know...

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...not entirely their fault. The fault rests partly on the shoulders of the parents, who make it too easy for their children to over-indulge in fast food and then blame the restaurant when their child gains weight, partly on the shoulders of the children and teenagers who eat out at these establishments multiple times a week and then do nothing to balance the junk food with some healthier snack alternatives, and partly on the shoulders of the “enablers,” who choose to place the blame solely on the fast food industry and allow these children and their families to play the victim, rather than admit that they are part of the problem. David Zinczenko was right about one thing, obesity is not just the problem of the person who is overweight. Obesity is everyone’s problem, and everyone should be thinking of ways to combat it, rather than just continue playing the blame game.