“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 …show more content…
No one is forcing others to make decisions to result in weight gain. “The restaurant industry is an industry of choice, and customers want options and flexibility in the foods they eat. American consumers know they are responsible for their own dietary choices,” (A. Greenblatt). Restaurants can’t do everything for the consumer. The consumers have the freedom to pick for themselves what they would like to purchase. Even though there are options at most restaurants that are not necessarily good for you, people like this option and not everyone has to worry about what they consumer. The responsibility and judgment of whether or not eating that unhealthy item is a good idea or not, is up to the buyer. The decision to return to that fast food restaurant and get another healthy item is decided by the buyer. The fast food restaurant does not force for one’s return but of course they want it but not to make that person fat. It has not been yet proven that cheeseburgers are chemically addictive (Todd Buchholz). Cheeseburgers aren’t addictive; there is nothing in them that makes people addicted like in tobacco. There is no physiological reason for the overconsumption of fast food. People return again and again because they want to because the food tastes
Children are waiting endlessly to leave paternal cares and use their man-given freedom. After leaving the nest, we often come to find diverging roads that don’t have clear answers. It’s all about making the “adult choice.” Whatever that is. David Zinczenko, a health aficionado, argues that the fast-food industry is to blame for America’s obesity epidemic.
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
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”
The obesity crisis is turning out to be a huge issue today in America. According to CDC, more than one third of the adults from the US are obese. Those related conditions consist of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and many others. Also from CDC, the estimated medical cost of obesity in the US annually was $147 billion in 2008. Nowadays, obesity is spreading to the children because of the fast food industry targeting the younger audience to their food. Fast food was created very cheap and turned out to be one of the main causes of obesity. People are now consuming way too many calories and the calories that they are consuming from fast food is all fat calories. All of the ingredients have no nutritional quantity for the body. Fast food contains very much high fating components which is endangering consumers health. Salt, fat and sugar is turning out to be available everywhere. Fast food often turns ...
“By age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 frame. Then I got lucky. I went to college, joined the Navy Reserves and got involved with a health magazine. I learned how to manage my diet. But most of the teenagers who live, as I once did, on a fast-food diet won 't turn their lives around: They 've crossed under the golden arches to a likely fate of lifetime obesity” (463). As Zinczenko stated many teenagers are misinformed about the unhealthy foods they are eating. But is it the fast food industries job to inform them? I don’t think so the fast food industry is interested in making money not informing the public the harm that their food would cause them. Radley Balko states in his essay “What You Eat is Your Business” “…. our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being” (467). The fast food companies are aware of the accusations made over the years and has acquired different varieties of healthy alternatives to their menu such as; grilled vs fried chicken, a variety of salads, apples instead of french fries, and substituting milk for soda. Those changes do not stop consumers from walking into a McDonald’s and ordering their child a happy meal with fries and a soda it is the choice of the
Many families would rather spend twenty five dollars on a couple value meals at a fast food chain rather than take thirty minutes to prepare a healthy, cheaper meal. Instead, Americans criminalize fast food corporations, for “making them obese”. Simply put, American citizens need to take responsibility for their everyday actions, leading them down a path of obesity, and stop blaming the fast food industry, the government, and their “lack of time”. First of all, consumers have an option of what they would like to eat; McDonalds does not have customers tied up to poles, forcing Big Macs and McNuggets into their mouths; in fact, there is no one forcing people to eat any fast food at all. The consumption of fast food products is purely a choice.
It seems that the average family is spending more time going out to fast food restaurants than eating at home. With more Americans eating out, obesity is at a new high. With the ever rising obesity problem in America, fast food chains are being pointed out as the ones to blame. Who’s at fault? Is it the consumers or the companies making the unhealthy food readily available? While eating out is becoming the easiest alternative to a sit down dinner at home, the effects of too much fast food can be harmful and sometimes deadly to one’s health. It is too easy to place the blame on the companies when the one making the decision to eat out is the consumers.
Childhood obesity is a big problem and is highly talked about in today 's society. Some researchers connect childhood obesity to what the children in our schools eat at lunch. According to “Children and Fast Food”, more than one-third of American children and adolescents ate some form of fast food every day in the mid-2010s (n.pag). Childhood obesity has doubled from what it use to be three decades ago and has been getting worse every year. Every generation of kids has liked junk food, however, the kids in the current generation are eating it more often at school and at home. They rarely eat anything else in the course of a day (Shapiro) because they are exposed to junk food everywhere they go. Pizza Hut, McDonald 's,
Today, many people eat fast food instead of home made food. The reason is that fast food is fast, cheap and convenient. However, at the same time, fast food is contributing to a big social problem in the U.S., which is obesity, and recently some people are beginning to sue the fast food companies for causing their obesity. Should the fast food companies have responsibility for American's obesity? My answer for this argument is "No". I think that whether people eat fast food or not is an individual choice. There are many people who eat fast food, but aren't obese. They may do some exercises for burning calories, or try not to eat fast food as much as they can, caring for their health. Moreover, some fast food companies serve relatively healthy foods, such as Baja Fresh, Subway and so on. Even though people don't have enough money or time to eat except for fast food, they can choose those fast food shops. Therefore, the responsibility of obesity should be taken by obese people, though fast food companies should also take actions to decrease the number of these people by showing their food's calories, serving healthy food, and giving more choices.
It is commonly known that obesity is a huge problem in Americans, to be specific “ in the U.S., 70.9 percent of men and 61.9 percent of women are overweight or obese” (Matthews 1). Not only does obesity affect adults in the U.S, it affects adults all around the world “38 percent of men and 36.9 percent of women worldwide” (Matthews 1). There are also similar statistics for children in the U.S. Luckily the numbers are not as high, but it is still a problem. “28.8 percent of boys and 29.7 percent of girls are overweight or obese in the U.S., compared to 14.2 percent of boys and 14.7 percent of girls worldwide” (Matthews 1). As you can see, obesity is a problem worldwide, not just in the U.S. However, the U.S. food industry is most likely responsible for the large percentages of obese people around the world. Along with the problem of obesity, the U.S. food industry is causing other problems around the world. There are now 119 McDonald’s locations around the world including countries like Vietnam, Iraq, and India. However McDonalds is not the only fast food joint to have locations worldwide. Pizza hut has locations in 100 different countries, Wendy’s is located in 30 countries and KFC is found in 118 countries. Some people would argue that it is good that having large fast food
In the modern day of America a new pandemic is on the rise. Childhood obesity has become a serious problem for the youth of America. The rise of obesity in young children is increasing at a frightening rate! As reported in 2014, 1 out of every 3 child is either overweight or dangerously obese (Kids Health). Many people put the blame on the child’s parent’s dietary decisions. Not having enough education on whether a salad with grilled chicken is a better choice to feed kids than a deep fried “chicken nugget”. A lot of anti-fast food organizations point their finger toward fast food companies such as McDonalds who sell “healthy” kid meals to little kids. The media plays a huge role in contributing to the problem by advertising such meals to
Similar to other junk foods, fast food is unhealthy, and causes obesity and weight gain. Fast food plays a major role in the obesity epidemic. Researchers at Harvard University predict that obesity rate in the United States is going to increase by 42 percent in the year 2050 (Healthy Eating). A factor that contributes to the increase in obesity is all of the children being fed fast food. They start at a young age, and then form it as a habit or addiction. According to the article, children who eat fast food every day are consuming too many extra calories than re...
Throughout the ages, fast food has played a major role in our society in both positive and negative ways. It has boosted our economy and been a part of American and worldwide culture for decades. Despite all the positive effects fast food may have, the method of manufacturing fast food is often forgotten. The processed food is made with harmful bacteria and mixed meat that negatively is affecting America without many people realizing it. Companies are using clever advertising methods to reach out to young kids which does not only develop bad habits at a young age, but intoxicates their health as well. Fast food is growing chain by chain and is even reaching schools across the states. As a result child obesity is increasing yearly and is effecting not only their physical but mental health as well. What our society does not understand is that the health risks outweigh the few minutes of satisfaction the cheap food brings. Many of the leading causes of death caused by fast food are diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease and obesity. Child obesity is increasing daily as the tremendous amounts of money spent on marketing products are soaring. This leads to the harmful effects fast food has on our growing society.
Although, fast food restaurants are highly blamed for causing obesity, there is also another side to it. It is found that fast food is only a small part of a much pervasive dietary pattern that is fostered at an early age by children’s parents. The pattern includes few fruits and vegetables and high amount of processed food (“Fast Food not the Major Cause of Rising Obesity”). People are also responsible for obesity. City people do not like spending time in kitchen for cooking dinner. People want it easy, people want it tasty and people demand it fast (“Should Fast Food Companies be blamed in Causing Obesity?”). Even if all the fast food restaurants shut down, the number of obese people would not decline because there are other factors
Over the past few centuries, obesity has been a major problem worldwide. Obesity is associated with poorer mental health outcomes, reduced quality of life, and is one of the leading causes of death. The fast food industry is one of the major factors contributing to the world’s obese epidemic. These industries give little to no nutrition facts about the food, and brainwash individuals (typically children) with advertisements. One may argue that it is the individual's responsibility to make healthy food choices, but in fact, it is the fast food industry to blame because they have dominated the world and leave individual with no choice but to support the fast food industry.