The world we live in today revolves around our convenience. The average lifestyle involves juggling school, work, sports, and family but where does food fit into the equation? We need to feed ourselves to survive so we have no choice, but to fit it into our busy schedules. Most people don’t have time to sit down and have the traditional home cooked meal anymore. Instead they have to eat on the go to keep up with their fast pace schedule. The food that can be provided fast and through a drive through is not necessarily the healthiest for our bodies and this is why I believe the majority of society is becoming overweight. An online source stated, “Partly due to the fast food culture, about 60% of Americans are overweight or obese.” The busy American lifestyle requires us to eat processed foods that cannot provide our bodies with the needed nutrients to stay at a healthy weight. If I believe that convenience is to blame for obesity rates, then who is to blame for creating this hectic lifestyle that relies on “convenience”? Well its simple really, just look around you, technology. It is everywhere around us and most people couldn’t imagine living without it. It’s something that almost everyone relies on in order to get work done. The internet, computers, cell phones, laptops, and tablets enable us to communicate with others from far distances easier. Some might argue that the young generations are addicted to technology and that’s they have no social skills. I agree with this theory because many kids are so attached to cell phones, video games, and computers that they don’t need human interaction anymore. Time magazines states, “TV watching can establish a deeper pattern of poor eating habits that can set children up not only for ... ... middle of paper ... ... about how fast food, meat particularly, is processed. Not only does it open your eyes to how fast food is processed but also it shows how all food in the grocery store is not really “food”. The movie suggests that humans are “starving” themselves from the needed nutrients that we need to survive. Common snacks for kids like cereal, cheez-its, fruit snacks, potato chips, granola bars, and other easily prepared foods do not contain the nutrients that our bodies need to grow and stay healthy. What children really need to be eating are fruits and vegetables and there are endless ways that these can be prepared to taste delicious! Works Cited "Fast Food FACTS in Brief." Fast Food FACTS — Fast Food Facts in Brief. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. Park, Alice, and Alice Park. "Watching TV Steers Children Toward Eating Junk." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
Authors of the article say that children started watching more television then it was twenty-thirty years ago. Obviously it leads to inactivity and as a result to obesity. Furthermore, the article main point is television as a popular tool among children could be used for spreading correct information on good nutrient and obesity prevention. Authors mention that usually depiction of food in television has many negative consequences on food habits. In many cases, characters from movies or cartoons eat unhealthy food and provide bad examples to follow. The article supports its idea with
Obesity is very common in America, around 66% of American adults are overweight and nearly 33% are obese, which leads to heart disease, cancer, stroke and many other illness. Furthermore, the consume of fast food is in my opinion one of the worst decisions we can make, the food may be cheaper but it leads directly to overweight problems, and it not only damages our bodies but they undermine local business, farmers, and in the process they support they massive slaughter of animals. Ms. Lappe states “…modern livestock production has steered away toward the industrial-style production to highly destructive overgrazing “(858).By consuming food from fast food industries we support the destruction of lands, and the poor conditions in which the animals we consume are suffering. Moreover, changing from consuming fast food to healthier food is in my opinion a transition every individual should make since we cannot keep supporting the companies that literally destroy our world and our body with our
In the documentary Killer at Large, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona remarked that “Obesity is a terror within. It’s destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out…” Carmona is indeed right, with the rapid increase of obese children, America is on the fast track to producing a generation with a life expectancy shorter than their peers. One of the main factor is the media representation of obesity (Greenstreet 2008). In today’s society parents are not only worrying about televisions influence on their kid’s behavior but their weight and health, too. According to study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, that researched the role of media in childhood obesity, stated the obesity increased by 2% for every hours of television in adolescent’s ages 12 to 17. The advertisement of food and beverages present a very strong influence on the children. Most of the products being advert...
Lehmann, Deborah. "Why School Cafeterias Are Dishing Out Fast Food (page 2)." Education.com. Education, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
In this book, Pollan focuses a lot on the culture that surrounds the eating habits of today’s society in America. He talks about how we come from a culture that was primarily dependent on the hunting and gathering of our food. Pollan explains that through the years, Americans have turned away from providing for themselves in exchange for quicker and more convenient meals. I believe that America has evolved into a fast paced way of living. This has inhibited today’s society from having optimal time to prepare and even sit down to enjoy their meals. These cultural changes have led to a higher consumption rate of processed and fast foods. Almost anywhere you go, you can find a find a fast food restaurant or chain. With all of these arising opportunities, today’s culture has created a very unhealthy nation filled with sickness and disease. Pollan states that three out of every five Americans are overweight and one out of every five is obese. When compared to American culture before processed and fast food were ever an option, issues and diseases related to weight were almost non-existent. The people that lived before our modernized culture had to expend a greater amount of energy on hunting and tracking their prey, sometimes even ending up empty handed. However, when compared to today’s culture a surplus of food is available to people in exchange for much smaller energy expenditures.
This movie relates to how society is today. Although, there is an increased in obesity as many still rely on fast food. Compared to when the movie was made, much of the statistics has increased more and individuals are just ruining their overall health. In addition to more fast food, there is less physical activity that is occurring. This also contribute to a poor overall health.
I found this film extremely enlightening for many reasons. The statistics of the prevalence of certain diseases in countries that primarily ate animal based food compared to those that did not was the most shocking to me. The fact that about forty-percent of Americans are overweight was something I found to be completely horrifying. The amount of sugar and processed meat that Americans consume continue to rise tremendously as the years go by and if something is not done to cut back on the rising number, more people will be overweight or suffer from cardiovascular diseases.
According to “Burger Battles” from the Weekly Reader, obesity is defined as a person whose weight is 20 percent higher than recommended for their height (Burger Battles 1). When this condition begins to affect children lives, it is then known as childhood obesity. Within the United States of America, around 15 percent of children are considered to be obese (Holguin 3). Increasing tremendously, this outbreak has actually tripled in the amount of obese teen and doubled in children up to the age of thirteen (Burger Battles 2). One of the factors that is usually overlooked in the cause for obesity is the role of television. Not only does it reduce the amount of physical activity, the advertisements and commercials are targeting innocent viewers. In a survey completed by Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, the average child watches nearly 19 hours and 40 minutes of television a week (Ruskin 2). With that amount of time spent watching television, advertisements for fast food will be entering the children’s minds.
One example of how the food industry is ruthless is when one of the CEOs of a fast-food chain states they are part of the problem is hired immediately. Though I don’t not find this wrong because if I was a stock-holder with my life savings invested within his company I would without a doubt have him fired for placing my money at risk. That is the harsh reality of economics, you cannot place you company in shock by either a damaging statement or bad executive move. I found most disturbing about the movie was how a case was being made against McDonalds that two obese teens did not know fast-food was unhealthy (Spurlock). Regardless of how they lived word of mouth had to have taught them fast food is not healthy, and if that didn’t health education has been in place for years now teaching us
The invasion of technology has long been assumed to contribute to the large number of Americans who are considered overweight and do not get an adequate amount of daily physical activity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States has experienced a dramatic increase in the number of Americans who can be classified as obese. More than one-third of adults in the United States and approximately 17% of children and adolescents aged 2-19 years are considered obese ("Obesity and Overweight," 2012). However, the number of unhealthy Americans is not the only thing rising.
One the biggest problems we deal with today, especially in America is obesity. More specifically our younger generation. The number of obese children has risen dramatically in the last couple decades and doesn’t seem to be getting any better. With fast food restaurants popping up around every corner it’s hard not to see why we are a fat country and why our children will grow up to be obese. But who is to blame for this rise in obesity with in our young children, the parent? The fast food chains? Society in general? In the past years we seen a shift in how younger people interact with one another, from spending the day outside and playing to staying at home starring at a television all day. The impact of childhood obesity doesn’t just impact the lives of them but of everyone as it is responsible for around 14.1 billion dollars in direct medical costs ("McDonald’s Shareholder Proposal No. 7." xx-xx). The way we treat our children has also taken a dramatic change as well in the way we discipline them and allow them to engage one another in social situation. All these impact the problems that we are dealing with today when it comes to obesity in young children. But together we can help change how children grew up and keep them healthy and living longer lives.
Recently my 13 year old brother received his second phone, an IPhone 4s. I could not believe it a 13 year old carrying around one of the best pieces of technology in our world. Since then my brother’s free time outside running around has decreased drastically. His eyes and hands are glued to his IPhone 4s. Finding him playing basketball or throwing a football around in my yard when I go home on the weekends has become less and less. This is just one of thousands of children whose physical activity has suffered due to technology. Today our society has created the perception to children that without the latest technology they are not ‘cool’ or even worse poor. Kids then beg their parents for updated technology in order to fit in. Face it even adults these days need the latest technology to stay updated with their work. The routine of most children that come home from school is eat, watch tv, see some more commercials on food and video games and continue the awful habit they’ve created. The urge to play outside or get involved in a team is less appealing then beating their record at Call of Duty while getting a sugar high. Our world is creating an environment where playing Candy Crush is more popular than playing a sport. Thirty-two percent of children ages 2-19 are overweight and seventeen percent is considered to be obese (Hingle, Dale). The media influence on the youth shows a positive correlation to childhood obesity.
Although obesity has become one of the major health care issues around the world it is has become a focal issue throughout the developed countries. According to the WHO (world health organization) in 2008, 1.5 billion adults were overweight; 200 million men and 300 million women aged over 20 years were obese worldwide. There is increasing concern about the childhood obesity due to inactivity and increased calorie intake. Study shows that, the obesity is most of the time directly related to inactive due to the use of modern technologies like video gaming in children, increased television viewing and inactivity due to computer using. Obesity is due to many other factors like genetic predisposition, hormonal imbalance and increased food intake. Studies shows inactivity due to use of technologies is highly linked with obesity. Obesity is known as one of the lifestyle inducing diseases, so it should be concluded that it is not the modern technology leading to increased incidence of obesity, but it is the improper use of technology like video gaming, TV, and computers which is leading to obesity. If the technologies are used wisely it should not lead to obesity. The advancement of technology is inevitable. If the technology is used properly it is the most useful thing in this modern world.
Is fast food to blame for the growing obesity in America? Obesity affects more than half of the population. With so many Americans gaining weight and so many health problems the matter has to be addressed. There is no one would argue that obesity, especially the children is considered a problem. In any case the cause of childhood obesity is fought about daily. Many people will say that fast food restaurants are to blame. In my research, I will explain the argument that who is to blame for the obesity in America: fast food restaurants or common laziness from the obese society.
How TV Affects your Child? Kids Health. October 2011. Web. The Web.