Dangerous Substances in Fast Food

1468 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fast food and its health effects

Society is like bamboo; it is constantly growing and expanding. With this change, society has an ever-constant worry of making the tedious tasks in life, such as getting food, as swift as it can possibly be. This drive for acquiring food quickly goes hand-in-hand with producing it as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are burgers that have been microwaved and served to people. Next, there are fries that have been preserved and then fried in oil so they can be acquired quickly. No one questions how the food is made, or what is put in it; it’s just inhaled by the population meals with a blissful ignorance. They don’t truly understand what they are putting into their bodies. Aside from the obvious drawbacks of fast food, there are many pitfalls that the public does not understand. Numerous harmful chemicals are added to fast food, such as nitrates and acrylamide; although it may seem inevitable, we need to try to eat less of these foods.
Fast food companies are adding many chemical preservatives into our foods, many of which are unknown. They do this because the food people eat isn’t produced in the store where we buy it, it’s made in a factory somewhere else, and then shipped to the given establishment. It makes the production of food a large-scale task. It is not as simple as serving food for a town of five hundred people; it’s serving five hundred towns of five thousand people. Then it continues to grow to even more towns with even more people. This forces companies to add more preservatives as the boundaries of their service is constantly expanding. Many of these chemicals, such as acrylamide, are completely foreign to the normal world.
French fries are one of the most preserved fast foods; they contain many chemicals, ...

... middle of paper ...

...org. American Psychological Association, n.d. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
Magee, Elaine. "Junk-Food Facts." WebMD. WebMD, 19 June 2006. Web. 06 Jan. 2014.
Pitt, Roosevelt. "Is Cartoon Character Advertising Making American Kids Fat?" NaturalNews. N.p., 03 Oct. 2008. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
Rowan, Karen. "Celebrity Endorsements May Spur Kids' Unhealthy Eating." Yahoo! News. Yahoo!, 08 Mar. 2013. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
"Television Advertising Leads to Unhealthy Habits in Children; Says APA Task Force: Research Says That Children Are Unable To Critically Interpret Advertising Messages." Apa.org. American Psychological Association, 23 Feb. 2004. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.
Wilcox, Brian L., Dale Kunkel, Joanne Cantor, Peter Dowrick, Susan Linn, and Edward Palmer. "Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children." Apa.org. American Psychological Association, 20 Feb. 2004. Web. 07 Jan. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Every Nook And Currency: The Dangerous Spread Of Commercialized Culture

    507 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article, Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture by Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor (Ackley 361). Since the early 90s is when Commercialism has bombarded the society. Ruskin and Schor provide examples why advertising has an effect on people’s health. Marketing related diseases afflicting people in the United States, and especially children, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and smoking-related illnesses. “Each day, about 2,000 U.S. children begin to smoke, and about one-third of them will die from tobacco-related illnesses” (Ackley 366). Children are inundated with advertising for high calorie junk food and fast food, and, predictably, 15 percent of U.S. children aged 6 to 19 are now overweight (Ackley 366). Commercialism promotes future negative effects and consumers don’t realize it.

    Read More

  • David Barboza's If You Pitch It Will Eat It

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    Children's T.V shows use cartoon characters and action figures as celebrity figures to entice the kids to watch the show. This happens with fast food aswell, big corporations use characters on happy meals and kids meals to entice them to tell the parents to get them some. In the article If You Pitch It, They Will Eat It, David Barboza shows this problem, disney has teamed up with McDonald's to try and boost profits. Disney and Kellogg's collaborate on a line of cereal as well(32).  The corporations do this because most of the customers are young kids or young adults. If this did not change then it is the parent's responsibility to teach them otherwise. The young adults are responsible to fix the problem and change the obesity problem. There is more obesity now than there has ever been and if the young adults do not take action then it could spiral out of control and leave a lot of people in a state of despair. Eating unhealthy foods makes you depressed, fat, very unhealthy due to the preservatives, and leaves you wanting

    Read More

  • Obesity In Don T Blame The Eater By David Zinczenko

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Killer at Large: Childhood Obesity in America

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Barbara Mantel Prevent Obesity Analysis

    165 Words  | 1 Pages

    Americans are constantly facing obstacles to healthy eating. Obesity is something that is growing rapidly in the United States. Some Americans argue that fast-food restaurants play a major role in obesity. In “Preventing Obesity” Barbara Mantel states, “Four of the companies — Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Hershey and Mars — pledge not to advertise any food and beverage products on programming for children younger than 12, and the remaining firms pledge that 100 percent of their children's advertising would be for self-designated ‘better-for-you’ products ” (805-806). Whenever children see a junk-food or candy commercial they are instantly attracted to it, it might be because of how colorful they are or the usual toy they receive when they buy kids

    Read More

  • Reform Fast Food Nation

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    Advertising for fast food disproportionately targets children, obesity rates are going up, there are labs dedicated to creating food flavors, and the cleanliness of the restaurants where the food itself is served is questionable. The negative impacts the fast food industry has on the world have their roots in biology. The taste of the food is engineered to appeal to our taste buds, and after the access to fast food increased, our bodies began to crave it. Clearly, the fast food industry must undergo significant change to ensure its impact on the world is a positive one. It’s imperative that this change must be made within the near future, should the mass consumption of unsanitary food be prevented, and ensure that cheap food is somewhat

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Obesity

    750 Words  | 2 Pages

    Kelly Brownell and Marion Nestle write that advertisements contribute to the increase of obesity in kids, since “each year kids see more than 10,000 foods ads on TV alone, almost all for items like soft drinks, fast foods and sugared cereals.” Brownell and Nestle fail to see that kids are under the authority of their parents and they decide what their kids eat, so in reality the advertisements target the parents. Kids are the reflection of their parents. Children walk down the same path as their parents, as the image in the article demonstrates. If parents walk towards the path of obesity, then their children will follow their example. Brownell and Nestle also explain, “Humans are hardwired… to like foods high in sugar, fat, and calories.” What Brownell and Nestle are saying is that it is a waste of time to try to eat healthy because it is against our nature. However, if that is the case, then no one would be healthy; everyone would be obese. There is no one to blame but ourselves for our

    Read More

  • Obesity: The Negative Effects Of Fast Food

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    In American society’s everyday busy life, fast food is a commonly consumed meal . You can drive down a single road and often find more than five fast food chains’ restaurants. In a society where people are always “on the go,” a cheeseburger meal with a large soda is very easy to grab, and inexpensive. Although people might think it’s just a hamburger and fries, do they really know what is in the food, and how it is going to affect their bodies. Fast food has become a dangerous billion dollar industry, and it is harmful for the consumers. Those who know the dangers need to inform the others that they are taking a risk by pulling into that drive through, and putting their health on the line. Fast food is harmful for an individual’s health

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity: Fast Food Companies Are To Blame

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Fast Food Advertising

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    One way that fast food effects obesity is by advertising their products to children (Miller). In her article Food Advertising Contributes to Obesity, Patti Miller explains that the fast food companies are targeting kids and teenagers by advertising on television. The fast food advertisements are promoting unhealthy products as acceptable food which influences children to choose those meals. The American Psychological Association, an organization focused on improving the lives of individuals, expressed that with the exposure of different fast food commercials, children request to purchase these unhealthy products and cause the parents to be influenced by these requests. This concludes the idea that once children are encouraged by the commercials, they opt to consume the fast food advertised on television. Today, fast food companies are even advertising through schools by offering pizzas and burgers as school lunches, which consequently becomes a daily meal for children and teenagers to consume (Wadden, Brownell,

    Read More

  • Advertising and its Effect on Childhood Obesity

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    Termini, Roseann B., Thomas A. Roberto, and Shelby G. Hostetter. "Food Advertising and Childhood Obesity: A Call to Action for Proactive Solutions." ERIC. N.p., 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

    Read More

  • Parents Are Mainly to Blame for Childhood Obesity

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beales III, J. Howard, and Robert Kulick. Does Advertising On Television Cause Childhood Obesity? A Longitudinal Analysis. Journal Of Public Policy & Marketing 32.2 (2013): 185-194. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Obesity and Fast Food

    1260 Words  | 3 Pages

    Weisburger, John. Hazards of Fast Food. Environmental Health Perspectives. 112.6 (2004) A336 1 Oct. 2007. < http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0091-6765%28200405%29112%3A6% 3CA336%3AHOFF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-7 >.

    Read More

  • Advertising to Children Must Be Banned

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a little girl I loved watching television shows on Saturday mornings. I’d get upset when a show would proceed to commercial. That is until I watched the shiny new toy being played with by the girl my age and of course the cool new one that came into the happy meal, then I’d forget. After seeing the appealing commercial I’d run to my mom and try to slickly mention it. “You know McDonalds has a new Monster’s Inc. toy in their happy meal. Isn’t that great? “Now I realize that back then I was targeted by big companies to beg my parents for things that I didn’t need or that wasn’t good for me in order to make money. Advertising today is affecting the health of today’s children because they eat the unhealthy foods advertised to them on: television, the internet, and even at school. Therefore, an impassioned discussion of possible solutions has been brewing.

    Read More

  • The Exploitation Of Children In Television Advertising

    4398 Words  | 9 Pages

    Across America in homes, schools, and businesses, sits advertisers' mass marketing tool, the television, usurping freedoms from children and their parents and changing American culture. Virtually an entire nation has surrendered itself wholesale to a medium for selling. Advertisers, within the constraints of the law, use their thirty-second commercials to target America's youth to be the decision-makers, convincing their parents to buy the advertised toys, foods, drinks, clothes, and other products. Inherent in this targeting, especially of the very young, are the advertisers; fostering the youth's loyalty to brands, creating among the children a loss of individuality and self-sufficiency, denying them the ability to explore and create but instead often encouraging poor health habits. The children demanding advertiser's products are influencing economic hardships in many families today. These children, targeted by advertisers, are so vulnerable to trickery, are so mentally and emotionally unable to understand reality because they lack the cognitive reasoning skills needed to be skeptical of advertisements. Children spend thousands of hours captivated by various advertising tactics and do not understand their subtleties.

    Read More

More about Dangerous Substances in Fast Food

Open Document