Fast Food: The Causes Of Obesity

One thousand, six hundred and ten milligrams of sodium, eight hundred calories, sixty seven carbs and forty one grams of fat all in one Premium Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Bacon Clubhouse Sandwich at your local McDonalds. The number of children and adults becoming obese is escalating. With there being many causes to obesity it is important to look at the major ones and find a way to stop them. Fast food restaurants play a major role in obesity from the nutrition and portion sizes of the food to their advertising and cheap prices. Despite these factors, fast food is not to blame for being the cause of obesity. Providing healthier options, lowering the portion sizes and changing their advertising strategy, Fast food restaurants can eliminate the

Obesity is defined as having excess adipose tissue. Adipose tissues main role is to store energy for the body in the form of fat. When determining the amount of adipose tissue there are many different methods, Body Mass Index (BMI) being the most common one. Body mass index is calculated by taking a person’s weight in kilograms and dividing in by their height in meters squared (“What is Obesity”). It is shown that being obese is dangerous because “excess adiposity or obesity causes increased levels of circulating fatty acids and inflammation. This can lead to insulin resistance, which in turn can lead to type 2 diabetes” (“What is Obesity”). From type 2 diabetes to high cholesterol, hypertension, gallstones, heart disease, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, GERD, stress incontinence, heart failure, to birth defects and miscarriages, asthma and other respiratory conditions, and even numerous cancers, people who are obese are much more at risk for these than individuals who are not obese. This disease has gradually increased since the 1960’s and currently affects more than one third of all U.S. adults. Almost 12.7 million children in the U.S. are considered obese (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). The number of diseases and health defects that being obese can lead to is alarming. Obesity is a serious issue in America that affects too many

From the dollar menu, coupons and value meals, fast food is a cheap way to eat. Wendy’s fast food restaurant serves a small fry, drink, hamburger and four piece chicken nugget for four dollars or get any size drink and McDonalds for just one dollar. These low prices have driven many low income families to eat at fast food restaurants. Healthier foods tend to cost more which make them harder to buy. This goes beyond just low income families but coordinates with communities that are low income. There are low income communities that do not have big grocery stores where there is quality fresh produce. Families that live in these areas do not have much of a selection and most of the high quality food that’s available is normally expensive. Fast food is getting cheaper and “According to the researchers, in the 1930s, Americans spent one-quarter of their disposable income on food. By the 1950s, that had dropped to about one-fifth. The most recent research finds Americans now spend less than one-tenth of their money on food” (Firger). The amount people have to spend eating at a fast food restaurant has slowly decreased. Low income families are able to use the money saved eating at a fast food restaurant to pay bills. It is a lot cheaper and convenient to pick up something on the way home from work than to go to the store and purchase all