Is fast food to blame? Fast food restaurants advertise all their ingredients in plain sight. They provide healthy options to their more popular foods such as grilled items, skinless options, low calorie/no calorie beverages, and small portion orders. Most obese Americans are overweight because they are uneducated about the dangers of the fast food. Once they learn about eating healthy, managing overweight issues becomes more elementary. Fast food restaurants should not be the blame of American obesity because there are healthier options, self-discipline, and self responsibility for each individual. To be specific, one out of every three Americans is considered corpulate, which is 33.8 percent of America 's population. It may not seem like a lot, but the percentage of obese Americans doubles every five years. The larger portion of the obese society is the youth, who make up 19 percent out of the 33.8 percent of …show more content…
Mcdonalds admits their fried foods in particular are not very nutritious, but people tend to overlook that because they believe it is too much to read. Is the restaurant really the one to blame when they visibly reveal the nutritional value of all their food? Instead of accepting the blame for their bad choices, people find ways to overlook their personal responsibilities in making good food choices. Everyday twenty-five percent of Americans eat at fast food restaurants; therefore, it appears that self-discipline is the culprit that lacks in the United States (Hernandez). We can all agree that each of us have our own particular favorite fast food restaurant. The fast food industry has really opened up and added a variety of food that you can quickly grab on the go. This makes it hard for the average American to ignore, because everyone is looking for the quickest and simplest ways to get things done in this fast paced
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Show MoreThe obesity problem in this country has gotten worse, a lot worse, and the surge in obesity can be tied directly to fast food. I was appalled by the fact that since 1980 the number of people either fat of obese has doubled, and in that time frame there are twice as many overweight children and three times as many overweight adolescents. Looking strictly at the numbers, it is very easy to find a direct correlation between the number of overweight or obese individuals and the number of fast food establishments. However these fast food outlets are not created in a vacuum, they are servicing a demand. Each day one in four Americans visits a fast food restaurant. Our culture has evolved to one of immediate gratification, we want it convenient, and we want it now. The fast food industry has simply seized that cultural demand and has taken advantage of it all the way to the bank. I think we have a cultural weakness that looks for someone to blame for our problems and McDonalds certainly makes a nice target.
Fast foods have been around for a long time. Each day, more a more people turn to it for a quick meal, whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner. As fast foods begin to progress and expand throughout the world, people, especially in the United States, have started to blame fast foods for their obesity and/or health problems. But is it really the fast food companies ' fault or the customers who consume their food? David Zinczenko wrote “Don’t Blame the Eater”, which states that fast food companies should be held responsible for giving all these people unhealthy food with them not really knowing what they are eating. I absolutely agree with this article, because these companies drag customers in by making the food fast, cheap, and a mystery. Fast food restaurants should be held accountable for
He acknowledges that many people may argue that consumers need to have the willpower to avoid unhealthy food. He refutes this argument by asking, “where, exactly, are consumers -- particularly teenagers -- supposed to find alternatives? Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you'll see one of our country's more than 13,000 McDonald's restaurants” (Zinczenko 196). He explains that fast-food restaurants are more available than restaurants or markets that serve healthy foods. Consumers cannot be expected to avoid restaurants that are available and convenient when acceptable alternatives are scarce. This article is somewhat dated, and restaurants have become more willing to provide healthier alternatives. For example, Chick-fil-A is planning to implement a new menu item that is a healthier substitute for french fries. “The new so-called superfood side features hand-chopped kale and broccolini tossed in a maple vinaigrette dressing” (Peterson 1). They will provide accurate nutrition information for the new side dish, and the company suggests “pairing the side with an eight-count order of grilled nuggets for a healthy 280-calorie meal” (Peterson 1). This addition shows that as time progresses, fast-food restaurants are pressured to incorporate healthy meal choices on their menus. Although Zinczenko’s point that there is a lack of
Is fast food to blame for more obese Americans? Fast food restaurants advertise all their ingredients in plain sight. They provide healthy options to their more popular foods such as grilled items, skinless options, low calorie/no calorie beverages, and small portion orders. Most obese Americans are overweight because they are uneducated about the dangers of fast food. Once they learn about eating healthy, managing overweight issues becomes more elementary. Fast food restaurants should not be blamed for America 's obesity issue because there are healthier options, self-discipline, and self responsibility for each individual.
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.
Obesity is a largely spread issue throughout America. Did you know that 35.7% of Americans are considered to be obese? Not only that, but 1 in 20 are considered to be extremely obese (The State of Obesity). These seem to be some pretty high numbers, and in many peoples lives the label of “overweight” or “obese” can cause many other issues throughout their life. Just as Anna Mae is addicted to McDonalds in the play “French Fries”, many Americans have addictions to things such as fast food chains. Are restaurants, such as McDonalds to blame for issues such as obesity in Americans? Many would argue yes.
Put that burger down? Obesity is a public epidemic because it is rising by the day. Some people are so quick to blame the fast food industry like McDonalds, Burger King, and other firms claiming that these industry aide in creating a society in which it is encouraged to eat unhealthy food. So who really is to blame? While we are busy pointing our sticky finger at restaurants, grocery stores, farmers, or government policies, we need to focus on our individual self as the main cause of this increasing epidemic.
Obesity is an epidemic in America. Fast food can be compared to the same type of mindless addiction as cigarettes, and can be equally as dangerous. Not only is there a problem with fast food restaurants, but the food industry as a whole. Slaughterhouses that control 80% of the market produce meat in such a way that is not healthy for consumption, in turn the products are doused in harmful chemicals and still served to the public. No wonder the obesity rate in America is 69% and rising. Obesity is a true problem in our country- people are neglecting their health and quite literally eating themselves to death.
Over the last three decades, fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society and has become nothing less than a revolutionary force in American life. Fast food has gained a great popularity among different age groups in different parts of the globe, becoming a favorite delicacy of both adults and children.
Fast food contains high amounts of salt, sugar, fat, and preservatives. Americans in today’s society want food and they want it now. Manufacturers have figured this out and fill the food with many artificial and unhealthy chemicals. If a person saw what the food looked like in the pre processed state, one would most likely not buy it or eat it.
Fast food is one of the most controversial topics; most people tend to blame fast food industries because of their obesity or a disease they got, and never hold responsibility for their own action.
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.
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.
“Are we taking it too far by blaming fast food restaurants for obesity? When is it individual responsibility and when is it appropriate to place blame?” - Midway College
McDonalds is somewhere everyone has eaten at, but do they really know what they are eating? People today trust anyone with their food in order to save time for work and other important tasks. The time spent on cooking meals in America has "fallen by half since the mid-sixties" (Pollan, "Cooked" 3). Nutrition has been put in the hands of fast food corporations around the world, and they are unfortunately concerned more about money rather than health and nutrition. In other words, the food produced by McDonalds and other fast food establishments is the unhealthiest food people can eat and often leads to serious illnesses if consumed enough.