Fast food restaurants are feeding America; and with their affordable prices and speedy food preparation it's easier to say yes than no. Even though the detrimental consequences of digesting the foods manufactured out of these places are thoroughly known for consumers to veto, they don't. Sometimes, people may not have an option to eat otherwise because of their economic standing. Many have associated these places to be the causes of the rising rate of obesity in America and others have said stated that it is the individuals responsibility to eat properly to avoid obesity. However there are two reasons. One reason is that companies make it difficult for general population to differentiate in what is healthy and what is not. The second reason is that people who are economically disadvantaged don’t have access to healthier food options, thus contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Fast food companies market any product that will sell, even if it may have little to no nutritional value or have detrimental health effects. All of this is committed legally with the help of money. They gain support from food and nutrition experts by shelving out money to organizations and researchers. Those that disagree with their practices can be handled with a lawsuit. One example of this was when Mayor Bloomberg tried to ban large sodas and sugary drinks from restaurants because of its contributing factor to obesity. This set drink and fast food companies into frenzy. They sued mayor Bloomberg and New York City, put their money to use, and hired lawyers and nutrition experts to fight in court. They won by claiming that the ban was unconstitutional according to New York City law. They also increase gross by marketing to younger children, a...
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...s for neighborhood residents, who are three to four times more likely to be obese or have diabetes than people who live on the Upper East Side. The limited accessibility of fresh foods and excess of fast food restaurants in low-income areas are a catalyst to the obesity epidemic.
The obesity epidemic is rising by a swift rate; there are two contributing factors to this. The first factor is that companies are confusing consumers on what is healthy to eat. The other factor is that poor people do not have access to healthy places to eat and end up eating affordable unhealthy food, which would be fast food. The poor people who live in food deserts end up not having many options, and the people that know what it is detrimental do not care to stop eating. This causes the food companies to continue to profit from these people whilst contributing to the obesity epidemic.
“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 influences, the fast food industries have changed dramatically, and people should take responsibility for their own consumptions. It is time for people to stop placing the blame on others and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.
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
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
The 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.
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.
Obesity has become an epidemic in today’s society. Today around 50% of America is now considered to be over weight. Fast-food consumption has been a major contributor to the debate of the twenty-first century. Chapter thirteen, titled “Is Fast-Food the New Tobacco,” in the They Say I Say book, consists of authors discussing the debate of fast-food’s link to obesity. Authors debate the government’s effects on the fast-food industry, along with whether or not the fast-food industry is to blame for the rise in obesity throughout America. While some people blame the fast food industry for the rise in obesity, others believe it is a matter of personal responsibility to watch what someone eats and make sure they get the proper exercise.
Eating habits have become a cause of obesity because most people in America decide to take the fast route. Fast food has become so prevalent in the day to day lives of so many families and individuals. The cost and convenience of fast food has led to an increase in consumption, which does not help our cause. According to Carey Polis’ article in The Huffington Post, fast food is about $550 cheaper per year than choosing the healthy option. That means people are more likely to choose a cheeseburger from McDonald’s over fresh fruit and vegetables from the produce section at the grocery store. Along with how cheap it is to get our hands on fast food, the convenience makes it even more difficult to resist. With a fast food restaurant on every corner of every block in town, it makes it much easier for someone to pick up on a meal on their daily commute rather than actually trying to cook something healthy. Choosing fast food is not the most nutritious way to go either. Fast food is filled with sugar, fats, salts, and calories. It is usually low in nutrition and high in what are considered to be “empty” calories. By definition obesity is caused by the excess in...
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.
Millions of American people buy fast food every day without thinking about where, how and why. The ramifications of fast food is impacting the American people both around the waist line and the community where they live at. “As the old saying goes: you are what you eat.” (Schlosser) The customer have made the choices to eat fast food or not. The industry doesn’t care about the customers; studies have shown that the fast food industry is the reason for the rise of American obesity. “Live fast and die young” (Moore); this could not be more true when looking at the impact of the fast food industry.
One out of every three Americans is obese, and the majority of these obese people in the United States have eaten regularly at fast food restaurants. As the obesity rate increases, the number of fast food restaurants goes up as well. Although it is not certain, many believe that obesity in the United States is correlated to eating fast food. Since the United States has the highest obesity rate out of any country, it is important for Americans to monitor the fast food industry that may be causing obesity. With the pressure to get things done in a timely manner, fast food has become a big necessity.
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.
The connection it has with the obesity is that the epidemic is caused by high consumption of fat, sugar, and salt (Hogan). Fast food is literally contributing to obesity by providing unhealthy food restricted to people at risk for obesity and even with those with obesity. In the article Fast Food, David Hogan found out the most fast food restaurants’ menus offer burgers, fries, soda, and desserts. Those types of food are unhealthy where burgers contain the high amounts of fat, fries contain a lot of salt, while sodas and desserts contain excess amounts of sugar. These types of food are considered as junk food that the body does not necessarily need to consume, but they are often eaten for the delicious taste from the high amounts of fat and sugar they contain (Wolin and Petrelli). Fast food is also providing quick service by frying a lot of the foods to provide a quick service and hot food (Hogan). Fried food is considered unhealthy from the high amount of fat needed to cook the fried foods which is restricted to those with obesity (Wolin and Perelli). Hogan also noted that McDonalds and Burger King are fast food restaurants that regularly compete in the fast food industry. Since unhealthy delicious food has been on demand in the food industry for many years, these fast food restaurants compete by serving those foods to stay in business (Hogan). Obesity is therefore
Obesity is a big social issue in America. Due to the popularity of fast food and other unhealthy foods, more and more Americans are developing health diseases and disorders. We should be getting the correct daily nutrition amount, but because of our fast paced lifestyles we sometimes do not have enough time. Fast food restaurants make it possible to grab a meal and go. We often do not pay attention to the nutrition amount, but are simply looking for a quick bite to eat that will fulfill our hunger. Fast food is assisting in the increase of obesity in America (“Phrase” par.2).
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.
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.