“The Fast-Food Fight”
Some may argue that fast-food has become the new tobacco. Over the years, we have become highly educated on the health related concerns of smoking, as well as the significant health issues associated with overeating. Fast-food consumption has caused great alarm among Americans and is a controversial issue of who is to blame as well as who should take action. Although many critics believe that fast-food consumption is an individual issue and the government should not be involved with one’s personal eating habits, I would argue that some amount of government intervention is needed.
While it is understandable that people want to eat what they desire, many people have allowed the convenience and glorification of fast-food in American to take precedence over the unhealthy risks of a fast-food diet. Although I concede that “[w]hatever happened to personal responsibility” (David Zinczenko, Author, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” 391) is a legitimate statement when it comes to eating, I still maintain the fact that many Americans eat what is available and accessible to …show more content…
Obama states that “[n]early half of African American children will develop diabetes at some point in their lives” (Remarks to the NAACP National Convention, 420). Although it wasn’t directly stated, Americans view larger waistlines as unattractive. Not only is fast-food affecting the waistlines of Americans, it is causing severe health concerns among millions, specifically in African American communities. The increased health risks of “[t]ype 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases” [today], compared to “only about 5 percent before 1994” (Zinczenko, 392). Similar to smoking being a direct link to lung cancer, poor eating habits add to the increase of the diabetes
Some may argue that fast-food has become the new tobacco. Over the years, we have become highly educated on the health related concerns of smoking, as well as the significant health issues associated with overeating. Fast-food consumption has caused great alarm among Americans and is a controversial issue of who is to blame as well as who should take action. Although many critics believe that fast-food consumption is an individual issue and the government should not be involved with one’s personal eating habits, I would argue that some amount of government intervention is needed.
While it is understandable that people want to eat what they desire, many people have allowed the convenience and glorification of fast-food in American to take precedence over the unhealthy risks of a fast-food diet. Although I concede that “[w]hatever happened to personal responsibility” (David Zinczenko, Author, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” 391) is a legitimate statement when it comes to eating, I still maintain the fact that many Americans eat what is available and accessible to …show more content…
Obama states that “[n]early half of African American children will develop diabetes at some point in their lives” (Remarks to the NAACP National Convention, 420). Although it wasn’t directly stated, Americans view larger waistlines as unattractive. Not only is fast-food affecting the waistlines of Americans, it is causing severe health concerns among millions, specifically in African American communities. The increased health risks of “[t]ype 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases” [today], compared to “only about 5 percent before 1994” (Zinczenko, 392). Similar to smoking being a direct link to lung cancer, poor eating habits add to the increase of the diabetes