Fast Food Is Bad Essay

Great Essays
Life-Threatening Obesogenic Foods Today’s generation may be the first to be buried before the parents. As a result of the young people’s unhealthy eating habits, America’s obesity rates continue to increase and the need for a change is indisputable. An immediate change in eating habits and physical lifestyles must be made before the obesity epidemic can no longer be reversed. The fast-food industry, though largely culpable, is not the only contributor to this issue. The government’s failure to restrict these companies from producing such unhealthy foods simply encourages this on-going problem. It is also a much greater responsibility for the people to stop consuming these foods. The young people of today, who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five, will determine the health of the generations to come. Fast-food companies, the federal government, and this generation will each have to commit to the necessary changes in order to put an end to this obesity epidemic. As the leading country in obesity, America is the only country where the poor are fatter than the rich. Back in …show more content…
Fast-food chains like McDonald’s and Starbucks, two of the largest in America, continue to attract customers with their relatively inexpensive foods and drinks. The consumers, however, are unaware that these foods are laden with calories of fats and sugars. And although these companies are required to provide customers with nutrition facts, most are not seen until one asks for that information. Over the years, companies have also distorted the serving proportions. Customers are set to believe that they are buying more for a less amount of money. This has programmed the customers to crave and consume even more of these fattening meals. These fast-food companies further manipulated the prices to obtain a greater profit and satisfy the public’s growing

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Obesity In America's War

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Obesity is a disease that plagues America’s old and young more than any other country in the world. Despite efforts to resolve this issue from the communities affected, and by local, state, and federal government this epidemic has yet to come to an end. The most common solutions offered to address the obesity epidemic are ones derived from an economic and dietary approach. Although seemingly worthy solution are commonly agreed upon, however pinpointing an incontestable culprit guilty for this monstrosity cannot be so easily done.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Did you know that about 280,000 people die annually due to being overweight? Most people don’t know how eating unhealthy can cause major difficulties in their later years. Eric Schlosser is an investigative journalists, who wrote the nonfiction book called “Fast Food Nation”. The book is about the global and local influences the United States’ fast food industries have. Although some may argue that the corporations should led a reform of the US food system, overall, the government should take responsibility because history supports their ability to improve corporate corruption and they should be more concerned about improving public health.…

    • 1476 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Over the course of time, Americans were getting fatter and vulnerable to more diseases. Americans eating habits changed. They chose meats and fatty foods, instead of food that contain nutrients, minerals, and vitamins we needed. While America grew, so did the people living there. Fast-Foods were growing nationwide and were cheaper, quicker, and easier to buy. While they might seem great, they were deadly. New studies showed that processed meats caused colorectal cancer. It might taste good, but is it actually worth it.…

    • 909 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Don’t Blame the Eater,” writes David Zinczenko, president of a global health and wellness media company, who also asserts that obesity is becoming a genuine medical problem. Before 1994, he emphasizes, the rate of diabetes between children was so low that it could have been called a cultural stereotype, but, now, one out of three teenagers suffer by “obesity-related” problems. David Zinczenko claims that “the lack of information” about fast-foods and the deficit for the affordable supplementary for the fast-food restaurants are main reasons for the obesity issues; confusing explanations of calories perplex teenagers and lead them towards obesity while America possesses 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants, and it’s more complex to find a way to the…

    • 988 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Futuristic Lens

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages

    However, fast food is purchased so often due to the cheapness, taste, and quick preparedness. It is almost undisputed at this point that as the fast food industry will take over the majority of food distribution, there will be an increase in childhood obesity. For the general population, this means that obesity will become an understandable and accepted disorder as time goes on. People will begin to worry less about the negative effects of obesity because soon the vast majority of all Americans will be obese. The current generation is the first not expected to outlive their parents (Belluck 1). Overall, the U.S. is becoming vastly more accepting of those that are obese and unhealthy. In fact, being fit physically could very well become the new obesity. It will no longer be hard to overlook the “declining physical activity and a dramatic increase in fast-food and soft-drink consumption”("ASPE Childhood Obesity White Paper."), which causes vast amounts of weight gaining in America. America’s future currently not on the best…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    With more than a million deaths a year, heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Another issue that Americans are facing is the fact that 2/3 people in the US are overweight. Clearly there is something that is contributing to these problems and you can find it right down the street. The fast food industry has exploded over the last several years. With consumers wanting fast food more than ever, the health of the average American has greatly declined. Not only does the consumption of fast food bring along an increase of risk to diseases and health problems; it also has greatly impacted the diets of Americans. Regardless of all the negatives associated with…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Blame The Eater

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Pages

    David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame The Eater” flips the blame typically placed on American kids and instead substitutes it with the fast food industry's most successful franchises. This conclusion is prepared much easier for an overweight teenager living in the United States to swallow. Zinczenko articulates on the thousands of fast food places throughout America and slim options for alternative places to eat. Zinczenko piles on details about how there are so few choices for kids today, there is no real option for an affordable meal. Zinczenko’s recipe is not too sweet though, as he does include mention of the lack of personal…

    • 104 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Are fast food restaurants really at fault for the growing problem of childhood obesity? In David Zinczenkos’s essay titled “Don’t Blame the Eater” he goes on to argue that yes indeed they do contribute to this rising trend. In his argument he warns that while each person is responsible for their own food choices, the food industry certainly is not making it easier for consumers to make healthier choices. His purpose in writing this essay is very clear as he tells the story of his earlier life when his parents split up and his lunch and dinner meals came from the closest and cheapest fast food he could find. The ease of access, misleading food labels, and abundant advertising are all points that are brought up to support his purpose in how it’s not entirely the consumers fault for the rising obesity rates associated with fast-food.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Will the vast amount of fast food restaurants around us play a major factor in our demise and unhealthy living? David Zinczenko in his essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” verbalizes that he empathizes with a cluster of children who are suing McDonalds for making them gain weight. Utilizing his very own experiences as a “1980s latchkey kid,” (para. 3) Zinczenko explains how easy it is for youngsters, especially teenagers to gain weight with a steady and continual diet of fast food meals. Zinczenko argues that part of the problem with this is that nutritional information about fast food is often unavailable to or difficult to understand. For example, at numerous fast food joints, when ingredients that are additionally added and serving sizes are taken into…

    • 1043 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Why Is America Supersized

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages

    While fast food companies are morally obligated to provide healthy food to individuals who order them, they have the freedom to choose what to serve and how to serve it. Through deceptive marketing tactics, supersized portions, and a lack of nutrient information, large corporations such as McDonald’s and Burger King have reigned without regulation over the American appetite. Now we must simply take action; this means even more awareness campaigns and more importantly, demands for accountability. If we can hold the big corporations responsible, we may just be able to enjoy a reality where a trip to McDonald’s doesn’t consist of a 1,600 calorie…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity In America

    • 1857 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In addition, it is also an individual’s choice on the type of food they consume. Obesity has become a world problem and currently American males and females from the age of 2 to 19 years old have been affected by obesity tremendously increasing at a staggering rate from 1999-2000 to 2009-2010. (see fig. 2). However, daily meals don’t only come from fast food places, but also from home, school, and other places. While fast food industries like McDonald’s, KFC, and others have continued to flourish and expand their business to various regions across the globe to showcase that people are supporting the growth of their businesses, Americans still manage to point fingers at these local restaurants. Obesity has been on a growth and many people have resorted into blaming fast foods for this disaster in waiting as young children are contracting lifestyle diseases like diabetes, congenital heart diseases and others, which are the result of unhealthy living. “The uncertainty reflects in part of agreement about what caused obesity to increase in the first place. ... The problem is not the lack of explanations for the increase in childhood obesity, but the abundance of them (Paxson, 3).” Under this context, it is therefore wise to conclude that the fast food industry cannot be blamed for the obesity scourge…

    • 1857 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Obesity In America

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This generation is the busiest generation yet, so this affects our nation’s obesity is a negative way. With all of the activities in which people are involved, many do not have time to sit together as a family and eat a healthy home cooked meal. Not having time for family supper often times means that fast food is the answer to the question “What’s for supper?” Some fast foods are genetically modified, so these restaurants do not have many healthy options on their menu. Driving thru a restaurant is much quicker than cooking a meal at home or sitting down in a higher quality restaurant. Most times the quickest option is also the low quality option as well. Low quality fast-foods are one main reason the obesity rate is continuing to rise.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Mayo Clinic Obesity

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Since 1980, the obesity rate for children 6 to 11 years old has risen from 7% to 18% in 2012. As for adolescents ages 12 to 19 years old, obesity rates have risen from 5% to 21% in 2012 as well. 1 in 4 children suffer from obesity in the United States and kids who live in poor cities with a low income family are less likely to be provided with all three meals a day as well as fresh meat and produce. 23.5 million people don’t have access to a supermarket within a few miles from where they live which causes low income families to gravitate towards easier and cheaper options like fast food. Fast food chains like McDonalds and Wendy’s use toys to attract parents to buy kids meals for their children completely ignoring the fact that the food is highly processed and filled with empty calories. Parents have extremely time consuming lives and fast food makes it that much easier to fulfill one more thing they have to do for the day, making dinner for their children. Because obesity has become an epidemic and the spread of awareness of the dangers of overly processed food has increased, major fast food places have changed the way they makeup their kids’ meals and other menu items. For example, McDonalds has made apple slices a permanent addition to the Happy meal trademark and decreased the number of calories in the meal by 20%. Not only is the meal healthier because of the less calories being consumed, but…

    • 1487 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Some Americans think that it is the food industry’s fault to why America is getting fatter and fatter each year. There is some partial truth to this thought. A handful of manufacturers are not honest to what is really in their products. A solution that would help this problem is to get the food industry to promote healthier food consumption to individuals. Now the main issue in obesity is the consumer of the food. A person has a choice to decide healthy or unhealthy and how much they consume in each sitting. As Verduin, Agarwal, and Waltman state, “Consumers need clarity and reliable nutrition information to make responsible dietary decisions.” This statement helps people realize that they are not educated enough to even know the difference in what is healthy and what is harmful to their…

    • 869 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People may argue that fast food contributes to obesity but they cannot deny that they have every right to do exercises, eat nutritious food in order to stay healthy. Fast food establishments are not the only reason why people become overweight, they do not deserve all that hatred and criticism. Research has clearly pointed out that people are the main causes of the obesity epidemic as they are suffering from their own terrible decisions. Even though this essay is only limited to the U.S, it can partly show the effects of fast food on human, the impact people’s choices have on their declining health. It is undeniable that fast food has a negative effect on human health but it is not logical at all to blame a single factor for such a social problem. It is simpler to blame something else than it to look in the mirror and point their fingers at themselves, but this does not mean people have to do it. It is down to the individual to set up a reasonable daily routine, decide which food to eat and exercise so as to obtain a healthy body. If people are aware of what is causing them obese, stop making excuses for their poor choices, manage their lifestyles, they can have a longer and healthier…

    • 1537 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics