Obesity Epidemic Due to Fast Food or Something More Obesity is rising at a rapid rate here in the United States, especially childhood obesity. The obesity epidemic is one of the country’s most serious health problems. Adult obesity rates have doubled since 1980 from 15 to 30 percent, while childhood obesity rates have more than tripled. Is there a link in obesity and fast food eating? Are fast food restaurants to blame for our nation’s obesity issues? Or are we ourselves and our lack of knowledge or desire to be healthier, to blame? People want to blame everyone and everything for our children’s obesity issues. The number one blame is places on fast food restaurants. Claims that fast food is the main reason our children are overweight and unhealthy. They blame the lack of nutritional information on the product, portion size, the advertising being masculine and enticing to men or boys. On the other hand is it not people’s responsibility to educate themselves on calorie intake, nutritional value, potion control, and healthier alternatives. Aren’t parents responsible for instilling healthy living into their children? Since 1970, the amount of fast food restaurants in business doubled, which equates to about 300,000 establishments in the United States. Coincidentally, 33.8 percent of the U.S. population is affected by obesity and 19 percent of children and adolescents are also affected. Could there be a link between fast food and obesity? Let’s look at a few typical fast food
In America almost two thirds of the nation is overweight. That is about 79.6 million people who are obese. Fast food is without a doubt the problem why these statistics are so high. According to Shannon Brownlee, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee “ It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” she mentions how fast food corporations are luring buyers into their offers . In another article by David Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home” he focus more on self responsibility rather than fast food restaurants being convenient everywhere you go. In America, the obesity epidemic is caused by the lack of parent not taking full responsibility for their childrens health, as well as fast food industries distorting portion sizes in order to make more
In David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” he focuses on the fast food industry and their role in the increasing health and obesity issues of our nation’s children, as well as these issues potentially becoming a serious problem that we will all have to deal with if we collectively don’t do something about it now. When it comes to the topic of fast food, most of us can agree that it is not the best source of nutrition. It is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues with our children such as obesity related Type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and even heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or even cancer. We can even agree that fast-food diets are a major contributing factor to
Indeed, Obesity in America is a huge problem that continues to escalate due to fast food chains. Fast food places are everywhere and close range from one another. I don’t even have to walk more than a mile to get to a fast food place. According to Mandal, “Fast foods reduce the quality of diet and provide
Fast food, in today’s society, has become a major part of individuals’ lives. For it’s easy, quick and cheap food. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically it is referred to as low quality, prepackaged foods that have little preparation time. Through further research of fast food restaurants and their role in the obesity epidemic in America, it lead to further conclusions on the need for changes that must be done in order to combat obesity. There are, however, multiple individuals who feel that the fast food industry is simply taking a toll on Americans and their health. For instance, the article “Don’t blame the Eater” explains the battle of fast food chains in America, and the major causes of this epidemic. Obesity in America, costs the United States about 147 billion dollars annually. In a recent article, Author Eric Finkelstein, a researcher for Triangle Park conducted a study in which explains the multiple causes and affects of fast food chains and its role in creating an unhealthy society. Considerably, “The Effect of Fast food Restaurants on Obesity”, an in depth article written by authors Janet Currie, Stefano DellaVigna, Enrico Moretti and Vikram Pathania, share their studies and findings on how fast food chains are indeed a major player in obesity across the country, as well as a leading player in the up rise in health related illnesses. There is a connection between neighborhood scarcity and fast food industries.
David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” states how he was obese as a child and that it was not his fault. He then goes into detail about diabetes and how teens are the main consumers of fast food. The title of the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” summarizes Zinczenko’s attitude of the article. Throughout the article he is blaming fast food joints for obesity and type two diabetes. Zinczenko also makes another point about fast food restaurants lacking on nutritional information on their food products.
In addition to the many different causes of obesity, fast food receives much of the blame.
In the United States, there are many people who believe that if it wasn’t for fast food restaurants, they would be eating healthier and wouldn’t be overweight. People have even tried to sue fast food restaurants for their own self esteem issues. It’s ironic that people actually blame fast food restaurants, such as McDonald’s, for being obese. While fast food may be one of the contributors to the obesity outbreak, it certainly doesn’t stand alone. There are loads of reasons why people living in the United States are overweight. Some of these reasons involve dilemmas within the school arrangements, peer pressure, family genetics, educational issues, and even where a person lives. The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
The best way to tell for sure if fast food was the direct cause for obesity would be to do statistical research on two groups of people where everything was equal such as wealth, age, time period, and location. The only difference would have to be the amount of fast food the two groups eat. This would be very difficult to perform, especially for any reasonably large groups of people. However, a group of people at the National Bureau of Economic Research were able to do the next best thing. They did a study on the obesity rates of 3 million students and their proximity to fast food restaurants over an 8 year time period. They compared 9th graders that went to school within a tenth of mile of a fast food restaurant and 9th graders who didn't. They went through great measures to make sure that everything else besides their proximity to fast food restaurants was equal. The results of the data are quite astonishing as econometric statistical
As the fast food world spread across the nation, obesity was shortly following in its footsteps. According to, “The History of the Fast Food Industry,” Since 1970 the amount of fast food restaurants have doubled, which equates to roughly 300,000 establishments in the United States. Ironically, 33.8% of the U.S. population is affected by obesity and 19% of children and young adults are also affected.
Obesity basically means having too much body fat. Not being overweight for your height, having too much muscle, or water in your body. What exactly is obesity? “Obesity is a condition that is associated with having an excess of body fat, defined by genetic and environmental factors that are difficult to control when dieting. Obesity is classified as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. BMI is a tool used to measure obesity. Obesity increases your risk of developing related conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea, to name a few. Many individuals are affected by obesity and are not aware of it” (O.A.C, 2016). Causes of obesity vary from person to person, but most are from the same reasons. Taking in more calories than your body can burn leads to obesity because your body stores the unused calories as fat. Typical causes are eating too much food than your body can use, drinking too much alcohol, and not getting enough exercise. Many obese people who lose large amounts of weight and gain it back think it is their fault. They blame themselves for not having the willpower to keep the weight off. Many people regain more weight than they lost. Today, we know that biology is a big reason why some people cannot keep the weight off. Some people who live in the same place and eat the same foods become obese, while others do not. Our bodies have a complex system to help keep our
Is fast food really the main reason for the rise in childhood obesity? No, it is not their fault. In fact, I believe the main reason for childhood obesity is the parents. Most parents care about their kids but yet they allow them to eat unhealthy food, watch television for long periods of time, and reward them with food. Although, the cause of childhood obesity is debated. Two of the main causes is food choices and advertisements. Exercise is critical, it is an important part in keeping your body healthy. In addition, a child should sleep no less than the recommended amount of about nine hours a day. However, everyone is different so depending on your life style or genetics it can increase weight and health problems. Childhood obesity is an ongoing epidemic in American, in fact, according to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012”. The parents are at fault.
The everyday routines of life can and will be more difficult if encumbered with obesity.
Several studies have shown that the increase in fast food restaurants over the past few decades has resulted in a negative impact on the already outrageous obesity rate.According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number of fast food restaurants over the past thirty years has tripled, which equates to about three hundred thousand establishments in the United States alone. During this time the number of children, ages six to nineteen classified as obese, has risen from five percent to seventeen percent. The percentage of adults classified as obese has risen from half to two-thirds the population. Although fast food restaurants may be a contributing factor to the increasing obesity rate in the United States, people are
The fast food industry promotes childhood obesity by manipulating the young mind, putting them at risk for health complications such as hypertension and diabetes. The super-sizing of America is been a frequently talked about subject lately. Especially since it is seem to have negative effects on the health of children and adults alike through massive consumption of fast food. Health providers and other authority figures are now concerned about children’s obesity rates shown during the past 3-4 decades. They have now drawn a close connection between fast food and obesity and identified a childhood obesity epidemic with increased negative health factors. According to the American journal of public health, 2005 September issue, fast food
Obesity is a condition in which the over accumulation of adipose fat tissue causes the weight of a person to increase abnormally. Their weight exceeds by 20%, as a factor of their ideal body weight. According to recent analysis, statistics show that more than one third of the world’s population is targeted by obesity. Research shows that overweight and obesity kills more people than underweight. Obesity occurs greatly amongst adults who are 18 years or older. An estimated 600 million adults were obese out of the 1.9 billion that were overweight, around the world in 2014. One in three adults in Mexico, New Zealand and United States are obese, and one in four adults in Australia, Canada, Chile and Hungary are obese. In contrast, rates of obesity are much lower in Asian countries, where approximately 2-4% of adults have obesity. In countries such as Mexico and the United States, Latino and Africans have the highest rates of obesity amongst all the individuals. However, along with adults, statistics show that the rates for obesity are also high among children within and below the age of 5. As calculated in 2013, the number of children across the world that were either overweight or obese was 42 million. Since then, the rates have increased by 30% more in in low- and middle-income countries than in developed countries. Due to the fact that this condition continues at higher rates across the world, several organizations, such as the World Health Organization, are working with and