Fast Food and Obesity Essay

Obesity related diseases and illnesses began to become more common in the 1990s because of the booming of fast food restaurants and the increase in food quantities that restaurants began to offer. Eateries such as McDonald’s became even more of a hit with the production of food options laden with ingredients such as meat and cheese. Consequently, obesity related problems began to occur as more people turned to fast food and packaged processed meals instead of home cooked meals as their staple foods. In the 2000s attention was brought to the increasing obesity epidemic. For instance, in his 2002 article, The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home, David Weintraub assures his audience, “A public health group called last week for Governor Gray Davis to declare childhood obesity a state emergency and take immediate steps to reduce it”(1).

Knowledge on fast food restaurants and a healthy nutrition has significantly increased over the years. Still obesity rates increase. Government regulations is the solution to combating the obesity epidemic. One concern impacting the United States is how for people in low income communities, fast food is appealing. According to recent studies, there are 71 fast food restaurants within five miles of a person’s home.

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

“I’m Lovin’ It.” This slogan has become one of the most recognized in both the United States and in the world. Our nation has slowly gravitated towards fast food, allowing for a new industry to explode and expand over the past few decades. This monumental fast food industry has become a symbol of America and our diets. Fast food is convenient, quick, and cheap, requiring hardly any effort. It is the perfect formula for our fast-paced nation and suffering economy. The problem is shown through our sky-high rate of obesity. Though fast food has some short-term benefits like saving time and a few dollars, it has severe physical, mental and financial consequences for children, showing that the negatives of consuming fast food outweigh the

According to the USDA, at the start of century 21st American people have increased their daily caloric intake by consuming five hundred calories more than in 1970. As cited by Whitney & Rolfes (2011), there are many recognized causes of obesity such as genetics, environment, culture, socioeconomic, and metabolism among others; but the cause most evident

Obesity has been framed as a topic of personal responsibly for a long time. For many, the fundamental notion has always been that if you stop eating junk food and eat “healthy”, you will maintain a healthy weight. According to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control’s 2007-2008 Health and Nutrition Examination survey, it was found that 73.7% of all Americans 20 years old or older were overweight, obese, or extremely obese. That is a lot of fat people and it is hard to believe that fast food alone is responsible for 70% of adult Americans being overweight.

Would you feed your children lard? The answer for most all of us is “No Way”. Most parents can safely say that they want healthy choices for their children and would never want to give them something that is bad for them. However, with many of the foods on fast food menus this is not far from the truth. We have all heard the statement that childhood obesity is on the rise, and has been for quite some time now. We have seen the heartbreaking stories of overweight children being bullied, made fun of, and even being subject to more diseases. According to the center for disease control the childhood obesity rate rose from 7% in 1980 to an unbelievable 20% in 2008 (CDC, 2011). Parents

“Obesity is a disease that affects more than one-third of the U.S adult population (approximately 78.6 million Americans). The number of Americans with obesity had steadily increase since 1960, a trend that has slowed down in recent years but show no sign of reversing”.

Fast food restaurants are commonly associated with the topic of obesity. It is not uncommon for these restaurants to be blamed for the growing obesity rate in America, but how exactly do they contribute? Simply, obesity occurs when a

Fast food is responsible for the increase of obesity rates in Western nations. In order to curb obesity rates, government regulation from the local level is necessary. The fast food corporations are responsible for the obesity epidemic because they make false health claims about their food and market heavily to children. But critics of regulation state that individuals, along with their food choices are responsible for the obesity epidemic. But regulation proponents believe that fast food needs regulation because of high obesity rates in poor inner city neighborhoods. In order to curb current obesity rates, local governments must intervene by implementing fast food regulations.

In recent years there has been a growing epidemic of obesity, especially in America. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey posted on the Center for Disease Control website there are 12.5 million children from ages 2 through 19 that are obese. Many people are starting to complain that the commercials and ads for these restaurants are the result of such an incline in obesity. Although there have been current ad campaigns aiming at children to live a healthy life style there are still hundreds of advertisements that are putting restaurants in a sort of ultimatum position. Either restaurants change their advertisements or they improve their menus. In 1979 McDonalds debuted their world famous Happy Meals to the

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.

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.

This paper will explore many aspects of fast food. This Research report is going to address multiple misleading issues concerning fast-food. While researching various journal and internet articles contained health information of fast-food, calories counting, this report will also explore all the misleading arguments about fast food. One argument against this is that fast food firms are misleading consumers, making them believe they are eating something or healthy-esque when they are not. Majority of fast food industry have list of nutritional facts. The next argument is that fast food, like cigarettes is addicting. It claimed that individuals can become addicted to smoking cigarettes. Though, it is true but it’s also true that any individuals can become addicted to anything. Should we blame fast food on Obesity in America? When is an individual responsible and is it appropriate to place the blame. Whether there should be restrictions on fast food. This research go into detail as why the fast food should be blameless to America’s health. Also what other issues we should focus on to live a healthier lifestyle.

The population of America is becoming more aware of the importance of good nutrition. Ironically the people are becoming increasingly less healthy. In the 1960's the nation ate healthier but knew less about nutrition. The foods that the teenagers consume today contributes to the increasing weight and decreasing health of the nation. Many outside factors determine the eating habits of teenagers today.