Argumentative Essay On Fast Food

America is known as the fattest country in the world. Is fast food the culprit? According to the article, "F as in Fat 2005," America's obesity rate in 2005 was a whopping 60%. Many people believe that this is due to the increasing popularity in fast food. It is much easier to go through a drive through and pick up a meal than making the food yourself. When eating out, people are more likely to eat more than when they cook. Meals at fast food and restaurants have become popular, in America the size of each meal is significantly bigger than any other country. According to Christina Sarlch, author of “Guess How Many Calories Are In A Typical Fast Food Meal” the amount of calories in a fast food meal is a gouging 1100 calories with a drink .The average number of calories needed for a person is 2000-2500 calories . Split between 3 meals that averages out to 666.67-833.33 calories a meal. Of course not many people follow that suggested calorie intake.

Dr. William Osler once said, “We are all dietetic sinners; only a small percent of what we eat nourishes us; the balance goes to waste and loss of energy.” (Osler, as cited by Bryan, 1997). Nowadays fast food and junk food consumption has become increasingly popular because it is quicker, more convenient, and generally cheaper than purchasing healthy foods. However, the more we eat, the more it is taking a toll on our health nationwide. According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (2010), an unhealthy diet contributes to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. Today I would like to talk about the contents of the food that we consume, the health issues that result from their consumption, and discuss

The nutritional value in food from fast-food places like McDonalds has become a problem for many Americans. Obesity in America is at an all-time high and a change is necessary. Should companies stray away from unhealthy options or should humans be responsible for controlling their unhealthy urges? These two questions tie in with the main debate; "Where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin?" Chuck Klosterman, from the essay "McDiculous" and David Zinczenko, from the article "Don't Blame the Eater," both share their point of view on the issue.

Families around the United States go through this dilemma on a daily basis. Fast food and junk food are everywhere. You can't drive almost any city block without passing a fast food restaurant or a gas station convenience store proudly advertising their dollar and value menus or two for one specials. The 2008 documentary, Food Inc,

My first read was “Fast food – Is it the Enemy?” by Sarah Muntel, who is a registered dietician. Sarah began with a list of a de-constructed meal from various fast food chains and labels them with the nutritional facts such as the calorie and fat amount in each item, to where she then determines “you could easily take in 1,500 calories from just one meal alone,” which is roughly the recommended caloric intake for an American per day! She then goes on to explain that in the past, the people did not have the pleasure of picking up a pre-made convenient meal, rather they had to personally spend time and energy to prepare their own meals, but because “most Americans are overscheduled and overcommitted” they fall victim to the easy way out by picking a “cheap” and easy meal

Now days, you can find a fast food restaurant every time you turn a corner. According to, Sarah Muntel, the Author of “Fast Food- Is It the Enemy,” you can choose from a variety of things to eat. You can get a greasy burger, crunchy tacos, or a drink that is filled with sugar. Why should we take the time go buy and prepare a meal when there are a variety of foods all around you? That is the problem that we are facing. Fast food is extremely cheap. You can order dollar cheeseburgers, dollar sodas, and you can even make those orders supersized just with pennies. People even claim that it is cheaper to eat at a restaurant than it is to prepare a meal in your own kitchen. Most Americans now days are having overscheduled and overcommitted jobs, which means that there is no free time in their daily lives to prepare their own meals. There is not anything easier than just going through the drive thru at your favorite fast food restaurant on your way home from work, or taking your child out for a milkshake if they do well in their baseball game. The problem is, people don’t look

Just take a short drive down any main street in a popular city and you will drive past no less than eight fast food restaurants and three convenient stores within a couple of blocks from each other. If that is the route driven on your way home every day from work and you don’t feel up to making a home cooked meal, what do you think your family will be eating that night. It is sometimes cheaper to buy a cheeseburger off of the value menu rather than cooking one at home. Fast food is a large reason why childhood obesity takes place. Fast food restaurants do not

Fast food was created for the taste buds; the food is delicious, greasy, and unfortunately is calorie high. The human body cannot handle eating unhealthy types of food and if the body does not get the required vitamins to remain healthy issues will arise. One of the most common fast food related health issues is obesity. Obesity can also lead to diabetes, high blood pressure/sugar, cardiovascular diseases, and even sleep disorders. This can be avoided by exercising after eating high-calorie foods. However, Americans have very busy schedules that exercise cannot be a part of a daily routine. Currently, the fast food industry has tried to add healthier menu options, but with that means higher prices of items. Therefore, many food chains have not created healthier options because the company is afraid to lose customers due to higher food prices. The other effect of continually eating out is the added up of money. Even though the prices are affordable, the amount of money for a regular customer will begin to increase. Money does not grow on trees, and the majority of people work to make money to survive in their daily lives. A college student can survive on continuously buying fast food for oneself, but when compared to a family of three or four surviving on take out will put a hole in the bank

The need for a job in American society is vital and not having one in today’s society can cause major financial problems for an individual or a whole family. An average American, typically works eight hour shifts and sometimes even put in overtime to meet their needs. After an exhausting day at work, people tend to get hungry and the infamous question of “what to eat” begins to occupy every inner thought. Some are not only wondering what they should eat for dinner, but most of these workers also have a family to come home to and feed. People come home tired, lacking motivation to do anything, and the thought of having to prepare dinner for themselves or their family sounds discouraging. On the way home from work, everyone is bound to see a fast food restaurant of some sort, waiting for potential consumers in the street corner, illuminated by an infamous neon sign. The temptation to stop by and grab a quick meal is overwhelming, but there is always one jumbled up thought that suggests preparing a meal at home would be wiser. The typical American citizen has to fight a mental battle on deciding where they should take their health and how it will benefit them in the long run. Though most individuals who visit these fast food establishments can care less about the nutrition value behind their favorite meals, it is an important component to consider when buying at these places. With working from nine to five and coming home with the potential to eat everything in sight, if it

There has been a large increase in eating fast food, eating out, and supersizing meals. Fast food is cheap and accessible. Due to families’ busy lifestyles, more Americans are eating fast food. Nearly 40 percent of children’s meals are fast food. Eating fast food is unhealthy and causes people to create bad habits of improper eating, which lead to obesity. Portion sizes have also significantly increased in restaurants in the last thirty years. The portions in restaurants are

The fast food industry provides quick, cheap, and easy access to foods that in the customers opinion, is very delicious, and affordable, however this food which millions of people around the world are constantly consuming, could actually cause major health problems, and weight gain in the long run. Major fast food companies throughout the world know what they are doing when it comes to marketing towards all types of people. Some people will find numerous different things to blame for the epidemic of fast food making individuals overweight. In recent research on, or discussions of the fast food industry having an effect on people's health, a controversial issue has been raised, and that is the fact that this problem affects not only

The world economy has become fast-paced, and this has forced people to transform their lifestyle in order to adapt to the changing pace. Family structures have evolved drastically with modern mothers having outside careers rather than being housewives. Granted such mothers get out of work worn out with little strength to prepare a proper meal for the family. They often opt for an easier way of preparing a meal for their families. This is the foundation for the thriving of the fast food industry. A number of nations have been transformed to fast food nation with American society being on the lead followed by Britain. American hosts the largest fast food industry in the world with outlets in over 200 foreign nations. With conveniences around

feeling funny after eating fast food well maybe you would if you knew what was under that hamburger bun 67 percent of fast food has some kind of artificial paste is in their food. there is more than 50 percent grease and that is enough to stop up your arteries.

A fast food meal may not be so simple after all considering the ingredients that go into a meal. We aren’t fully aware of what all the ingredients are in our food. We just see either a short or a long list of words that is just scientific jargon to us. We do become more concerned of what we are eating if there is a long endless list of contents. One ingredient that we all know if high fructose corn syrup. There are high amounts of it in our fast food which explains why we can get so addicted to fast food. Earlier I said most of what a fast food meal is comprised of is sugar, carbs, and sodium. Sugar and fat are the leading ingredients that give us an energy boost. They make energy-dense foods which is what fast food is-an energy-dense food. Energy-dense foods are inexpensive to produce. Pollan says “one reason that obesity and diabetes become more prevalent the further down the socioeconomic scale you look is that the industrial food chain has made energy-dense foods the cheapest foods in the market” (107). Sugar is pretty cheap and it makes sense to price a meal at a low rate. We can’t forget that most of a meal is also comprised of corn which make it cheaper too. Because they are inexpensive, their price isn’t sky high which makes it ideal for low-income families. They are able to afford a high calorie meal at a low price. This explains why obesity tends to be more prevalent in low-income households. As we can see, the low price of fast food contributes to the weight gain

Is fast food getting to be a problem? Many people love fast food but do not even now what it does to their body. There is getting to be more and more evidence that fast food is bad for people. Just about every day there is somebody that is going to the hospital because of all the fast food they eat. People may not like fast food because it is unhealthy, targets children, and exploits animals.