Benefits Of Fast Food Essay

It is proved that a healthy diet costs more that an unhealthy diet. Supermarkets have been criticised for focusing on high – fat, salty and sugary foods when running promotions.

Judging from the title of David Freedman’s “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” published in The Atlantic, Freeman's audience, the upper middle class of America, conjures up an image of a crazy Freedman throwing away every piece of scientific data that shows junk food is hazardous to your health. However, this is not the case. Freedman brings to light a more compromising approach to solving America’s obesity problem. His opinion is that by manufacturing healthier fast food we can solve America’s obesity issue and that his method would be able to be established nation-wide in a cheaper, fast and more effortless way than some other methods proposed. Not all, but the majority of The Atlantic’s audience cares about

Obesity has dangerously increased over the years. Its consequences can be fatal for the human immune system. Some of the complications of overweight are: heart disease, diabetes, malnutrition, cancer, and even death. However, the cost of healthy food is twice or three times more than the price of junk food. Everywhere healthy options are more expensive, even water costs more than sodas. Making healthier food more affordable, will contribute to having healthier population. I think healthy food options should be more affordable because cheaper prices for junk food promotes obesity and other severe health issues, and families with low income can’t afford the costs of a healthy lifestyle.

(Parker-Pope, 2007) “If you have three dollars to feed yourself, your choices gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar.” said Dr. Drewnowski, Professor of the Department of Epidemiology and Medicine at the University of Washington. He further stated, “Not only are the empty calories cheaper, but the healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury goods.” (Parker-Pope, 2007) Much of these cost are due to our Governments Farm Policy. Farm policy encourages the production of commodities for processed foods instead of healthy foods. Whether by intention or not, because of the low cost of commodities like corn and soybeans, sugars and fats like fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated vegetable oils, current farm policy has directed food industry investment into funding ways of using these cheap food additives in processed foods, thus causing consumers to eat more added sweeteners and oils than is healthy. Because these highly processed foods can be produced at a very low cost, they give significant profit for the food industry which creates an industry incentive to market “junk” foods instead of healthier foods. (Food without Thought:How US Farm Policy Contributes to Obesity)

The dollar menu section of this documentary focused on how processed foods and fast food are typically less expensive than healthier foods. The documentary shows one family having the dilemma at the grocery store: a family is aware that the father who has diabetes needs a healthier diet with more fresh, but they are forced to buy foods they can afford. As the film implies people with lower incomes are more likely to eat processed, cheaper, foods, leading to a higher rate of diabetes, obesity and other health problems. The federal government spends billions each year subsidizing commodity crops. Over time, prices of certain crops, like soybeans and corn, were lowered due to these subsidies causing overproduction which made them a lot cheaper than other crops. Since these crops were so cheap, meat and food producers started using them for a variety of purposes, such as, high-fructose corn syrup, animal feed and hydrogenated oils. The lowest-priced options at the grocery are processed foods made from subsidized ingredients that have refined grains with added fats and sugars. This cheap food has had the greatest impact on low-income families. Because are on a tight budget, the price difference between fresh healthy foods and food with subsidized

In the documentary film “Fed Up”, sugar and the sweeteners in our food or beverages is featured to be the prime ingredient that is making the most of our adolescents obese. It tells of a few families struggling with obesity, and how these families have been trying to do everything they can to help their children lose weight. It shows what kind of food that they are eating at home and the weight problem that most of the family is struggling with. The food that is being served at schools and also the thousands of products that contain sugar, everywhere groceries are bought; sugar is the main cause for obesity. It tells that low wage earners have no choice, but to buy unhealthy food, because healthier food cost more. “The bottom line: cheap, unhealthy foods mixed with a sedentary lifestyle has made obesity the new normal in America. There is no single, simple answer to explain the obesity patterns in America, says Walter Willett, who chairs the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health” article in the U. S. News. Although it does cost more, a school of public health wrote in an article, “While healthier diets did cost more, the difference was smaller than many people might have expected. Over the course of a year, $1.50/day more for eating a healthy diet would increase food costs for one person by about $550 per year. On the other hand, this price difference is very small in comparison to the economic costs of diet-related chronic diseases, which would be

Would you like to have no decisions on the healthiness of your food, and being able to only eat fast food, fried foods, etc. Most people would say no and rightfully so, people should be able to have choices on the foods they want to eat whether it’s healthy, unhealthy, fast food, farm grown, we shouldn’t have only unhealthy foods for our choices of what we eat. In the film Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner there is a part in the movie that talks about the food choices of consumers. A point that was talked about for a decent amount of time in this part was how healthier foods are more expensive than fast food. This stood out to me because it’s true it cost more to eat healthy than it does to just go through a drive through. This is outrageous it should be the opposite, we should have to spend more for fast food than healthy foods. While at most fast food places there are ways you can eat healthy food but it is still more expensive than just buying a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets. During this part of the film a family was talking and saying that they have to choose whether to eat healthier food or get there father/husbands medicine so he could work. A family has to choose between those to things and that is not fair to anyone that has to make that decision. The family wanted to have better food and to not always be eating fast food meals but they don’t really have a choice and that is heartbreaking to see.

In the beginning of his article called “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” author Mark Bittman does a spectacular job capturing the reader almost instantly just within the first paragraph. He brazenly begins his argument to express his thoughts indirectly, but directly of why the “overweight” and “low income” population cannot afford, access, or choose healthy food options.

Obesity is a continuing problem in the American society. Obesity, occurs when, the amount of energy taken is more than the energy released (Abraham 237). The growing obesity rates could be slightly declined by the availability of more affordable, healthier foods and the decline of these temporary quick fit diets, many Americans put themselves on as a means to get fit. The opposing viewpoint may suggest that obesity can be fixed simply by shopping for better, healthier food choices in grocery stores and learning how to count calories to maintain a healthy weight; but that simple solution may not be an achievable solution for every American. Furthermore, the difference of cost between healthy compared to unhealthy foods is completely outrageous. Numberless people strive to go into a grocery store and select all of the healthy food options of their liking; however, healthy food options cost more and are seemingly unaffordable compared to junk food. The government should regulate the prices of junk and healthy food as a means to combat obesity in America, so that all persons can achieve good health.

Fast food is cheaper than healthy food. Studies show that 20 % of people with lower income spend $1,099 eating out and spend $2,448 when they eat at home. Twenty percent of people that are middle class spend $2,125 eating out and spend $3,496 when they eat at home. Twenty percent of higher class people spend $5,828 when they eat at home and spend $5,163 when eat out. Unhealthy food is $550 cheaper per year. “The fact that junk food is cheaper than real food has become a reflexive part of how we explain why so many Americans are overweight, particularly those with lower incomes.” (Harlan 2011)

Many people make the assumption that its more expensive to eat healthily, and that's simply not the case. It just depends what you buy, and wear. Kale, for example, is usually just 1-2 bucks, and one can make it last several meals. There's a lot more to learn about this great vegetable that is on many people's minds. Stay tuned for the second part of the article, which is coming

Over one-third or 78.6 million of U.S. adults are obese. Obesity and childhood obesity, in particular, are the focus of many public health efforts in the United States. New regulations have been implemented by the US Department of Agriculture for food packages in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has funded state- and community-level interventions, and there have been numerous reports and recommendations issued by the Institute of Medicine, the US Surgeon General, and the White House. According to Polis, Many people assert that unhealthy eating habits are the result of economic hardship. They say that healthful food is simply more expensive than unhealthful food. Now, science backs them up. The most comprehensive study of its kind indicates that yes, unhealthy food is about $1.50 cheaper per day, or about $550 per year, than healthy food. In a meta-review of 27 studies in 10 countries, researchers publishing in the British Medical Journal found that meats and proteins had the largest price differences, with healthier options costing an average $0.29 more per serving than less healthy options. Other categories such as snacks/sweets and grains also cost more for healthier options, at $0.12 and $0.03 respectively. No significant price differences were seen between healthier and less healthy soda and juices. Research and

Wouldn’t it be reasonable to consider that people just might eat healthier if they simply had the money to do so? It would be interesting to consider that the people who usually have bad eating habits, are the ones who actually can’t afford to eat healthy. America has the highest obesity rate in the world, but who knows where we could be if the healthy food was more affordable and the junk food wasn’t reasonably cheap. Illnesses and diseases have become common too in people, many that come from just unhealthy eating that has taken a negative toll on the body. Not to mention, people living in low-income areas where in those areas, the main thing around them are fast food restaurants. The promotion of healthier eating and a healthier lifestyle, though, isn’t completely hidden from the public, though more ads about tasty junk food are on televisions, billboards, and so on, more than food that will benefit your body and general health. These things are all played into the fact that people already have a terrible diet, and the prices of foods that can make someone’s diet healthier are too high for most to even include them in their diet regularly. Healthier foods should cost less because it can help lower the high obesity rate in America, it will promote a healthier lifestyle to people to do things like exercise more, and it can help prevent life-threatening illnesses caused by unhealthy eating.

Nowadays, most people -especially kids and young people- prefer to eat fast food, such as hamburgers, pizza, fried food, etc. Why it has become so popular? It tastes better than homemade food? We do not believe it is only the taste the reason of the popularity of fast food. There are several reasons why fast food had become popular over the years. It is popular because it is cheap, quick and convenient to those who have a busy modern life.

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.