Clorie Labeling

In the article “don’t blame the eater”, David Zinczenko focuses on the reason behind the obesity problem that the modern young generations are facing. According to him, the large chains of fast-food restaurants given their availability around the country and low prices are the ones causing this problem. He brings in his own life experience and tells the story of becoming a 212 pound teenager highlighting that he had to rely on these fast food chains for everyday meal. With a single mother, who worked long hours he had no other alternatives to this like many other American teens. The lack of information about the calorie content of the dishes on these restaurants was one other main concern. Most of these restaurants do not provide enough data about the calorie content of their dishes, and even if they do so its mostly vague and deceiving. To show the gravity of the problem he pulls out a statistics of an increase of 30% in type 2 diabetes resulting in an expense of hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare. Zinczenko implies that this impact is as serious as smoking. Hence, fast food should have a warning label to raise awareness among the consumers. He addresses these food chains as vulnerable and warns these restaurants that they will find themselves in trouble unless they look out for their consumers. He also adds the further effects these food habits can have in our society.

Brand name fast-food items now account for almost 50% of schools sales (Brockett). As one can see, the financial benefits of the brand names in lunches can help boost a school’s declining profit. If fast-food was taken away from menus, many schools would fail to break even and have to cut their staff (Brockett). “Financially, it’s better for us if we go up to 400 meals” said Amy Hedrick, a food service supervisor in California (Lehmann). If she tries to sell off brand pizzas, her profit declines dramatically as she only sells 250 to 300 pizzas. If kids are being forced to eat healthy through their school lunch, they will leave the school over their lunch hour and go find a fast food restaurant. Even if they don’t leave, will taking away their brand name foods really solve the problem? The solution is not to frighten kids away with putting bans on school lunches. Rather, teach them about nutritional values of the healthier options and leaving them the choice, as it talks about in “The State Has No Place In The Lunch Bags Of A Nation”. If students know the benefits of eating healthy, they will start to turn away from fast

In America’s present economic state, citizens are looking for one thing: convenience. The American lifestyle has evolved into a quick pace, overwhelming schedule with Americans looking to fulfill their needs through affordable and easily reachable means. There has been an increased approval in fast food and convenience store establishments that provide swift and stimulating products. It is the inexpensive and easy way to purchase these “goods” that is slowly deterring the well-being of our country. The reason behind the low prices of such unhealthy choices provided by fast food restaurants and convenience stores is attributed to the subsidizing of producers of companies making the junk food. These companies such as McDonald’s, Coke, Pepsi, and Burger King contribute to the amplified rates of diabetes and obesity. Therefore a sensible solution is to tax the companies’ goods to make them less attractive to consumers who sequentially will lead improved life in buying less expensive, healthier foods.

Although individuals can make their own decisions on what food to eat, people are surrounded by thousands of quick and easy fast-food locations that make it difficult to be healthy. When a person wants to eat healthy, they should be allowed to concentrate solely on good foods without any temptations. Instead, fast-food culture is everywhere, even in schools, advertising “high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar meals” (“Obesity in America”). Schools should get more nutritious food options that would actually excite children to eat better and encourage at least one healthy meal a day. Kelly Brownell, PhD confirms a definite association between obesity and “the ubiquity of bad food” (Murray), but it is difficult for the majority of people to quit eating unhealthy foods because they are ridiculously cheaper than foods such as fruits and vegetables. People of higher

In America’s current economic state people look for one thing: convenience. The American lifestyle has evolved into a fast paced, overwhelming lifestyle with Americans looking to fulfill their needs through affordable and easily accessible means. There has been an increased popularity in fast food and convenience store establishments that provide quick and energizing products. It is the cheap and convenient way to purchase these foods that is slowly hindering the health of our country. The reason behind the low prices of such unhealthy options provided by fast food restaurants and convenience stores is attributed to the subsidizing of producers of companies making the junk food. These companies have contributed to the increase of health

Many fast food chains advertise deals and combos making the consumer feel less guilty because they are getting more bang for their buck. For example, McDonald’s advertises a cheeseburger, fries, and a sixteen-ounce soda for five dollars. On the other hand, an Asian Chicken Wrap at Togo’s is seven dollars and thirty-five cents. This example shows that fast food chains offer more food for a cheaper price compared to a healthier food establishment. Fast food chains have their consumers thinking that more food for a less price is a good deal when, in actuality, they are causing harm to the consumer’s health. In contrast to fast food restaurants, grocery stores that sell fruits and vegetables for a more expensive price, than the fast food, are overlooked because people lean towards cheaper and more convenient foods. When put into perspective, it is more rational to buy something that is a bit more expensive and will ultimately benefit people’s health rather than go for food that is cheap and harmful to one’s

With half of all U.S. food dollars spent on eating outside the home, the Food and Drug Administration has developed a new regulation. It requires calorie labeling at all restaurants with more than 20 locations. Some argue that the new law will not provide accurate information, will place a costly new burden on restaurants, or that customers just won’t use the information. The truth is that calorie labeling informs people about what they’re eating, thus helping them make better, more well-informed choices when eating out. In fact, it has already resulted in beneficial menu changes at many restaurant chains.

Information that I was able to find from Government Intervention Will Not Solve Our Obesity Problem shows that while twenty-eight percent of patrons said the information influenced their choices, researchers could not detect a change in calories purchased after the law while a different study in Seattle found similar evidence that the mandatory menu labeling did little change to fast food purchasing behavior. Also, “They find that higher taxes do reduce obesity, but the effect is rather limited. Interestingly soda taxes mostly because people without weight problems to cut back their consumption, even though they are not the intended targets of the policy. Meanwhile, frequent soda drinkers buy lower-priced soda, engage in bulk discounted purchases, and brew more sweetened ice tea”(Abdukadirov and Madow).

Although fast food consumption has been linked to adverse health outcomes, the relative health contribution of fast food restaurants remains unclear. The prevalence of obesity among US children increased significantly during the past 3 decades. Concurrent with these trends, children's fast food intake has increased markedly. Many scholars focus on fast food as a key contributor to the rising commonness of obesity because of fast food's poor nutritional quality and the fact that few items on fast food children's menus align with national nutrition standards or dietary guidelines. Compared with non consumers, children who consume fast food have higher total energy, total fat, saturated fat intakes, and have lower fiber intakes. They also consume

The programme was not as effective as I’d hoped it would be. I only increased my average by 1.74hrs from the baseline to programme date, which is below what I was aiming for. I believe this programme was not successful, as my positive

Looking into the way how fast food chain advertisements are considered to be capable in influencing people’s eating habits and food preferences (Bernhardt, Wilking, Gilbert-Diamond, Emond, & Sargent, 2015), it has been attributed to the obesity of Americans (Mink, 2006). The total sales of fast food in America was 4% in 1953 while the number of 1997 sharply increased

In today’s society, most people plan their daily meals around their busy schedules. Food plays an important role in our lives and most just rely on fast food because it is quicker and easier. However, devouring fast food is one of the worst choices you can make. In order to maintain proper health and prevent numerous illnesses and diseases, consuming healthy homemade meals is definitely a more ideal choice. According to a recent study, “when people cook most of their meals at home, they consume fewer carbohydrates, less sugar and less fat than those who cook less or not at all – even if they are not trying to lose weight” (Wolfson). Because many people work full time and get home very late, people continue to eat it without being aware of how unhealthy it is for you and the health risks that it can eventually bring on. Based on the demand for quality food choices of today’s generation, it is important to compare and contrast the effects of preparing healthy, homemade meals versus relying on fast food restaurants for daily eats.

Since 1970, the amount of fast food restaurants in business have doubled as well as the size of the meals. (Muntel, Sarah) According to the center for disease control the restaurant meal sizes are about four times larger than they were in the 1950s. Since larger portion sizes have been offered, fast food restaurants and chains have experienced an improvement in sales. Eating out at fast food restaurants can also lead to overconsumption and increase the risk of obesity because of larger portion sizes. When life becomes busy most people look toward fast food for a cheap, fast option for any meal. Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has risen alarmingly. Fast-food consumption costs were nearly $164.8 billion in 2010. (Mandal MD, Dr

For many families, money plays a massive role in choosing food options. On top of paying house mortgages, car payments, and utilities, many of these parents struggle to provide healthy food options for their children. In the United States, “approximately 42 percent of children and adolescents reported that they eat fast food regularly” (“Journal of the American Dietetic Association” ). This number is not surprising, there are over 630,511 restaurants. As a result, the childhood obesity has been increasing at an alarming rate and has doubled in the last three decade. Successful fast food chains such as McDonald 's, Burger King, Wendy’s, are being held accountable for contributing to the rapid growth of childhood obesity. However, perhaps we

The availability of fast food outlets has led to reduced fast food prices as individuals end up spending a small amount of money to get different types of fast food products. This is different from the traditional food preparation process, which take a lot of time, energy and resources to prepare a meal. Similarly, consumers, particularly students and working individuals do not have enough time to prepare food at home, which explains why they choose to go for fast food (Brindal 7). Despite these attractive characteristics, rapid availability of fast food is increasingly being linked to a major decline in healthy food choices. With millions of low-income populations relying on many several types of fast foods that are readily available in the neighborhoods, people have increasingly lacked