How does McDonalds affect the United States? Originally, McDonald’s was a walkup restaurant serving food at half the price of your average sit-down restaurant. Because of how cheap the food was and how fast it was served, it attracted many people, making it a local attraction. After, this restaurant was opened and became a local sensation, it was franchised and spread practically all over the world. Before it spread all over the United States, according to the CDC in the 1950’s 33% of all Americans were overweight, 9% being obese (while no serious obesity cases had been reported yet). Now forty years later, in 1990, 30% of all American citizens are obese and 56% of Americans are overweight. That is an insane jump of fatness in a very short period. …show more content…
Another factor to add in is that many people don’t just eat at McDonalds once a day, but multiple times a day and when their meals are supersized…unneeded calories just keep piling up and eventually those calories will turn into pounds, but now the supersize option isn’t called super-size its referred to as a large. Let’s take into consideration how many children eat at McDonald’s every day. One out of three American Children and teens eat fast food every day and considering the amount of McDonalds in the country, I’m sure you can guess how many are eating at McDonalds. Sure, maybe three people have eaten at McDonalds three times a day and lost weight, but it doesn’t matter where you eat, it matters what you eat. What’s your average children’s meal? Some deep-fried pieces of processed chicken or a grease soaked piece of beef? Some potatoes covered in chemicals that sit in a football field stadium for weeks before being cut up, partially deep fried, covered in chemicals that keeps them from becoming gray, covered in some more chemicals, frozen, unfrozen and then deep fried
Are fast food productions hold responsible for America being categorized as the fattest nation? In the documentary Supersize me, Morgan Spurlock, director, and author of this film challenges himself on a McJourney for thirty days. Spurlock could only eat fast food that came from McDonalds. He went onto this journey to analyze the effect McDonald’s has on the human body. The film Supersize Me uses ethos, logos and pathos to effectively convincingly argue how people should be more aware of the foods they eat, and the possible repercussions they are risking.
This industry has lied to its customers about the ingredients of the food, yet Americans continue to buy their food. Fast food has increased the health problems of many, but that has not been stopping Americans from eating here either. McDonalds and other fast food establishments have become the new unhealthy epidemic that almost everyone buys, but only few will talk
In It's Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat, Shannon Brownlee addresses the difference from when fast food was introduced to now. Before burger, small fries, and a 12oz drink was considered a filling meal and was considered treat because it was not something that happened often. Now it’s know as a kids meal. The medium, large, and super-size sizes were attempts from the fast food corporations to maximise on small minded Americans willing to believe anything that is said by advertisements. A nation of the gullible believing that bigger is better. The extreme intake of saturated fat, sodium, and high fructose corn syrup is leading even the health people of America down the rabbit hole full of health complications, that promise to shed years that could have been full of joyful memories for family and friends off one's life. Obesity is not just about being overweight and eating unhealthy. Obesity is accompanied by diseases like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some cancer. Obesity can cut someones life expectancy by ten years. Even the nation's youth are not safe. Zinczenko also explains the gravity of rise in childhood obesity “Before 1994, Diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder -- only 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today, according to the National institute of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country.” The customary American diet is finally taking it’s toll on the
One reason why Americans as a whole are obese is because of the addictive food that fast food restaurants sell. The first place is McDonald, it is located all over the world and literally about five or six located in the same place. McDonald advertises their dollar menu for a couple of bucks and the new big and tasty for a dollar and some change. Who can not afford that? And then again, there food there is very addictive, which attracts the customers and keeps them coming back for more. Also, McDonald has a large drink that is a dollar while a medium cup there is almost two dollars. Why not get the dollar drink? That is more drink someone. McDonald is the leading cause of obesity because they got hamburgers and chicken nuggets that are more
from McDonalds than a home cooked meal of baked fish with a Caesar salad on the side. A Big Mac cheeseburger alone is 550 calories and with French fries, that’s an extra 365 calories, compared to the baked fish and a salad which is only 324 calories combined. Mostly because they are too lazy to actually take out the time to prepare the meal for themselves. When cooking you have to keep checking to see if the foods done, take out certain supplies, and you have to stand up to cook, while at the drive-through you come in hungry and leave out full in less than ten minutes. After a long day of work, most people want to take the easy way out by going through the drive thru and ordering a combo. Take the easy road one night then slowly but surely it starts to become a habit, and that’s when lots of Americans find themselves in a fast food restaurant line almost every day. For example, my cousin works long hours as a nurse and when she gets off from work, she’s usually exhausted. She has a ten year old son who’s never had a home cooked meal from his mother. Nutrition experts have long identified the lack of home cooking as one of the factors contributing to the ongoing obesity crisis, including childhood obesity. My family always question my cousin about why she doesn’t cook and she always give us the same answer.
It was designed for quick service, yet having great food to eat. That right there, will come back years later to haunt Americans. With a small menu of only 9 items, there was one food item that stuck out like a sore thumb when it came to the sales charts. That item would be the delicious fifteen cent hamburger. By 1958, McDonalds sold 100 million hamburgers. Over the years, they opened many more restaurants. Not only were they selling, they were expanding. Business was booming, so they had no choice rather than to expand their services. In the very next year, they had opened their 100th McDonalds restaurant. All this was in just four years, if time could tell how quickly things change, lets skip ahead another three years. The year 1962 truly marked an era of how Americans are today. Lazy and arrogant! A Denver, Colorado McDonalds introduced indoor seating for their McDonalds restaurant. This seems like everyday dining for most of everybody reading this. With just one food chain opening up, surely it could not be the only cause of obesity rates in the United States. Please remember, McDonalds is not the only fast food chain around. They inspired others along with their success. Burger King, Checkers, Hardees, Wendys and Sub Way are just a few example of fast food chains that have began to dominate the food industry.
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
As the Author of Obesity in America (Down to Earth) has noted," Our children are being bombarded from every angle with these toxic foods making it virtually impossible for them to eat anything else". Children are being seduced to this food choice, which potentially affects their eating habits in the long term; Not different from adults who are attracted to whatever is fast and recognized to taste good, then it will become a habit to eat it on a daily basis. Unfortunately, people are not having a real set of options, that is being advertised besides that big double meat burger. Food Industries use their obviously increasing consumer rates and Super-Size the product, which adulterates the person eating habits. By making it appear normal to eat an entire buffet, or just simply eating more than they are supposed to. Murray writes " McDonald's has made super-size is a verb", so what does actually makes attractive from the phrase "Super-Size it", if is really up to the consumer choice, why to keep advertising the same unhealthy product over and over, but in actual date in a bigger portion, the consumer keeps choosing the most displayed option, because that is what is being advertised, that is all the consumer knows. The unhealthy environment provided is to keep
"We provide food that customers love, day after day after day. People just want more of it” (Ray Kroc, Founder of McDonald’s). Coronary Artery Disease is a type of heart disease and the most common cause of heart attacks. Plaque from eating unhealthy foods, builds up in the arteries, the arteries harden and begin to become narrow and can cause chest pain and heart attacks. “Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have a negative effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems.” The environment is affected by the fast food industry because of the amount of pollution and trash they produce on a daily basis. The fast food industry has a harmful
Common sense might dictate that eating foods in small portions or controlling the calorie intake of each food will help stabilize weight gain, but most food found in these establishments push past the limit of daily calorie intake per day in just a single meal. “According to Consumer Reports and the Nutrition Action Health Letter, Burger King 's Triple Whopper contains 1,160 calories, 75 grams of fat, and 1050 mgs of sodium; McDonald 's Crispy Chicken Bacon Clubhouse Sandwich has 750 calories, 38 grams of fat, and 1,720 mg of sodium; Hardee 's 2/3 Pound Monster Thickburger hefts 1,330 calories, 66 grams of fat, and an astounding 1,990 mg of sodium; Taco Bell 's Cantina Burrito-Steak carries 750 calories, 28 grams of fat, and 1,940 mg of sodium.” (Ansello) From the data above, one could suggest that regularly eating these in the standard three course fashion would surpass the daily average calorie limit (2000 calories for both men and women.) The average person eats not only the sandwich alone, but consumed along with a side dish and a carbonated beverage. These meals also play a part in the lives of our children, and are the main reasons for underage obesity. To contrast the high saturated fat diets with a leafier or organic substitute, the average American has to drive further to obtain, and also pay a higher dollar cost for the diet. For example, the cost of a “Crispy Chicken Sandwich” at Wendy’s establishment is approximately one dollar, while the
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
McDonaldization is viewed to be one of the reasons behind obesity. This is due to people
•In the recent times McDonalds has been blamed for the high fat content in its products and many consumers perceive that the food served at their outlets is not healthy. Also, the consumers are becoming increasingly health conscious these days. McDonalds
Obesity is probably the most significant issue facing the McDonald’s Company today. The corporation has been severally blamed for the menace due to its wide range of junk foods. As the world’s largest fast food company, it has become a target of most health related films such as Super Size Me. This is because the public blames the company for failing to give nutritional information concerning the items on its menu (Baron, 2010).
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.