Fast-Food Habits : The Dangers Of Fast Food

When the subject of fast food comes up, most people can agree that it is not the most efficient source of nutrition. Fast food is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues found in today's teens and adolescents. In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” written by David Zinczenko, he argues that fast food chains fill the void in children's lives left by their exhausted, overworking parents. Many teens choose unhealthy eating choices because they are left alone for meals, fast food restaurants are easily accessible, and many teens are unaware of what they are consuming.

Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a

In David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” he focuses on the fast food industry and their role in the increasing health and obesity issues of our nation’s children, as well as these issues potentially becoming a serious problem that we will all have to deal with if we collectively don’t do something about it now. When it comes to the topic of fast food, most of us can agree that it is not the best source of nutrition. It is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues with our children such as obesity related Type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and even heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or even cancer. We can even agree that fast-food diets are a major contributing factor to

He claims that the prevalence of fast food and the lack of healthier food alternatives is causing an epidemic of teenage obesity in America. In his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko notes “Drive down any thoroughfare in America, ... you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit” (463). Zinczenko argues that there are no inexpensive and convenient alternatives to fast-food restaurants for teenagers. Especially for teenagers, unhealthy and fattening fast food

With the increase of fast food consumption and the growing rate of obesity, Americans are arguing if those who consume fast food products have only themselves to blame or the fast food companies for the growing rate of obesity and its health problems. The health of Americans has changed for the worse since the 70’s. The size of the food portions has increased and Americans are exercising less. This is evident in Americans 18-26 years old. These are the college kids who are away from home, working on their higher education and possibly a job at the same time, these college kids are too busy with all the work that needs to get done that these young adults don’t have time to cook themselves a home-cooked meal so they end up eating fast food meals. These

Because of parents using food as a reward, many children learn that being good means eating unhealthy. Combined with the advertising techniques used by the fast food industry, children begin to make a correlation between fast food and a reward. Ellen Gustafson further confirms that fast food contains “more refined grains, fats and oils and sugars than the 1980’s.” All of these components of fast food make it appealing to children. Furthermore, many parents do not have time to make healthy meals for their children because of our fast-paced society. As David Zinczenko relates in Don’t Blame the Eater, “lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. Then, as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal.” This is not a rare situation. Many parents work long hours and therefore encourage their kids to eat fast food instead of taking the time to teach healthy habits. This has the ripple effect of overeating and lack of exercise. Without exercise, many kids gain weight, become obese or are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma. (Childhood Obesity) Today, type 2 diabetes exists in 30% of childhood obesity. (Zinczenko 154) Gustafson further states in her presentation “1/3 of American children are overweight and obese.” When a child has obesity, their ability to participate in everyday activities like sports and play is inhibited, which means

America has been faced with the growing obesity epidemic. This is becoming very wide spread among all races and class levels due in part to the abundance of inexpensive food available and how easily people are becoming persuaded to but things they do not need. David Zinczenko published article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko argues that fast-food industries are not doing their job to provide clear enough nutritional information for hazardous food.

David Zinczenko’s impartial essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, questions if children should be suing fast food companies for making consumers obese. He starts out by connecting to those who have found their way into unhealthy eating styles, but luckily for him, he found a way out of there. Furthermore Zinczenko compares the rate of diabetes in children in the 90s to the 2000s, it was significantly lower as compared to present day. He then goes back to the issue that the youth has, being un-employed and young and only having access to the cheap fast food, should they still be to blame? The next topic that was brought up was the lack of information that fast food franchises provide, Zinczenko points out the fact that on the countless television

David states, “But where, exactly, are consumers-particular teenagers-supposed to find healthy alternatives? Drive down, and thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonalds restaurant. Now, drive back up to the block, and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit (463).” David’s point is that fast food restaurants don’t offer healthy alternatives, and there are several fast food restaurants in America which are tempting. While David has a decent point, he fails to convince me since Fast food restaurants offer healthy alternatives such as wraps, fruits, and salads. A fast food restaurant such as subway offers healthier options than McDonalds. There are similarly numerous grocery stores which sell nutritious vegetables, and fresh fruits. A grocery store such as food lion sells pre-made, and pre-packed salads, and wraps at a low-cost. It’s the consumer choice to either but a big packet of fries with coke or to eat a healthy grilled wrap with a cup of

David Zinczenko made the lack of choices the centerpiece of his essay “Don’t Blame the Eater.” Zinczenko posits that fast food restaurants, then as now, “were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal”. Really? Maybe if we lived in a world full of only gas stations and fast food vendors. However we have Wal-Mart, Kroger, Harris Teeter, and a myriad of other supermarkets, all of which are literally full of healthy cheap food. Zinczenko uses a snarky analogy comparing the difficulty of acquiring a grapefruit versus finding a Big Mac on “any thoroughfare in America”. Zinczenko says that teenagers in particular, are having difficulty finding alternatives to fast food. Not to sound like beating drum, but where are the parents of these teenagers, why are they not supplying these kids with cheap healthy food? Why are they out purchasing expensive un-healthy food instead of eating healthy meals at home? Where are the parents, and where is their

Fast-food industries may try to “target children in their ads”, but it ultimately comes down to the adults-the parents- choosing to dine at these places and pork up their kids on the high-sugar sodas, salty French fries, and greasy burgers. If they would just take the time to look out the window, they would see the healthy alternatives to fast-food, and how the alternatives are literally right in front of

Schools have started to ban all sorts of fast food products such as sodas, chips and processed food, but in addition they should teach students the danger in consuming certain food. They should warn students of the effects those foods will have on their bodies in the long run. In “Don’t Blame the Eater” fitness expert David Zinczenko mentions that “fast food companies are marketing to children a product with proven health hazards and no warning labels” (464). This false advertisement is often full of color, with images of happiness and delicious looking burgers to convince children to want their products. Fast food industries are smart to target children, because most of the time they know nothing about responsibility or what is good or bad for them. Zinczenko argues in his essay that without warnings or information“we’ll see more sick, obese children and more angry, litigious parents” (464). In contrast, if kids were warned and informed about the dangers in consuming unhealthy food, the number of obese children, diseases and angry parents would

In today's society, fast food has become a large part of many American's lives. With the rising numbers of obese people, it is hard not to draw a correlation between the increase in fast food and obesity. Most obese people don’t want to be obese and wish they could lose weight, yet they continue to struggle with their fast food intake and obesity. This is due to the advertising done on the consumers, the highly addictive food itself, and most importantly, how advertising and addiction combine with children to form habits that are kept once they become adults. These factors are the reasons that fast food restaurants are to blame for the rising obesity and health risks across America. The government needs to step in and place regulations on

them are obese. In the United States, 66 percent of all adults are overweight and, of those, 32 percent are obese. Healthy eating can be a start to stop obesity percentage from going up. It's not just about what food you eat to avoid obesity but also about eating the right amount of it. In the article “ Don’t Blame the Reader” Zinczenko writes, “ But where, exactly, are consumers-particularly teenagers- supposed to find alternatives? Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you'll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants.”  There are so many fast-food restaurants that it isn’t helping to promote healthy eating for teens. Passing one of the many McDonald’s gives the teenager the temptation to their Quarter Pounder. Mcdonald’s offers salads and many think that’ll be a healthy choice. Ideally it would be, but the Southwest Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Salad is a whooping 520 calories. In the end, it isn’t healthy as one would think. Zinczenko also writes how a website has a chicken salad having 150 calories, but then it has the

Throughout this article David Zinczenko calls out fast food companies, such as McDonald's, for manipulating children into becoming obese. Mr. Zinczenko claims that unhealthy fast food, was the only affordable option when growing up. Zinczenko joined the Navy Reserves and got involved with a health magazine, so he managed to avoid obesity, unlike some of his friends. Since the year 1994, Type 2 diabetes has risen over 25 percent. Finding healthier alternatives to fast food is difficult. The big fast food chains such as McDonald’s, have a monopoly, with over 13,000 restaurants in North America alone. Additionally, there is little to no information about the food being consumed. When there is information on the label, it is often manipulated.