Fast-Food Restaurants and Their Effects In America, there are numerous of fast-food restaurants that many people enjoy eating at. People choose to eat at fast-food restaurants, because it is very convenient and they do not have to go home and prepare a meal. In addition, fast-food is usually cheaper for a family as well. However, the food from the restaurants are causing multiple problems in today’s society. It has a significant impact on American’s health which is leading to deaths and obesity. Also, fast food can lead to an increase in weight gain and bad nutrition for a human’s body. David Zinczenko is the editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine. In his essay, Don’t Blame the Eater, he argues that fast-food restaurants are unhealthy and that they are causing health issues in many teenagers, specifically obesity. He provides an example in his essay that describes his experience with fast-food in his earlier life. Zinczenko himself writes, “By age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 fame.” At the age of 15, he was not worried about the calories or fats from foods that he was eating and every day he was going to a fast-food restaurant: “Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut.” Zinczenko began controlling his diet and realizing that the fast-food restaurants were not healthy for his body. The purpose of this essay was for Zinczenko to show readers the
Around 160,000 fast food franchises have been opened all over America. America is the most obese country in this world. Healthy food is supplement rich, yet fast food has a tendency to be poor in nutrients and high in calories. Know that fast food can satisfy our day by day calories requirements; not only it gives us calories, but it also harms our health with other ingredients. For instance, fast food is high in soaked fats and trans fats. In addition, it has additives, chemicals, and artificial flavors. Fast food impacts our health and causes infections, for example, heart disease, diabetes, high blood sugar and high blood pressure. On the other hand, healthy food provides the best nutrients and protects our body from sickness, since it contains vitamins, proteins, and minerals. Fast food is addictive and unhealthy. (Obesity in America) (Chronic
David Zinczenko’s essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” stresses the connection of fast food restaurants to obese children. With his parents spilt up, and his mother working long hours to support the family, as a child Zinczenko had a limited choice of fast food restaurants such as Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Pizza Hut for both lunch and dinner. Just like today those were the only affordable meals for teenagers. Due to this, at the age of 15, Zinczenko becomes obese (212 pounds). Unlike a lot of people with similar issues, he he turns his life around by joining the Navy Reserves. Zinczenko notes that fast-food restaurants are located almost everywhere, attract to children, are cheap, and are easy to access. Hence why he believes that
David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” states how he was obese as a child and that it was not his fault. He then goes into detail about diabetes and how teens are the main consumers of fast food. The title of the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” summarizes Zinczenko’s attitude of the article. Throughout the article he is blaming fast food joints for obesity and type two diabetes. Zinczenko also makes another point about fast food restaurants lacking on nutritional information on their food products.
In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater,” David Zinczenko argues that today’s fast food industry is to blame for obesity. Zinczenko says that when he was a child lunch and diner for him was a choice between “McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky, Fried Chicken, or Pizza Hut,” those are largely the only options for kids today. Lawsuits are being held against these big companies. Even though fast food restaurants are cheap and affordable, it’s very hard to find a healthy food that is cheap as fast food. On the other hand, it’s a person’s choice on whether choosing to eat at a fast food restaurant or buying himself a salad at the supermarket. Instead of getting a burger for three dollars, why not go to the grocery and get whole wheat bread, ham, and
In “Don’t Blame the Eater”, the writer, David Zinczenko, initially argues that those teens who are fat because of eating fast food from restaurants like McDonalds, should take responsibility for their obesity. He then sympathizes with the obese children by giving his own childhood example. His mother and father were usually away working and he had no other choice but to rely on fast food restaurants. He argues about the growing number of fast food chains, how FDA doesn’t take notice of the ingredients that are not mentioned on food packaging and how it is the responsibility of the parents to make sure that their children are eating right. He also argues that the money fast food chains like McDonalds are spending on advertising and targeting
In the reading “ Don’t blame the eater", David Zinczenko argues that children, that eat fast food restaurant should not be blamed for their weight gain. Zinczenko claims that the only affordable meal option for an American teenager is fast food. He also explains that today's fast food chains fill the nutritional null in children's lives given by their troubled working parents. Zinczenko's childhood had circumstances that he had no healthy alternatives to fast food chains and blames this for the weight he gained. This reading has a strong message about fast food companies making kids fat, and all they rely on when their parents are employed and have no chance to cook for them.
David Zinczenko’s essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater,” explains the similarities between obese children and fast-food restaurants. In Zinczenko’s childhood, he had certain foods he could eat also as seen as limited food choices, both at home and in public or other such places. By consuming food, twice a day, at fast-food places, David was now obese. He knows that by participating in the health and fitness corporation, his life was starting to turn around.
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
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.
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
Over 45 million people have gone to eat at various Fast Food restaurants such as Burger King and McDonalds. Americans have depended on Fast Food restaurants for around 6 decades, whenever they want something quick and delicious to eat. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “one in five American adults [are] obese or classified as obese; while thirty percent of children in the U.S. are suffering from obesity”. This is astounding due to the fact that many ingredients in fast food such as Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Nitrate, and High Fructose Corn Syrup have been shown by studies to cause diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases. The Fast Food Industry, because of the aforementioned problems with obesity and diseases along with how the Fast
The dependence on fast food by Americans has developed into a major predicament. In 2013 about eighty percent of Americans report eating at fast food restaurants at least once a month; more than half of them (about forty-seven percent of Americans) report that they eat at a fast food restaurant at least once a week (Richmond 2). Compared to the year 2006 the percentage of Americans who ate at least once a month have dropped only one percent from eighty-one percent to eighty percent (Richmond 2). Since a large percentage of Americans still eat at fast food restaurants it has become a problem. The problem is caused from a majority of fast food being unhealthy and convenient (Muntel 8). There are an excess amount of fast food restaurants and
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food filled with fats, carbohydrates, sugar, and high sodium, which is not healthy or efficient for the health of the population. Fast food is popular amongst people in almost all countries around the world, but in the United States, it is more popular than any country in the world. “A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the United States was spent to prepare meals at home. Today about half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants-mainly fast food restaurants”. (Schlosser 4). Fast foods popularity heavily relies on the fact that it is served and prepared quickly and is so delicious. Fast food restaurants are extremely convenient and saves time on those lazy and busy days. Although fast food is quick, it is not the healthiest option and is ultimately harming the bodies of its consumers and decreasing the population. Consumers are putting their health at risk, causing long lasting effects for a “fast” meal.
One of the reasons fast food restaurants are not positive for the American society is Americans rely too much on the fast food. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, “In 1970, 25.9 percent of all food spending was on food away from home; by