Is Fast Food the New Tobacco? Essay

As the obesity rate in America increases, people are pointing fingers at the fast-food industry. Teenagers, with the help of their parents, have filed lawsuits blaming fast-food restaurants like McDonald’s for their own health problems. However, parents, not the fast-food companies, are to blame for the amount of overweight children that are present today. They are the ones who teach their children eating and exercising habits, they are the ones who let their young consume unhealthy foods, they are the ones who allow their children to watch television and play on the computer for hours on end, it is obviously the parents fault for obesity in youth.

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

In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, author David Zinczenko, the editor -in-chief of Men’s Health magazine comments on the lawsuit against McDonald’s which is initiated by the overweight children’s parents. He claims that fast-food industry should accept full responsibility for a serious public problem: leading American kids to obesity. Zinczenko supports his claim with his personal experience to show how the fast-food chains marketing on them with low price. He also said it is not easy for those obese kids to turn their lives back. He believes this should be considered as a public health problem because their obesity causes the society huge public health losses. Zinczenko insists that if fast-food industry doesn’t take actions quickly, it is only a matter of time for them to become the next tobacco industry.

Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States, nearly twenty percent of children between the ages of 6 and 11 are clinically obese; however the government has no place trying to control this. (CDC, 2008) The current administration over steps its authority moving beyond the control of federally funded school lunches and into oversight of privately owned vending machines in public schools. Major corporations are being bullied into censoring their advertisement exposure to younger children so that the government won’t impose their own regulations. It is a parent’s responsibility and right to educate their children and control what they eat. The Federal government should not try to control what children eat by imposing regulations

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

Such practices are a concern, in part, due to the out-of-control statistics regarding obesity in America’s youth. Commercial vending machines in the hallways of public schools promote the consumption of junk food in youth. Often this consumption ends in tooth decay, hyperactivity and childhood obesity. In fact, according to the Center for Disease Control,

Fed Up presents a possible solution to help the obesity epidemic - Placing parameters on how big food companies market to children. Cartoon characters, bright colors, and toys are all ways to get children to buy a company's products. Kids consume these unhealthy products and are addicted at too young of an age to even know the foods are bad for them. Small groups of doctors and activists try to change this by regulating big food companies, but the results are always the

This inquiry was based on the question, “Is fast food the new tobacco?” In this writing, the author is advocating that obesity is starting to become just as much of a problem in society as the consumption of tobacco products. He argues that people are facing an internal crisis every day. That crisis is between the want to eat at fast food restaurants and the want to be in good physical shape. There is an image displayed that shows a McDonald’s billboard stating, “you know you want me” with a perfect looking hamburger. This is one of the many tactics fast food companies use to persuade the public to consume their food. It is shared that individuals blame the fast food industry on the growth of obesity in American society. They believe that the

The percentage of children with obesity in the united states has more than tripled since the 1970s. Today, about one in five school-aged children ages 6-19 has obesity. (CDC obesity facts). Childhood obesity today is a nationwide epidemic. The quantity of obese and overweight kids in America has expanded at a disturbing rate over the previous years, and there is no possibility of it backing off unless a move is made. A fast-food fever has cleared over the nation, significantly leaving a trail of poor nourishment afterwards. Fast-food partnerships appear to urge young kids to devour standard measures of undesirable sustenances by giving out toys with the buy of a kids meal. PC’s, TV’s, and computer games which are thought to be innovative

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

The number of obese adults now exceeds 25 percent in nearly two thirds of states. The rates of obesity in America have risen in the last thirty years, costing Americans, health, happiness, money, and productivity (Obesity is a serious problem 12). In this research paper I will be telling you about arguments and opposing viewpoints about a growing epidemic in teens and adults, obesity. Currently this topic is very controversial about who is to blame the kids, the parents, or the advertising companies because the cost is so low and the advertisers are getting a lot of views because kids are less active. The biggest issue in my opinion is that the parents and children are not aware of all of the consequences and health risks they are putting not just themselves in but their children. With this paper I want to bring out these issues so the parents especially have a better knowledge of this whole situation. Also, in this paper I will be discussing how advertising, fast food, cost/portion size, and better education about obesity. Obesity is a growing epidemic in teens and adults across the world especially America and people need more education about this epidemic. My position on this topic is that I am against obesity.

America’s obesity problem is increasing and every one is blaming big fast food corporations. Daniel Weintrub in the article “The battle against fast food begins in the home” agrees that parents are to blame for their children being overweight, but fast food companies aren’t the problem. Weintrub supports his argument by explaining the data and reason used to show that most studies focused on “The increasing in consumed position of fast food and soft drink, larger portion sizes and restaurants. Daniel Weintrub’s person is to raise awareness and inform readers that parent’s need to take responsibility so that children could stop blaming others for something they have. Weintrub write’s in a informal tone for adults with children at home.

There’s an appalling epidemic in today’s society sweeping across not only the United States, but all across the globe. This horrible epidemic isn’t the bird flu, or any type of sickness, rather obesity. Today, obesity rates are at an all time high in America. This disease, obesity, is being passed down the family both genetically, and by the terrible eating habits developing in the US. Kids growing up in this generation are facing frightening issues such as increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc., the list goes on. Zinczenko proves this in his text Don’t Blame the Eater, when he says, “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder - Only about 5 percent of childhood causes 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.” (Zinczenko 463) The sad part about it, is these kids more time than not, are born into these types of situations. There’s no surprise that obesity rates in America are directly correlated with the increasing amount of fast food chains popping up on every street corner. These fast food restaurants are masters of the art of advertising, and are using it as the strongest way of increasing sales. This is very dangerous because not all advertisements are true, despite what the common American might think, and it can be used to sway people’s thoughts

Political activist Yves Engler’s article “Obesity: Much of the Responsibility Lies with Corporations,” blames corporate capitalism for the obesity of children. Engler urges the government to put tighter limits on fast-food marketing not allowing them to reach the youth of America. Also Engler proposes that availability of junk food in the school system should decrease. Engler writes about how the government could help the obesity rate in children by creating more parks and funding physical education programs in public schools. Engler and Zinczenko both talk about the government’s ability to intervene in the fast-food industry, and both offer valid solutions. Engler talks about the

Childhood obesity in America is at the height of its peak. Actions should be taken to ensure that kids maintain a healthy weight to prevent them from developing health problems in the future. If a solution is not set into place, then this problem will only get worse and worse each and every year. The first solution I will suggest is that we bring back physical education within schools. The second solution I propose is that we regulate fast-food commercials on any form of media that children are able to see. The first solution that I introduced, which is bringing back physical education within the school system is better the better of the two options, because of the cost to implement it, the number of children served, and the effectiveness of this particular solution.