McDonald’s has been negatively publicized to be an unhealthy option. The food is perceived to be loaded with fat, sugar, salt and carb at a high rate. It has been disapproved by numerous people as being a promoter of unhealthy diet pattern especially for the young generation who are extremely obsessed with the ease of availability and cheaper rates. It has been blamed to cause weight gain among consumers. Due to these facts, the group of health conscious people avoid McDonald’s even after the healthier pickups introduction. (Kane, 2013)
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).
Because of the omnipotence of fast food chains in America, when we feel the urge for an easy meal, Americans, in general, immediately look to the fast food nation for a quick suppression to their hunger. Because we live in a time-is-money society the most efficient means of hunger satisfaction is the almighty drive-through. Corporations spend billions of dollars advertising to enhance sales of their products. With American catching on to the lack of healthy food options in the fast food nation, fast food chains began campaigning healthier food such as their salads and fruit cups. However salads may sound healthy but a Southwest Salad with Grilled Chicken from McDonalds has 320 calories and 90 grams of fat. Where's the
When was the last time you walked into McDonald’s and chose to order a Garden Salad instead of a Big Mac? If it has been a long time, do not worry; most people cannot even remember what their last healthy meal was. In fact, if you had a Big Mac someday just one month ago, that would make you only the 27 billionth person to bite into a juicy robust beef patty back at the moment. Ironically, this vast number of junk eaters is not aware of the health-wrecking decision they take when they stop by McDonald’s for lunch one day after another; or is that not the case? Are people really unaware of how a single mouthful of fast food contains a handful of chemicals that can literally deteriorate their health? Although the majority of people blame
When the consumer has been served a days worth of calories in a meal that has probably over 1500 calories, and the cost of the meal is probably five dollars while eating at the establishment few times a week the consumer is at risk for many health issues. McDonalds adds many additives, sugar and salt to make their food tasty. Many health issues arise such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. With McDonalds not buying meat from the US, changing out oils, adding sugar and salt is a recipe for a failing restaurant when Americans are eating healthier, wanting more organic choices. and care what is going into their bodies and their children’s bodies. Restaurants like Chick-Fil-A are serving many healthy choices to choose from. The
In Jessica Lundgren’s essay, “Eating Fresh” in America: Subway Restaurant’s Nutritional Rhetoric, has stated many different strategies Subway uses in their commercials to persuade consumers that they are choosing the healthier choice when getting food at their fast food restaurants. Americans today are worried about what they can do to lose weight and maintain a good diet. Lundgren did a great job mentioning the five aspects to Subway’s nutritional claims that they follow which includes: the making of nutritional claims, a visual rhetoric that makes the restaurant’s “healthy” food options appear to be numerous and exciting, the comparison of the Subway product with the products of other, less “healthy” fast food restaurants, the clear indication
•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
McDonald’s is a well-known fast food brand. It has been widely criticized for its advertising practices, which have heavily influenced children. It has also been accused of contributing to childhood obesity as well. After reading the case “CASE 2-7: McDonald’s and Obesity” I believe that McDonald’s has a right to advertise as much as they want. “If a food has a right to exist, a marketer has the right to advertise it”” (“McDonald’s and Obesity, n.d.). I think that any company should be able to advertise as much as they want to, but they should be respectful and advertise effectively. From the case study, it shows that McDonald’s is trying to accommodate and respect its role in obesity. McDonald’s is acknowledging the problem and is making changes. They are “promoting ongoing menu changes, the posters feature items such as a salad, a pile of free range eggshells, piece of fruit, and cups of cappuccino” (“McDonald’s and Obesity, n.d.). The company does advertise a lot, I can say from my experiences I have seen a lot on TV and through ads. I do think that they are reaching out to show they do have healthier options, which is why I feel that they should be able to advertise as much as they want. Regardless of the changes, I feel the company should be able to advertise as much as they want because when it comes down to it, it is ‘our’ choice to purchase their products and consume them whether they are healthy or not. They should not be restricted because they are a fast food company. The company has good advertising, as seen through their success. Advertisements are very persuasive and make you want what every thing they are selling, but it should not be the company’s fault. I do think that they should respect that obesity has become a problem and make effective choices when it comes to advertising, but they should not have to cut down. Fast Food companies should just be more aware and promote healthier option that they now have.
When picking the perfect place to eat, people rarely take into consideration the nutritional value of the food they are consuming. Obesity in America alone is substantially higher than it has ever been. Today over 68.8% of adults (or ⅔ of the population) in the US is considered to be overweight, and scientists are looking at fast food as the culprit. On average, Americans spend over $380 billion annually on fast food (Kidd). McDonald's alone feeds over 45 million people worldwide everyday. The most popular item at McDonald’s is the Big Mac’s. The average adult is supposed to eat around 1,300-1,500 calories a day. A Big Mac alone has 563 calories. That is almost half of the recommended daily calorie intake in just one burger. There are also other health risks that come with eating McDonald’s. A recent study done by Sean Martin shows the effects McDonald’s has on your body within just a hour of eating
In recent years there has been a growing epidemic of obesity, especially in America. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey posted on the Center for Disease Control website there are 12.5 million children from ages 2 through 19 that are obese. Many people are starting to complain that the commercials and ads for these restaurants are the result of such an incline in obesity. Although there have been current ad campaigns aiming at children to live a healthy life style there are still hundreds of advertisements that are putting restaurants in a sort of ultimatum position. Either restaurants change their advertisements or they improve their menus. In 1979 McDonalds debuted their world famous Happy Meals to the
Fast foods are filled with trans fat and calories, causing excessive weight gain, and eventually obesity. A meal at Mc Donald’s (including a Big Mac, medium fries, and a small Coke) is 1,080 calories. This is over 50% of how much a person should be eating daily. Anyone in taking that much in one meal regularly is predicted to gain extensive amounts of weight. In order for the meals to be cooked quickly, it must be cool with a substantial amount of oil. This oil is too much for your body to handle, and eventually takes over the kidney, liver, and causes acne. This overwhelming grease contains a lot of cholesterol which clogs essential arteries, leading to a heart attack.
The food industry has cleverly manipulated millions of people's minds for the simple reason, money. They persuade you to purchase their products which benefits for them since they derive more money. An article from the Business Insider “This One Statistic Shows Just How Much McDonald's Tries To Entrench Itself In Everybody's Minds” written by Kim Bhasin, he writes how “McDonald's is the brand that spends the most on ads, racking up $963 million in ad spend last year.” This shows that this major industry would endeavor to that extent into spending that much money per year. According to the article “How Much do Companies Spend Marketing Junk Food to Children?” by Andrea Canada, she writes about how “Companies spend $1.79 billion annually to market food to children with only $280 million for healthy foods.” With this it shows that it’s not only McDonald’s that spend so much money to advertise unhealthy foods but other companies as well. Lastly, even if there are advertisements for healthier food, they aren’t promoted as much
For decades the Fast-food industry has supplied Americans with tasty, comforting food, quickly and at a low cost. It was not until recently, when the health craze first hit America in the late 1980’s that the corporations developed a new approach to marketing health food products to fit their customer’s wants (Nielsen). The most common fast food chains, such as McDonalds and Subway, started advertising “healthier” food items on their menus to continue appealing to the general public. While fast food restaurants give the impression of offering healthy food, nutritionist studies show healthy alternatives are not as nutritious as advertised and can lead to possible calorie underestimation and overconsumption (Chandon 85). In order to
It is said that the food at McDonald’s is promoted as being nutritious, however what is really being served by McDonald’s is junk food - foods exceedingly high in sugar, fat and salt, and reasonably low in fibre and vitamins.
While there is no sign the high level of obesity has fallen, Americans tend to consume fewer calories, cholesterol and fat. The greater public awareness and healthier living style push the restaurant industry to produce more healthful offerings and McDonald’s is not an exception. Though McDonald’s usually is considered as a junk food index, it is time to