Persuasive Essay About Obesity

There are various different perspectives on the issue of fast food. Some people believe that this

Fast-food chains choose locations for restaurants based on accessibility for their consumers. Many of these consumers are children and adolescents, leading Chicago researchers to question whether fast-food restaurants are more likely to be clustered around schools. In order to answer this, they first collected the addresses of all 613 fast-food restaurants in the city of Chicago and determined their exact placements through geocoding. The same was done for the 1292 public and private schools located in the city. This allowed them to calculate distances between Chicago schools and their nearest fast-food restaurants; there was a mean distance of 0.60km and a median of 0.52km. To determine whether fast-food restaurants were likely to be within walking distance of schools, the researchers created 400m and 800m radiuses around the schools. They then calculated the number of fast-food restaurants located within these radiuses; there were anywhere from 0 to 33 fast-food restaurants within 400m of each school and 0 to 85 within 800m. To put this in perspective, the average adult can walk 400m in roughly five minutes.

It is very hard to ignore that Wendy’s variety of delicious salads have become one of the more popular meal choices. According to wendystimeline.com was the first major fast food restaurant to offer the salad as the main course. Wendy’s did offer side salads prior to that, but never as the main course and they didn’t offer as large of a variety as the “Garden Sensations” salads that are on their menu today. Wendy’s offers four salads that range from three grams of fat to a whopping thirty grams, the more toppings the higher the fat grams. The quality and variety of Wendy’s salads has helped them to establish a very popular reputation for the fast food chain. In McDonald’s defense to the huge demand of Wendy’s salads, they too are offering their salads as the main course. At one time, in attempt to portray a healthy image, McDonald’s offered a “stepometer” with a salad order for a short time. The fat grams of McDonald’s salads are very comparable to Wendy’s Garden Sensations.

Fast food restaurants are said to be full of fattening foods that lead to health problems for all of the people that eat at these restaurants on a continually bases. “The fact is, there is simply no clear, credible evidence that any aspect of food processing or storage makes a food uniquely unhealthy” (Freedman, 2013, p. 13). People just believe that processed food is bad for you just because it is different from traditional food, they are just afraid of this new concept. The biggest fast food chain “McDonald's has quietly been making healthy changes for years, shrinking portion sizes, reducing some fats, trimming average salt content by more than 10 percent in the past couple of years alone, and adding fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and oatmeal to its menu” (Freedman, 2013, p. 13). This company is giving the consumer many healthy choices to choice from,

Fast food might be easy and cheap but people do not realize how harmful the food is for their bodies. The problem is the food that is served at these types of restaurants, especially McDonalds, are high in fat, salt, processed, and can have harmful ingredients included in the food. While home cooked food takes time to plan and make people know what they are eating, that isn’t the case at McDonalds: “McDonald’s burgers retain its fresh appearance for a very long time. This can easily fool customers who do not have a hint of this alteration in their burgers. The use of excessive preservatives is harmful for your health which McDonalds seems to overlook for gaining more and more

As of now in the United States there are 22 fast food franchises. McDonalds was the first franchise to open in 1940 and since then they have been the leading and most successful franchise in America (“The Raw Prawn” n.p.). Other franchises include: Burger King, KFC, Wendy’s, Arby’s, and Taco Bell. Each of which target young students and children. Most of them have a value menu where items to purchase are cheap and tasty but very unhealthy. Some fast food restaurants provide a toy for children with their meal which attract them to come again and again ( “Eating Yourself to Death” n.p.). In addition, some restaurants contain an indoor play ground which attracts small children even more. The fast food industry mainly brings customers for their tasty food and simple convenience, they attach a drive thru to their building making it faster for customers to purchase and collect their food which is also less time consuming. Recently in the past few years, fast food franchises have begun to change their restaurant and attempt to become healthier as a whole, in some fast food restaurants they have a nutritional menu to choose from which generally contain healthier food compared to the regular menu (“The Raw Prawn” n.p.).

Almost all of the foods being introduced during this time, were filled with increased amounts of fat, oil, and sugar, as well as processed ingredients. Not only were these foods incredibly accessible to the public, but were also empty-calorie foods that contained little to no nutrients at all. These empty calorie foods were sold at famous food chains such as McDonald’s, which supplied milkshakes, fries, and burgers that sold for half the price of other restaurants. Foods like this were soaked in oil, fried, and filled with unhealthy fats that have been shown in many studies, to cause diabetes, obesity, and other weight-related issues. Wendy’s, Burger Kings, and Taco Bells, all began to pop up around the 1950’s and 1960’s, making exposure to these foods even more common. Over the years, the serving sizes from these restaurants have almost tripled, as well as their unhealthy

Imagine a mother of four trying to get all of her kids from school, to practice and home from practice around 9:00 p.m. and still managing to feed them without fast food. That would likely be impossible. Fast food is the favored option of millions around the world today. Although, there is an extensive history of fast food in America, it’s never been this severe. Fast food in America hasn’t always been an obsession, back in 1951, fast food restaurants became the staple of the American diet (Hogan). People usually thought of these places as somewhere to socialize and hang out with friends. This is because families usually ate healthy, freshly prepared meals from their homes. Since then, the number of fast food restaurants has doubled. Nowadays,

In this set of materials, the reading passage characterizes 3 reasons why fast food contribute to obesity in United States, and the lecture opposes what the author says in his descriptions.

First, fast foods contribute to obesity and increase its rates. The food served in fast food restaurant catches our attention with good smell and taste. Unfortunately, the food offered at such places contains a lot of fat, calories and very often chemical components that adversely affect our bodies. Frequent consumption of hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, etc. causes bad eating habits in children and leads to slow weight gain, which over time becomes a serious problem. Fast foods contain big amounts of salt and sugar that contribute to obesity, which leads to other diseases such as diabetes, high-pressure or circulation’s problem. Most of them change our lives and make them more complicated and less satisfying because we need bigger control of our food, diet and we need to take medications. In Causes of Obesity and Overweight, Dr. Ananya Mandal writes: “Recent estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that in 2014, about

With many families involved in numerous extra-curricular activities, fast food has become a staple in today’s society. Olive Garden, one of America’s most famous Italian restaurants, advertises “fresh, delicious Italian food” (“Who We Are”). While they may be delicious, many dishes at Olive Garden will not provide any health benefit for the consumer (Barnhart). Many of the dishes served, including the “Chicken Alfredo Pizza,” “Tour of Italy,” and “Steak Gorgonzola Alfredo,” have about 1,350 calories and 60 grams of fat each (Barnhart). With a suggested daily caloric intake of 2000 and daily fat intake of 65 grams by the Food and Drug Administration, each dish possesses over half a day’s worth of calories and nearly an entire day’s worth of fat (Barnhart). The “Chicken Alfredo Pizza” alone contains 3,200 milligrams of sodium, over twice the daily recommendation (Barnhart). Often misleading, many fast food restaurants sell “healthy” salads no better than their burgers. A McDonald’s Caesar salad without chicken or dressing contains 90 calories, 4 grams of fat, and 180 milligrams of sodium (“McDonald’s Nutrition Facts & Calorie Information”). With grilled chicken, it contains 220 calories, 6 grams of fat, and 890 milligrams of sodium (“McDonald’s Nutrition Facts & Calorie Information”). The crispy

Fast-food restaurants, stores or outlets come in a wide variety of forms and varying product offerings ranging from hamburgers,

As busy college students or parents looking to save money, fast food seems to be the easiest answer. However, inside that burger is high amounts of calories, fat, sodium, sugar and cholesterol with a risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and more. With all of this in mind, is the cheap price and relative quickness worth it? The prominence of fast food in the lives of Americans is worrisome, for 38% of adults over 20 and 21% of adolescents 12-19 suffer from obesity. Fast food also targets kids with their catchy songs, playgrounds, and toys within kid’s meals. Because fast food is easily attainable due to the prices and numerous locations, it provides a solution for busy families and those looking to save money. However, too much of it leads down a possible life-threatening path.

Out of all the nations throughout the world the United States has the highest obesity epidemic. Part of this percentage is not only adults, but children as well who are becoming overweight and obese at such a young age. Parents do not realize how treacherous it can be to eat fast-food, especially if this is a frequent situation. Many individuals who are constantly in a rush or do not have enough time to make a healthy home cooked meal tend to go to any fast food closest to them. This is understandable, however when this turns into a day to day basis people may naturally start gaining weight with risks of extreme health problems. Many fast food customers do not examine the menu enough to really calculate all the calories and carbs they are consuming. Just one delicious breakfast platter from a local Mcdonald's can have enough calories to laden the daily calorie intake. People need to start taking healthy foods more serious or else health issues will start to occur either early or later in their years. Nutritious foods are needed to provide enough energy throughout the day; especially drinking water to keep people hydrated. Sugary drinks and other obesogenic foods only slow people down.

As general prices have risen and wages have fallen consumers have changed their spending habits in particular food. This has lead fast food joints to profits, proving that there is an upside to our low economy Today's industry faces high real-estate prices and highway strips teeming with fast-fooleries, there is now one restaurant for every 2,700 Americans, compared with one for every 7,000 in the late 1970s (Clark). Chains have been branching out into sports arenas, airports, hospitals, colleges, turnpike stops, mall food courts, kiosks, airline in-flight meal services and even zoos. Although critics would argue that fast food has caused an unhealthy society, it is important for society to acknowledge the positive aspects of the fast food