Persuasive Essay On Fast Food

America is known as the fattest country in the world. Is fast food the culprit? According to the article, "F as in Fat 2005," America's obesity rate in 2005 was a whopping 60%. Many people believe that this is due to the increasing popularity in fast food. It is much easier to go through a drive through and pick up a meal than making the food yourself. When eating out, people are more likely to eat more than when they cook. Meals at fast food and restaurants have become popular, in America the size of each meal is significantly bigger than any other country. According to Christina Sarlch, author of “Guess How Many Calories Are In A Typical Fast Food Meal” the amount of calories in a fast food meal is a gouging 1100 calories with a drink .The average number of calories needed for a person is 2000-2500 calories . Split between 3 meals that averages out to 666.67-833.33 calories a meal. Of course not many people follow that suggested calorie intake.

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

Junk food is one of the main causes of obesity in America.It contains things that have unhealthy ingredients that could lead to illnesses in the future if a person consumes a large amount of junk food.But there are ways to eat junk food and still be healthy while enjoying your favorite junk foods . Over the years there has been a lot of history behind junk food and the effects of it. Some of these historical findings have started leading people to understand that the amount of junk food that they consume is something that is very important for the health.Usually a person who is young that consumes a large amount of junk food may see an increase in obesity cholesterol and high blood pressure. For a person who is older such as in their 30s and 40s they may then see those things as well plus other illnesses that could lead to things such as high blood pressure and heart disease .To avoid an unhealthy lifestyle in the future something that might be questioned. Is it possible to live a healthy lifestyle while still enjoying junk foods?

Modern food culture is a major factor that drives childhood obesity. Childhood Obesity occurs when children have excess body fat in relation to their body index as a result of unhealthy eating habits at an early age, which makes children clinically unhealthy. The national childhood obesity rate currently in the U.S is 18.5%. There are several factors that go into this present issue in our country. The problem begins with adults not being attentive enough to notice bad food habits, sometimes parents add to the bad habits. When a child is at home with maybe one or even both parents and the child has full access to roam through the fridge or pantry, this may be a problem. Children will often pick their favorite foods, which more than usual is the junk food. These ‘junk’ foods are foods that have been processed with most of the nutrients taken out of the food leaving calories that will add to excess calories. Junk foods can consist of chips, tasty cakes, cookies, ice cream, and many more. These types of foods contain high amounts of sugar and calories with low amounts of nutrients. Fast food is one of the primary factors that contribute to the ongoing problem of childhood obesity in the U.S. “Every day, nearly one-third of U.S. children aged 4 to 19 eat fastfood, which likely packs on about six extra pounds per child per year and increases the risk of obesity, a study of 6,212 youngsters found” . Fast food restaurants are advertised all over the place including billboards,

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

Would you like to have no decisions on the healthiness of your food, and being able to only eat fast food, fried foods, etc. Most people would say no and rightfully so, people should be able to have choices on the foods they want to eat whether it’s healthy, unhealthy, fast food, farm grown, we shouldn’t have only unhealthy foods for our choices of what we eat. In the film Food Inc. directed by Robert Kenner there is a part in the movie that talks about the food choices of consumers. A point that was talked about for a decent amount of time in this part was how healthier foods are more expensive than fast food. This stood out to me because it’s true it cost more to eat healthy than it does to just go through a drive through. This is outrageous it should be the opposite, we should have to spend more for fast food than healthy foods. While at most fast food places there are ways you can eat healthy food but it is still more expensive than just buying a cheeseburger or chicken nuggets. During this part of the film a family was talking and saying that they have to choose whether to eat healthier food or get there father/husbands medicine so he could work. A family has to choose between those to things and that is not fair to anyone that has to make that decision. The family wanted to have better food and to not always be eating fast food meals but they don’t really have a choice and that is heartbreaking to see.

As a nation, Americans revel in the consumption of junk food. These extremely unhealthy foods are often present during many various occasions, such as sports events, movies, and parties. When a person craves a quick snack, junk food is the ideal solution. However, beyond the satisfying taste of foods such as Doritos and potato chips lies a very serious problem. These foods can lead to physical disrepair, sickness, and even death. Yet many Americans remain oblivious to this nationwide issue and allow it to remain unaddressed. The crisis of junk food in America needs to be resolved immediately. To go more in depth, it is imperative that the nation resolves this issue relatively soon, primarily because the excessive consumption of

The fast food industry provides quick, cheap, and easy access to foods that in the customers opinion, is very delicious, and affordable, however this food which millions of people around the world are constantly consuming, could actually cause major health problems, and weight gain in the long run. Major fast food companies throughout the world know what they are doing when it comes to marketing towards all types of people. Some people will find numerous different things to blame for the epidemic of fast food making individuals overweight. In recent research on, or discussions of the fast food industry having an effect on people's health, a controversial issue has been raised, and that is the fact that this problem affects not only

In a single meal from a fast food restaurant, the typical amount of calories is near 1,500, while the average calorie intake for the average person should range from 1,500-1,800 calories a day. A study conducted by the American Journal of Public Health studied how the proximity of fast food restaurants to schools, increased the amount of low quality food that children consume (Davis and Carpenter 505). The AJC found that “more than 9 million US children and adolescents are obese, and just as many are at risk of becoming obese,” (Davis and Carpenter 505). This study, along with others focuses on how fast food has contributed to the growing obesity epidemic in America. A very high percentage of adults in the US are also obese, which may be a result of increased fast food consumption.

The world economy has become fast-paced, and this has forced people to transform their lifestyle in order to adapt to the changing pace. Family structures have evolved drastically with modern mothers having outside careers rather than being housewives. Granted such mothers get out of work worn out with little strength to prepare a proper meal for the family. They often opt for an easier way of preparing a meal for their families. This is the foundation for the thriving of the fast food industry. A number of nations have been transformed to fast food nation with American society being on the lead followed by Britain. American hosts the largest fast food industry in the world with outlets in over 200 foreign nations. With conveniences around

When a child eats a Happy Meal at McDonalds they’re eating 520 calories per meal with a cheeseburger clocking in at 700 calories. Fast foods are convenient, easy and affordable; so fewer families are preparing meals at home. Fast foods are lacking nutritional balance and there is not any control on how it’s cooked, which is usually with a lot of oil and butter. Fast foods tend to lack fresh fruits and vegetables. Children need to know the consequences in eating foods high in calories, fats, sugar and chemicals. Children should avoid cholesterol, saturated fat, high sodium which is harmful to the immune system and can lead to Type II diabetes.

Making healthy choices today can be hard. You know eating fast food isn’t good but you still indulge, why? You do this because fast food is easier to get access to than making healthy food. In fact the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that, “...17% of youth, or 12.5 million are obese.” The CDC also adds,” Obese and overweight people also ate more fast food.” This shows that kids these days are eating too much fast food which causes drastic weight gain. Therefore, kids these days are mostly becoming obese because of fast food.

Dining out at local restaurants is just irresistible for most of us. Well it's the easiest way to fill an empty stomach and get relief from the trouble of cooking and cleaning dishes. Moreover nothing is better than an outing with a good meal and conversation shared with loved ones. Unfortunately; eating out can be a strain to a monthly budget leaving you with a little lighter purse. But now without any hurdles in next meal out; one can still save heavy bucks on a restaurant bill. Without giving up idea of quality food; one can enjoy at restaurants and slash down those bills at the same time. For that you need to catch up with some money saving tips and ideas to save money at eateries without starving your wallet:

b. Each day, 1 in 4 Americans visits a fast food restaurant (Fast food facts).

Fast food tastes best when they are fresh out of the restaurant. No matter how big the portion is, fast food can be hardly eaten as leftovers. So children have gradually trained their stomachs-adults likewise-to hold fattier, oily, sugary foods that come in super sizes. The initial issue seemed to be just being overweight and obese, as these children who consume more fatty foods than necessary grew up to be a fat generation of adults. But now, the fast food monster has grown bigger and wilder that it brings children critical health issues at much younger ages.