Essay about The Fast Food Health Scam

Zinczencko complains that unlike many other hazardous items, fast food does not come with warnings on how terrible the food is for one’s health and its future effects. He emphasizes that even if the customers were able to obtain the nutritional facts, they are not palpable, but rather obscure. He points out that the fast-food companies make the nutrition labels vague and misleading; they calculate the calories for every separate part of the meal, and they make it so the consumer must pay attention to serving size as well. He observes that the fast-food industry can get away with confusing labels because there are not any Food and Drug Administration labeling requisites (Word Smart, p. 220) covering fast food. Zinczenko complains that there is not any sort of nutritional labeling on the menus at fast-food restaurants. Now, nine years later, there are some changes, but his point is still valid. McDonald’s menu now states the calories of each meal, but as Zinczenko points out, it is very difficult to

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

Obesity and being overweight are very common worldwide issues around the world, especially in the U.S. There are more than 3 million cases per year. By changing your lifestyle such as diet and exercise, losing weight can seem effortless. Desirable junk/fast food or even irresistible fast food commercials can tempt you to do the unthinkable. We are all victims of this advertising war. Quick-service restaurants (QSR) generate these advertisements in hope to attract more consumers or to increase their popularity rates around town. These commercials bombard our state of mind only to convince us to buy unhealthy food for worthless money. The increase in fast food commercials in the U.S. has led to an increase in both QSR revenues and the obesity rates. Regulating commercial frequencies will lead to a decline in the obesity rate. Our country has more than enough issues that frequently affect our population. Despite these alarming cautions, the food industries with their advertiser use every available media outlet to promote and sell their products. Pushing food and drinks high in sugar is unethical and unjust. We learn to

“Although many health authorities insist that there is no such thing as junk food, consumers find it a useful term for distinguishing nourishing food from products whose chief appeal is fun, convenience, and addictive taste; ‘bet you can't eat just one’ ”(Junk Food). Americans are spending about $4.6 billion a year on potato chips, and 23.5 billion a year on candy and gum. 46 Percent of adult Americans eat out on a typical day, and one third of them choose fast food. That is because the fast food industry has slowly become one of the symbols of American culture and is spreading to other cultures as well: McDonalds has 26,000 locations in 119 countries, Pizza Hut has more than 10,000 in 86 countries, and Subway has 14,500 in 75 countries. Commercials, signs, and huge advertisements are pushing junk food at us every day; people cannot even go to the grocery store without candy bars being lined up right by the checkout. The junk food industry realizes how appealing it can be. When a person is in a rush, they can easily eat a large meal without having to make a lot of decisions, work, dress up, or get out of their car. The speed and convenience fit Americans’ pressured lifestyles. It does not fit, however, to our health and wellness. A fast food meal, such as a Burger King Double Whopper with cheese, contains 965 calories, more than double the amount of fat, and as much as 750 grams too much sodium

David H. Freedman, a consulting editor for John Hopkins and author of several books, writes in “How Junk food can End Obesity” about the dangers of ruling out Fast Food as a way to decrease obesity in society. He argues that using nutrients to gauge the healthiness of a food is an adequate way to increase health in society, and that most “healthy” foods contain a lot of unhealthy ingredients that do not promote health. He also advocates small changes of about 50-100 calories in meals to encourage people to stay on their diets and promote long-term weight loss. He also points out the severe monetary difference between health foods and fast food. He ultimately wants to promote using the forum of food in society to decrease obesity in society, rather than making the large leap from junk food to whole, natural foods.

America has been faced with the growing obesity epidemic. This is becoming very wide spread among all races and class levels due in part to the abundance of inexpensive food available and how easily people are becoming persuaded to but things they do not need. David Zinczenko published article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, Zinczenko argues that fast-food industries are not doing their job to provide clear enough nutritional information for hazardous food.

I. IntroductionBecause 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 "healthy" in that. Now that Obesity is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. we need to re-evaluate the importance of healthy eating. By increasing awareness of 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

The food industry has mastered the delicate art of trickery over many years and has been able to convince consumers to buy their products, thinking they are healthy, when in reality they are contributing immensely to the obesity epidemic in America. Food corporations have developed a marketing strategy where they target juvenile audiences with their products. The companies do this by having advertisements on children's television programs encouraging children to buy their processed, high-sugar food products. Companies get kids’ attention by including beloved children's figures with their commercials, thus piquing their interest. Children view their favorite characters on television programs and ask their parents or guardians to purchase the items for them and the parents, remaining blissfully unaware that they are relinquishing their child's health to mass food corporations, concede and buy the food, which causes their child to become unhealthy and eventually obese. Another way food companies market their products is by embedding their advertisements with words like “Cheap, easy, fast”, which appeals to low income families looking for a inexpensive meal, or families on the go that need to quickly get a bite to eat. Due to the fact that unhealthy fast food choices are often the easiest method for gaining a quick meal, more and more families are

Fast-food industries may try to “target children in their ads”, but it ultimately comes down to the adults-the parents- choosing to dine at these places and pork up their kids on the high-sugar sodas, salty French fries, and greasy burgers. If they would just take the time to look out the window, they would see the healthy alternatives to fast-food, and how the alternatives are literally right in front of

America’s health has taken a disastrous toll in the recent decades, with the rapidly increased popularity of processed convenience foods laden in fat and sugar, along with the correlating rise of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. As of 2010, nearly 70% of adults in America aged 20 or higher are overweight or obese (Ogden et all). Both obesity and diabetes are preventable diseases that result directly from overindulgence and poor nutrition. Contemporary marketing practices, which entail displaying misleading buzzwords on front-of-package food labels, negatively affect consumers’ abilities to make healthy choices. To help reverse this epidemic, it is essential that Americans begin reading labels and educating themselves about the foods they consume.

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

Every day while sitting on the couch eat a burger, and soon many people learn what the obesity hype is all about. Fast food companies are advertising more food for less money with fast service. The media tends to change images for their target customers, to make the food more appealing to those that are watching. Laziness is one of the main causes of obesity in our country. Obesity in the United States is at a high due to the increasing fast food chains, media influence, and a lack of exercise. The idea of having a meal made for them in less than five minutes is somewhat exciting to the view of many individuals.” fast food firms introduced these alternative meals in response to changing consumer tastes”(Buchholz). Many fast food stores offer the customer fast service, and a great tasting meal. They provide their service with a smile and a meal that can cost less than 10 dollars. When people mix poor diet with poor

In the last decade, a lot of emphasis has been put on adopting healthy eating habits and informing the consumers that the healthy-eating option was available in fast-food restaurant chains. Interestingly, consumers eating in fast-food chains were found to be more likely to order fattening side dishes if they think that they are consuming a healthy diet (Men’s Fitness, March 2008). This observation is also true in Subway restaurants where a 12 inch Italian sandwich contains over 900 calories compared to the 600 calories BigMac from MacDonald’s (Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2008). Thinking they are eating “healthy”, Subway patrons then splurge on soft drinks, potato chips and desserts accompanying their sandwich, especially is they are offered as part of value meals.

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).