dont blame the eater

In America almost two thirds of the nation is overweight. That is about 79.6 million people who are obese. Fast food is without a doubt the problem why these statistics are so high. According to Shannon Brownlee, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee “ It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” she mentions how fast food corporations are luring buyers into their offers . In another article by David Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home” he focus more on self responsibility rather than fast food restaurants being convenient everywhere you go. In America, the obesity epidemic is caused by the lack of parent not taking full responsibility for their childrens health, as well as fast food industries distorting portion sizes in order to make more

Obesity has grown into a rampant issue all over the United States, over the past few decades. Fast foods also have increased their outlets in the nation, in turn, depicting a success in the business venture. It is clear that fast foods have become quite cheap in comparison to healthy, homemade meals. Subsequently, people have turned to eat fast foods for economic reasons. Convenience is yet another reason behind people’s high indulgence in eating fast foods other than healthy, homemade meals. One does not need to prepare meals when dealing with fast foods; it is just a matter of walking into a fast food restaurant. However, the rampant feeding on fast foods in America has adverse effects that seem to affect even

Did you know that “every day 1 in 4 Americans visit a fast food restaurant? If that’s not alarming to you, then consider this, left unabated, obesity will surpass smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in America.” (Clark, Charles) Fast food has become a part of American culture. With the way the world is today who wouldn’t want to eat somewhere that can have you in and out in five minutes for fewer than five dollars? It has been made very clear that Americans love to eat as we rank number one most years as the world’s most obese nation, but it’s not just America. In his documentary, Morgan Spurlock notes that, “Popular fast food chains like McDonalds, now operate in more than 126 countries in six continents having more than 31,000 restaurants globally.” (Spurlock 2004) The most alarming part about all of these statistics is the groups they most affect. The catchy advertisements and addictive qualities of the food is what has everyone coming back for more. Fast food companies advertisements targeting the young and lower classes are the cause for the obesity epidemic in America.

Who would have thought that people would start suing fast food corporations for making them fat or obese? Roughly 600,000 people have died due to obesity, such as heart failures. Fast food has been around since the 19th century. Lawyers have tried to file several lawsuits towards this. Not just Americans need to realize this. The situation should be an international problem to society. As a society, people need to wake up and become aware that obesity is killing nearly as many citizens as cigarettes are. 16 through 27 year olds need to do their best to prevent the consumptions of unhealthy foods. They’re the next generation, a change needs to occur. People are responsible for what they put in their own mouths. Fast food is getting popular by the day because of the cheap price that has its benefits. Consumers should eliminate the consumption of all unhealthy foods because it leads to obesity, heart failures, and diabetes.

Indeed, Obesity in America is a huge problem that continues to escalate due to fast food chains. Fast food places are everywhere and close range from one another. I don’t even have to walk more than a mile to get to a fast food place. According to Mandal, “Fast foods reduce the quality of diet and provide

In the article “don’t blame the eater”, David Zinczenko focuses on the reason behind the obesity problem that the modern young generations are facing. According to him, the large chains of fast-food restaurants given their availability around the country and low prices are the ones causing this problem. He brings in his own life experience and tells the story of becoming a 212 pound teenager highlighting that he had to rely on these fast food chains for everyday meal. With a single mother, who worked long hours he had no other alternatives to this like many other American teens. The lack of information about the calorie content of the dishes on these restaurants was one other main concern. Most of these restaurants do not provide enough data about the calorie content of their dishes, and even if they do so its mostly vague and deceiving. To show the gravity of the problem he pulls out a statistics of an increase of 30% in type 2 diabetes resulting in an expense of hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare. Zinczenko implies that this impact is as serious as smoking. Hence, fast food should have a warning label to raise awareness among the consumers. He addresses these food chains as vulnerable and warns these restaurants that they will find themselves in trouble unless they look out for their consumers. He also adds the further effects these food habits can have in our society.

Obesity has been framed as a topic of personal responsibly for a long time. For many, the fundamental notion has always been that if you stop eating junk food and eat “healthy”, you will maintain a healthy weight. According to the U.S. Centers of Disease Control’s 2007-2008 Health and Nutrition Examination survey, it was found that 73.7% of all Americans 20 years old or older were overweight, obese, or extremely obese. That is a lot of fat people and it is hard to believe that fast food alone is responsible for 70% of adult Americans being overweight.

In the past forty years, the average American’s weight has skyrocketed. This can be traced to the introduction of fast food into our everyday lives. Fatty cheeseburgers and grease laden French fries have replaced fresh fish and crisp vegetables. Americans have come to value convenience more highly than personal health and consequently we are paying for what we consume.

Drive around any reasonably sized town in America, and there will likely be a fast food restaurant. However, it is also probable that there be restaurants lining the streets too. In the short essay “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, the author argues that it is difficult to find economical and convenient alternatives to fast-food restaurants. Conversely, grocery stores and sit down restaurants are widespread, providing customers with healthy choices. Grocery stores provide a wide array of healthy foods and ingredients to prepare a meal with. Fortunately, many restaurants will have nutritious options for health conscious individuals. While some may find it challenging to ignore the conveniences of fast-food restaurants, it takes very

According to him, “There are no calorie information charts on fast-food packaging, the way there are on grocery items. Advertisements don’t carry warning labels the way tobacco ads do” (Zinczenko 463). Zinczenko that fast-food companies are “vulnerable,” and he urges the industry to protect its consumers (464). Zinczenko is right about the need of nutritional information for fast-food; however, common sense dictates that people should know not to eat at fast-food restaurants every day.

Ultimately, obesity is sweeping the nation because of how easy it is to eat cheap and on the run from fast food restaurants. If Americans do not change their habits of eating with no physical activity the obesity rates will never decrease but only continue to steadily increase. Not only is fast food easily accessible but over the years serving sizes have increased two to five times (Miller,

Some wonder whether if the fast food industries should be held accountable for people’s obese attire and health, others say that it is the independent consumers’ responsibility. About 37% of American adults are obese and approximately 17% of children are reported obese as well. Researchers say about 3/4 of Americans will be obese by the year 2020, or maybe sooner (Muntel). It certainly does not seem to be slowing down, unless somehow fast food industries can find indigents to make their food a bit healthier or that people limit the amount of times they go to the restaurant and keep track of their eating habits.

Obesity has rapidly emerged as a serious health issue in America. The cause of obesity results from America’s social injustices. Today, food advertisements are in all places promoting an unhealthy lifestyle. Considering the great expense of healthy foods, low income families can barely afford fruits and vegetables. These two factors contribute to the increasing obesity rate in the United States. Unfortunately, it has taken an excessive amount of Americans to become obese for America to become aware of the issue and take action. Although obesity is still an increasing problem, America is fighting to reduce the number of obese citizens. As a result of low income and the media advertising unhealthy lifestyles, America is in the midst of an obesity epidemic.

As the fast food world spread across the nation, obesity was shortly following in its footsteps. According to, “The History of the Fast Food Industry,” Since 1970 the amount of fast food restaurants have doubled, which equates to roughly 300,000 establishments in the United States. Ironically, 33.8% of the U.S. population is affected by obesity and 19% of children and young adults are also affected.

Several studies have shown that the increase in fast food restaurants over the past few decades has resulted in a negative impact on the already outrageous obesity rate.According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the number of fast food restaurants over the past thirty years has tripled, which equates to about three hundred thousand establishments in the United States alone. During this time the number of children, ages six to nineteen classified as obese, has risen from five percent to seventeen percent. The percentage of adults classified as obese has risen from half to two-thirds the population. Although fast food restaurants may be a contributing factor to the increasing obesity rate in the United States, people are