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Obesity and Fast Food

Autor:   •  April 24, 2014  •  Essay  •  2,148 Words (9 Pages)  •  1,550 Views

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Fast Food and Obesity

Obesity has been plaguing the American culture for the last two decades. Many factors contribute to this problem. The number of overweight Americans has grown with a top contributor to this problem of obesity among Americans. This contributor is fast food restaurants and American's want for fast foods.

Fast food has possessed every corner of American society. Everywhere people turn; they can see a fast food restaurant. Today fast food is becoming a popular fix for people who are too busy to cook. Americans wanting a quick fix go to their favorite fast food place where they a walk in, get in line, and study the pictures on the menu that look so very appealing. They place their order and sit down to enjoy their food. The whole idea of getting fast food has become a habit, and a hamburger and fries has become the American meal. The typical American will consume about three hamburgers and four orders of fries weekly. (Elbel). Fast food taste good. Millions of people buy fast food every day without giving much thought to what it is doing to their bodies. Fast food is cheap, but the price of fast food is nowhere near the price of what people are going to pay for health risk associated with becoming obese. Every four out of ten adults in the U.S. will become obese in the next five years if they keep eating fast foods the way

they are, increasing obesity in Americans. (Adult Obesity: Center for Disease Control and Prevention).

Fast food is a world of its own, and in it includes such places like McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell and many others. We see commercials about these fast food places, and they are trying to appeal to the consumer with low price and fast service. McDonald's portrays its restaurants to be a family experience where they show the American family having a good time while eating a good burger. Burger King's theme is "your way, right away". This shows the consumer a place to go to get their fast food. (Brownwell).

People are so busy these days and do not feel like they have the time to cook. So a solution would be to go out and get some food that is quick to feed their family. However, these foods are not healthy and to consume them on a daily basis is not wise.

Research done by Helen Wu a research analyst at University of California found that in the U.S., 82 percent of adults eat out at least once a week. Prior research had shown that increased consumption of eating food outside the home increases calories, fat, and sodium intake. Current statistics state that two-thirds of U.S. adults and nearly one-third children and teens are obese or overweight. (Wu).

Stephen McGinty, writer of "Fast Food Nation", says that the fast food culture that is making us obese is increasing because a change in the work patterns of the household. Both parents need to work and there

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