Obesity and Fast Food

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 is not time for a good healthy cooked meal that fast food is the best option. (McGinty).

Fast food is a huge reason why Americans are overweight. People eat out every day, not eating the most healthy foods, but hamburgers, fries, and foods that contain high cholesterol and fats. A Big Mac is one of McDonald's top burgers which has 500 calories alone, and add a fries and a coke to that, and the caloric intake could go up to twenty-five hundred calories. This has exceeded a person's caloric intake for a day. (Wooton). A person would not be able to eat anything else for the rest of the day.

Researchers from New York University examined the role of fast-food portion sizes in relation to the increase in obesity. They found that the portion sizes exceed government standards, and also encouraged people to eat more. They came to the conclusion that bigger portion sizes contributed to increasing obesity rates. (Renee).

Fast food is not only making people fatter, but it also increases the chances of getting Type II diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, gall bladder disease, and E. Coli. Each year about 70 billion dollars is spent on healthcare due to obesity. Fast food contains more unhealthy fat, or saturated fat. This comes from animal products like eggs, meat, and butter. Eating too much of this fat will increase cholesterol levels in the blood and is the main cause of a heart attack. Fast food are also high in sodium; however too much salt is bad for a person's body. It can cause high blood pressure, and obesity. An average adult only needs about 1200mg of sodium a day, fast food contains more than that.

There are other issues associated with fast foods that also contribute to us eating more. Most fast foods are made from processed foods which contain artificial flavorings to make the meal taste good, and fats and sugar. It is the sugar that gives you a sort of a sugar high and then you come back