Why Fast Food is Our Largest Problem.

Fast Food is Our Largest Problem

Driving through any town, all drivers see on every corner is a fast food restaurant. Corner after corner is a McDonalds, Wendy’s, Arby's, Burger King and so on. It is impossible to hide from all the temptations of fast food. With the numbers of obese Americans, one can tell that we love our fast food.  Some believe that it is one’s personal responsibly to keep themselves healthy, while others believe that fast food chains and the way Americans eat needs to be regulated by the government. Many people believe that society has made them obese and how much more expensive eating organic and healthy is especially with all of the temptations of fast food. Although many people feel that fast food is ingrained into our culture and lifestyles; Americans obesity, trying to eat healthy, government involvement, personal responsibility, and the reasons people eat fast food are the points being discussed with this growing problem. 

America’s problem with obesity is growing rapidly; more and more children and adults are having issues with obesity. Some cities are having more of a problem than others depending on the amount of fast food in the community. Wil Haygood wrote “Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis” depicting the obesity crisis going on. In fact, he points out that an estimated 52% of the 2,100 residents are considered obese, and that a majority of those are young children (407).  Haygood is showing our nation has a serious health problem going on, with 52% of the residents in this small community obese. It is not just small towns Michelle Obama touched on in her article, “Remarks to the NAACP.” She stated that, “Now, right now in America, one in three children is overweight, putting them at greater risk of obesity related conditions” (Obama 420). With one in three children being obese, they most likely will not change their lifestyle being obese. This is a problem that is just growing larger, and is putting more Americans at risk for dangerous health conditions. Judith Warner also showed that America indeed does have a problem in “Junking Junk Food.” Warner said, “At a time when more than two-thirds of American Adults are indeed fat (overweight or obese) and 17 percent of children [...] are obese” (Warner 401). Over half of our country is considered overweight, what Warner is showing is that America does have a problem and something needs to be done about it. What these sources are saying is that a large portion of America is obese. America, as a whole, has a problem with obesity, adults and kids together. 

On every intersection driving through town, one sees fast food chains on almost every corner. The reasons people eat fast food is because it’s easy, cheap and quick to get and we see fast food everywhere. Trying to refuse the temptations and disregard the advertisements is not easy to do. Haygood explains in his article, “The intersection leading into town features McDonald’s, a Wendy’s, an Arby’s and a Subway. And just beyond that, there’s a Burger King, a Long John Silver’s, a Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken and a Pizza Hut” (409). Haygood is showing that there are temptations on every corner to eat fast food because it is so quick and easy. Americans choose to quickly grab an unhealthy meal, leading down a path to an obesity problem. Then, when not out on the town, Americans are bombarded with advertisements to eat fast food. Freeman explains, “Burger King’s mandate to “Have It Your Way,” fast-food ads promote [...] fulfilling individuals short-term desires free from concerns over the consequences to oneself or society” (Freeman 467). Americans see these advertisements all the time and usually eat the fast food, not worrying about the health risks or obesity. In his article, “Escape from the western Diet,” Michael Pollan says “A hallmark of the Western diet is food that is fast, cheap, and easy” (440). Pollan explains what the rationale behind the Western diet is and that we choose fast foods because they are convenient for us. However, he thinks that we need to return to “a time and place where the gathering and preparing and enjoying of food were closer to the center of a well-lived life” (440). Pollan explains, what the theory of the Western diet is and that we choose fast foods because they are convenient for us and we need to go back to when people gathered and prepared their food and preparing it themselves. With fast food restaurants on every corner and advertisements everywhere people look, people have a hard time resisting the temptations of fast food and this is why people eat fast food. 

Being healthy and fit is a choice that everyone has to make. Many people believe that choosing to eat and live a healthy lifestyle is one’s personal responsibility. Learning how to diet, eat smaller portions, eat healthy foods, and exercise is for each person to learn how to do. Exercising daily and being physically active comes along with the responsibility to be healthy. Radley Balko believes that Americans need to take ownership for their own healthy lifestyle, in his article, “What You Eat Is Your Business”. Balko says, “Our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership for our own health and well-being” (396). What Balko is saying is that, instead of the government trying to fight obesity, they need to be teaching Americans how to take responsibility for themselves and make themselves healthy. Michelle Obama remarks on children not exercising these days, “Our parents made us get up and go play outside-just couldn’t be inside [...] Kids nowadays don’t even know how to jump double-dutch” (Obama 421). Obama is saying that kids nowadays don’t know how to keep themselves physically active, there are too many distractions and reasons to stay inside. Mary Maxfield also states that dieting, health, and how much food you consume are directly related. Maxfield said, “Overeating constitutes ‘the greatest threat’ [...] and connections between diet, health, and weight, are all directly connected” (444). Maxfield is saying that we personally need to learn how to control the main factors that make Americans obese. All three of these sources all agree that it is our personal responsibility to be healthy and fit. Choosing to live a healthy lifestyle and stay physically in shape is a personal responsibility that each American needs to do themselves. 

Many people think that men eat meat and unhealthy foods to show masculinity, and woman have to look a certain way to look be acceptable for our American society. Many people believe that the way our society views males and females is a reason for obesity. Most of America views women in our society to look a certain way, and some believe that when a woman is obese that she is rebelling against our society today and compulsively eat feeling out of step with society. Susie Orbach wrote in her article “Fat is a Feminist Issue”, being fat for woman is because of how our society is today. Orbach said, “Fat is a social disease, and fat is a feminist issue” (449). Orbach is saying that compulsive eating and being overweight, particularly for woman, can be forms of rebellion against expectations of society. Many of these thoughts are the same for men too; society sees men eating much meat, like burgers and subs. These habits are unhealthy and lead obesity, but most men don’t want to be viewed as “wimpy” or “unmanly” by not eating the food men are supposed to eat. Carrie Packwood Freeman and Debra Merskin explain in “Having it His Way: The Construction of Masculinity in Fast Food TV Advertising” that we believe that a traditional American male does not eat organic, plant based proteins-he primarily eats meat, which would also explain the prominence of masculine themes in advertisements for meat products (455). Freeman shows that men in our society are supposed to eat meat, which most of the time we find fast food advertisements showing men eating burgers and ribs and other unhealthy fast foods. Orbach and Maxfield both believe the obesity in America is based on the way society views men and woman. Thus showing that our society has a drastic impact on the obesity problem in America. 

There is much controversy on whether the government should be involved in the issue of obesity or not. As of now, the government is starting anti-obesity programs into effect and different regulations and campaigns to try to stop our nation’s problem with obesity. Many believe the government needs to do more regulating these fast food companies. David Zinczenko says, “Fast-food companies are marketing to children a product with proven health hazards and no warning labels. They would do themselves well [...] by providing nutrition information” (393). Zinczenko is saying that the government needs to step in more than it is and show people that what they are eating is hazards towards their health and is a main cause of obesity. The government has made anti-obesity programs and other campaigns to try to cut down on the obesity in America. Michelle Obama explains the “Let’s Move” campaign, “It’s a nationwide campaign to rally this country around a single goal, and that is to solve  childhood obesity in a generation so that children born today reach adulthood at a healthy weight” (425). This quote shows that the government has already has some campaigns in effect to try to stop our nationwide problem of obesity. Others believe government programs and campaigns are the wrong way to fight obesity. Radley Balko states, “President Bush earmarked 200 million in his budget for anti-obesity measures.[...] banning snacks and soda from school campuses and vending machines [...] This is the wrong way to fight obesity” (396). Balko believes that the government should not be taking away our right to choose what we eat, but spending money to inform citizens how to live and eat healthy. These authors all agree that the government should be involved with this issue. Whether the government is handling the issue the right way or not, they are trying to stop this growing problem. 

Many people feel that fast food is a part of our culture and lifestyles; American’s obesity crisis, trying to eat healthy, government involvement on the issue, personal responsibility for staying healthy, and the main reasons people eat fast food are the points are the points that were discussed. These points were main points the experts on this subject stated; these points show that there is a problem in America when it comes to obesity. How we deal with this large issue is the another problem. Whether it be having our government regulate what we eat and how we eat, regulate fast food companies and distributers, or everyone realize that this is their responsibility to be healthy and fit. America is an obese country and it needs to be fixed before it leads to greater problems with health and wellness of our citizens. 

Balko, Radley. "What You Eat Is Your Business." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Freeman, Carrie and Merskin, Debra. "Having It His Way: The Construction of Masculinity in Fast-Food TV Advertising." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Haygood, Wil. "Kentucky Town of Manchester Illustrates National Obesity Crisis." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Maxfield, Mary. "Resisting the Moralization of Eating.” They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Obama, Michelle. "Remarks to the NAACP." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Graff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Orbach, Susie. "Fat is a Feminist Issue." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Greaff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Pollan, Michael. "Escape From the Western Diet." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Greaff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Warner, Judith. "Junking Junk Food." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Greaff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Zinczenko, David. "Don’t Blame the Eater." They Say I Say The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. Second Ed. Gerald Greaff, Cathy Berkenstein, Russel Durst. New 8York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2009. Print.

Written by: Cam LaCourt