Fast Food Eaters Of The Many Calories example essay topic

# ## ## Tricia Cottrell Mrs. Mahony Comp II September 23, 2003 Obesity and Fast Food Many of Americans are oblivious to their addiction to fast food and the health risks that are involved. Fast food companies make it easy for the general public to skip the old fashioned home cooked meal and go out for an inexpensive, fast, and (for the kids) fun meal. Fast food companies are being blamed for their role in contributing to the growing epidemic of obesity in Americans because of high calorie foods, high fat beverages, and super-sized servings. The fast food community does not realize what they are eating and what health problems can arise from eating fast food. According to Andrew Martin of the Washington Bureau, "Hardee's restaurants recently scrapped almost its entire menu to focus on hefty sandwiches called Thickburgers -- including the Double Bacon Cheese Thickburgers, weighing in at two-thirds of a pound and 1,148 calories".

("Obesity" 1) Fast food companies do not warn fast food eaters of the many calories that are in just one hamburger. In a recent lawsuit against Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's, and KFC, a 56-year-old New York maintenance worker named Caesar Barber argued that "because of eating fast food five times a week the high fat, grease, and salt he became sick with obesity, high-blood pressure, two heart attacks, and diabetes" ("Food" 1). Kelly Brownell, director of Yale University's Center for Eating and Weight Disorders, says "fast food is in the same league with cigarettes" ("Food" 2). Meaning that once people start eating fast food, it is hard to stop. On the other hand, Walter Olsen, a legal advisor for the fast food company executives, says "Most people are aware that eating double cheeseburgers is not the same as celery" ("Food" 2). Fast food companies blame the eater for not having boundaries when eating their food ("Food" 2).

High fats in fast food causes problems for obesity in Americans also. Sodas at a fast food restaurant are easy to pick up on the go because have lids, they are inexpensive, and they taste good. According to Sally Fallon, "each can of [regular] soda contains the equivalent of ten teaspoons of sugar... ". and shocking enough "diet sodas are sweetened with aspartame, a substance that causes blindness and obesity in laboratory rats" ("We Are" 5). Water sounds like a better option between these two choices. When a restaurant advertises that a product is made from natural ingredients, this does not make it a healthier item on the menu ("We Are" 6). Fallon suggests just because a fast food item has the words "natural" or "artificial" on it does not mean that it is healthy or not.

Fallon added that "these flavors contain compounds, such as MSG, that can be toxic, especially in a body that is poorly nourished" ("We Are" 7). People everywhere have heard this question after every order at the drive though window at you local fast food restaurant: " would you like to super-size that order?" or "go large for only $0.39 more?" . Obviously, super-sizing an order will have that much more calories and high fat, which will help in the growing epidemic of obesity even more. "In a recent survey by Sand elman & Associates, nearly two-thirds of respondents believed the quantity and nutritional value of fast food contributed in some way to the nation's obesity problems" (Martin, Chicago Tribune 2). The founder of the super-size idea is David Wallenstein, a theater executive, who wanted his costumers to but more popcorn in his theater realized that most people did not want to seem greedy and buy two bags at once so making it bigger would make them buy more popcorn ("Obesity" 3). Fast food companies caught on quick and decided that serving larger amounts would be more profitable because savings on packaging materials would help to profit them (3).

Food is cheap compared to the cost of the packaging materials (3).