A very controversial aspect in today’s society includes the fast food argument. Ever since the fast food epidemic started, obesity rates in America have been on the rise. Are people really to blame for the consistently raising obesity rates in America? Fast food chains are marketed very highly, the most advertised items in the nation. Maybe people aren’t to blame for this. Many of these fast food chains target children as their main purpose. Happy Meals, play places, and other advertisements are all marked towards children who don’t really know better.
On one hand, I agree that the final choice of what to eat is the choice of the eater. No one is shoving this food down their throats other than themselves. But on the other hand, I believe food advertisements really influence them to make this decision. With how easy and cheap all this food is, why not eat here as often as you can? This is the reason the nation’s obesity rate has risen so much in the past decade. According to the CDC, 60.5% of all American adults are overweight (BMI greater than 25). The CDC also states how 24% of all American adults are obese (BMI greater than 30). In 1995, no one single state had an obesity rate of over 20%. In 2011, every single state had an obesity rate over 20% and twelve states had obesity rates of over 30%. If food advertisers were to put health labels on advertisements, on the drive through menu, and on the food itself, this may significantly lower these obesity rates in America.
If food advertisers were to put their health factors on many of the things used to entice the customer, I believe more people would choose to not eat at these fast food places. I think food advertisements should even go as far as putting warnings on their food such as “This food has been found to cause diabetes,” or “This food can cause heart disease.” These are two true facts that haven been proven by many health institutions. This food should be marketed like tobacco and alcohol products are marketed. According to the Food and Drug Administration, who did a nineteen country study, showed that large, comprehensive warnings reduced smoking consumption, increased motivation to quit smoking, and increased the likelihood that consumers will remain away from tobacco when trying to quit. The FDA also showed that pictures associated with these warnings were the most prominent labels, and overall, picture warnings were more effective than text only warnings. Every wrapper or advertisement needs to come with a warning label to tell people to stay away from it or many health risks could occur from long time use. This would by no means stop the consumer from using fast food, but it would make the eater think about what they are eating before they eat it. I believe this would substantially lower the buying of fast food, and in turn, it would lower bad health ratings in America.
Portion distortion is a large factor in why health risks keep increasing. This is another thing fast food menus and packaging need to advertise. People need to know how much they are eating and the actual amount of calories and fats that are in what they eat. For example, you go to order a large fry from a fast food restaurant and the calories per serving size is 230 and the fat content is 11 grams. This doesn’t sound healthy, but it doesn’t seem too terribly bad. Here is the problem. There are 2 and ½ servings of french fries in a large order of fries. This means you are eating nearly 600 calories and 30 grams of fat in one sitting. This doesn’t even include the other items you would probably eat in the meal. If people were to eat smaller amounts of fast food, it wouldn’t be as harmful to their body. I believe that if food was given in smaller portions, people wouldn’t feel the need to eat as much.
Naysayers would argue that people have their own choice of what they eat and how much they eat. They may also say that people know how unhealthy this food is. I believe not all the blame needs to be put towards consumers, but on the fast food places themselves. If warnings and health labels were put on advertisements and food packaging, people would be less likely to eat at these places and think more about their health when buying these fast food items. When thinking about whose fault it is for the raising health risks in America, don’t be so quick to point your finger at the consumer, put more blame on the fast food restaurants and the advertisements they put on.
On one hand, I agree that the final choice of what to eat is the choice of the eater. No one is shoving this food down their throats other than themselves. But on the other hand, I believe food advertisements really influence them to make this decision. With how easy and cheap all this food is, why not eat here as often as you can? This is the reason the nation’s obesity rate has risen so much in the past decade. According to the CDC, 60.5% of all American adults are overweight (BMI greater than 25). The CDC also states how 24% of all American adults are obese (BMI greater than 30). In 1995, no one single state had an obesity rate of over 20%. In 2011, every single state had an obesity rate over 20% and twelve states had obesity rates of over 30%. If food advertisers were to put health labels on advertisements, on the drive through menu, and on the food itself, this may significantly lower these obesity rates in America.
If food advertisers were to put their health factors on many of the things used to entice the customer, I believe more people would choose to not eat at these fast food places. I think food advertisements should even go as far as putting warnings on their food such as “This food has been found to cause diabetes,” or “This food can cause heart disease.” These are two true facts that haven been proven by many health institutions. This food should be marketed like tobacco and alcohol products are marketed. According to the Food and Drug Administration, who did a nineteen country study, showed that large, comprehensive warnings reduced smoking consumption, increased motivation to quit smoking, and increased the likelihood that consumers will remain away from tobacco when trying to quit. The FDA also showed that pictures associated with these warnings were the most prominent labels, and overall, picture warnings were more effective than text only warnings. Every wrapper or advertisement needs to come with a warning label to tell people to stay away from it or many health risks could occur from long time use. This would by no means stop the consumer from using fast food, but it would make the eater think about what they are eating before they eat it. I believe this would substantially lower the buying of fast food, and in turn, it would lower bad health ratings in America.
Portion distortion is a large factor in why health risks keep increasing. This is another thing fast food menus and packaging need to advertise. People need to know how much they are eating and the actual amount of calories and fats that are in what they eat. For example, you go to order a large fry from a fast food restaurant and the calories per serving size is 230 and the fat content is 11 grams. This doesn’t sound healthy, but it doesn’t seem too terribly bad. Here is the problem. There are 2 and ½ servings of french fries in a large order of fries. This means you are eating nearly 600 calories and 30 grams of fat in one sitting. This doesn’t even include the other items you would probably eat in the meal. If people were to eat smaller amounts of fast food, it wouldn’t be as harmful to their body. I believe that if food was given in smaller portions, people wouldn’t feel the need to eat as much.
Naysayers would argue that people have their own choice of what they eat and how much they eat. They may also say that people know how unhealthy this food is. I believe not all the blame needs to be put towards consumers, but on the fast food places themselves. If warnings and health labels were put on advertisements and food packaging, people would be less likely to eat at these places and think more about their health when buying these fast food items. When thinking about whose fault it is for the raising health risks in America, don’t be so quick to point your finger at the consumer, put more blame on the fast food restaurants and the advertisements they put on.