'Fast Food America Essay\r'

' unwavering regimen has get a major phenomenon here in America. According to Eric Schlosser, he writes in the New York measure, on average $301,369,863 is played out a day on steady nutriment. As Schlosser line of battles, Ameri potbelly people are abusing fast aliment. In accordance with fast regimen binging, fleshiness has come a widespread epidemic. According to Joseph Mercola M. D. , on a personal website steats obesity is, â€Å"A chronic particularise that develops as a result of an interaction amongst a person’s genetic make-up and their environment. ” present Dr.\r\nMercola expresses how obesity is directly related to an unmarried’s environment. Today it is non uncommon to incur major fast diet chains with in a short distance from residential areas. With so many choices for fast solid nourishment, Ameri tooshies turn to the fast solid food as an alternative to the ample home cooked meal. The apprehension for so many Ameri potfuls feeding out is just now because they are in a hurry or uneffective to cook and just want mostthing fast and easy. A majority of these people get into the habilitate of constantly eating at these fast food chains.\r\nAccording to Morgan Spurlock, in his documentary Super sizing Me, he quotes Elliot Bloom, a young marketing adept for Taco Bell, â€Å"The fast food chains were uphold by a large group of diners who ate out more than twenty times a month. A big chunk of this group, about 30% of customers, were considered to be â€Å"heavy users” and accountable for bringing in a whopping 70% of total revenue. ” These numbers pool show how important fast food has become to Americans daily eating habits, and further demonstrates the connection amidst fast food eating and the increases in obesity.\r\nAccordingly, profuse amounts of fast food can be precise damaging to whizs automobile trunk, and thither is proof to back up this claim. Director Morgan Spurlock, se t out to document a strictly fast food diet, â€Å"I am trying to prove, fast food makes someone fat. ” Spurlock tight documented his thirty-day McDonalds binge, eating only foods and beverages served at the one of the many â€Å"Golden Arches. ” Over the thirty-days, he underwent some amazing conditions that even the doctors and health care professionals could not establish predicted.\r\nBesides the usual changes which included skyrocketing cholesterin and a major increase in body fat, his liver was showing signs similar to that of a smoker. though the symptoms that Spurlock experienced were on a very drastic scale, this is what is slowly damaging many Americans who are unable to control their fast food cravings. Research has shown the callousness of obesity since the late 1980’s, and the studies show the common health problems related with obesity are Type 2 Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, and Osteoarthritis.\r\nHowever, little is known publicly about the da ngers of obesity, and the future tense repercussions if obesity. According to Nanci Hellmich, writing in the the States Today, she states that, â€Å"Overall, employers and privately insured families spent virtually $36. 5 billion on obesity-linked illnesses in 2002, up from an inflation-adjusted $3. 6 billion in 1987. ” Hellmich’s statistics show a tenfold increase in obesity spending over a span of cardinal years. If obesity continues to increase at this rate, in the future obesity may become the deadliest disease in America.\r\nHellmich goes on to say, â€Å"On average, treating an obese person personify $1,244 more in 2002 than treating a healthy-weight person did. In 1987, the gap was $272. ” As Hellmich shows in her quote, there follow a connection between obesity and increase health care live. Since the majority of Americans pay for health care, the epidemic spreads beyond those affected directly, and raises prices for the healthy Americans too. Hel lmich shows there is a cause for engross, simply because obesity has predominately increase over the past two decades.\r\nThe problem starts with the media which influences Americans eating habits on a daily basis. Today Americans have numerous choices in fast food as compared to five to ten years ago. As easily as more commercials there exists the convenience of eating fast food. Within minutes, fast food is have to serve at most fast food restaurants, and for relatively cheap. Besides the fact food cookery is fast, every year thousands of commercials can be seen on TV. According to Spurlock, on average a whiz person watches about 10,000 different commercials per year, most of them being junk or fast food products.\r\nThese prestigious commercials broadcast smart slogans and expand cheap food to attract customers. In a new-fangled survey, at the Brea Mall Food Court, when asked if they ate on a daily basis, 28 % of males express yes, while 25% of women said they too ate o ut daily. A surprising portion of people, 30% said they enjoyed the thwack and quality, while majority about 46% said there was no time to cook at home because of work or hectic schedules. With so many great food specials and a embarrassment of commercials, its no wonder Americans turn to fast food for meals.\r\nFast food is practical, quick, and reasonably cheap, though chilblained many seem to no care. The first signs of concern came in 2003 when enactment was passed by Congress to booster to slow obesity among children. The sore law forbidden all junk foods from public instructs and enforced new cafeteria food requirements. Robert Colin Carter a medical researcher from the ass Hopkins trail of Medicine showed that the meals served prior to changes by school cafeteria’s exceeded the newly established limits for total and virgin fats, set by the National School dejeuner Program and National School Breakfast Program.\r\nHere Carter shows the importance for the leg islation, as well as exposing children to healthier foods. In a recent interview, with Sonya Dravenstatt, a School Nutrionist, she stated, â€Å"The new menu now consists of vegetables, low nutritionists calorie pizzas, and salads. The unhealthy items such as Tatter-tots and French heat up have been substituted with corn, green beans, and fruit cocktail. ” As Mrs. Dravenstatt mentioned, the meals are better for the students and follow the limits recently established by NSLP and NSBP.\r\nAs well as healthier foods in cafeterias, there has been a fairly recent inhibition of â€Å"unhealthy” foods and drinks in public school vendition machines. The soda selection has been exchanged with Dasani water, Minute maid Juices, and various PowerAde flavors. As for food, all candy and snacks high gear in fat and sugar have been replaced with healthy low fat alternatives. As well as the changes Spurlock noted in his documentary, there has also been recent public out cry for fast food restaurants to create healthier portions.\r\nâ€Å"In 2004 McDonald’s incessantly banished their Super Sized soft drinks and fries, and in 2005 Arby’s abolished their Giant Size offerings. While removing these bigger portions from the menu, food chains like McDonald’s now offer healthier portions and substitutions. For example french fries can be replaced with a side of apple slices or mini salad and instead of soda a form of juices are offered” (Spurlock). These healthier changes direct to be continue due to the fact fast food is a major contributor to obesity. However, the change must fetch with the consumers.\r\nThe numbers show that people are dine out too often and it is affecting their sensible health. Since a majority of Americans are either unaware or uninformed on how to prevent obesity, the antecedent should be enforced by the Government. By number a plan of action for fast food companies, a majority of unhealthy food can be ex changed with healthier portions. If the Government passed legislation subjecting fast food chains to restrictions on what consumers can purchase, maybe then fast food expending could help the obesity epidemic.\r\nFast food companies need to abide by nutrition laws, in the analogous way schools do, to protect naive consumers. The creation of a program could strictly regulate the unhealthy essence commonly found in fast food. A program with capabilities to regulate big corps such as McDonalds, Taco Bell, and Kentucky Fried Chicken would be a major success in legal injury of stopping the widespread disease. Americans need to wake up and face the facts. Consumers must take the initiative to see the facts on healthy dieting. The problem needs to be dealt with now, and not in the future.\r\nObesity is affecting millions of Americans all(prenominal) year and is a major threat to American children’s future health. If parents and children are not held accountable now, obesity wi ll continue to shorten lives and cost billions of dollars in health care.\r\nHellmich, Nanci. â€Å"Health Spending Soars for Obesity. ” USA Today on the Web 26 June. 2005. 18 Oct. 2005 < http://www. usatoday. com/news/health/2005-06-26-health-spending-obesity_x. htm> Mercola, Dr. Joseph. Home page. 2005. 18 Oct. 2005. Schlosser, Eric. â€Å"Fast Food Nation, The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. ” New York Times on the Web 2000. 18 Oct. 2005.\r\n'