Are Americans responsible for what they eat today? According to David Zinczenko, obesity is caused by the fast-food industry, and their primary concern is to make profit. Of course, many will probably disagree with this assertion that fast-food companies are to blame. I agree with Zinczenko, that the eater should not be the one to blame because they can not help that they might not have enough money to support the family.
Fast-food industries want to make profits by targeting younger people because it is inexpensive and easy way for them to find food. Overall, this is causing major health issues, Zinczenko argues, because the increase of many young people eating fast-food increases the rates of Type 2 diabetes, a disease closely associated with obesity. In the article Don’t Blame the Eater, Zinczenko argues that fast-food is unhealthy for kids, and causing them to become obese. In Zinczenko’s view “I tend to sympathize with these portly fast-food patrons, though.” (Zinczenko). In making this comment, Zinczenko urges us to make healthier decisions because when he went off to college he was able to read about the health problems and changed his life around for the better. I agree with Zinczenko, everyone should be informed about fast-food and how harmfully it really is to our body.
It is hard for kids when they are younger because they do not know what is healthy and what is not healthy. I feel like society itself needs to do a better job of teaching kids about the harmful effects fast-food can do to a person’s body. Getting informed about the American diet is the key to a healthy future. Many Americans today are suffering from obesity and this is causing health issues, such as type II diabetes. Studies were shown that many Americans have gotten type II diabetes from obesity when in the past it was from genetic disorder. One explanation for Zinczenko’s finding of type II diabetes is that the national institutes of health says, ” Type II diabetes accounts for at least thirty percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes” (Zinczenko). With many more Americans being diagnosed with type II diabetes, the cost of treating it has raised drastically. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Estimate that diabetes accounted for $2.
6 billion in health care cost in 1969. Today’s number is and unbelievable $100 billion a year” (Zinczenko). I believe that the society altogether needs to try and eat a healthier diet, even the parents, they should not let their kids get obese.
Sometimes that’s all they have to eat to fill them up, with as many calories as possible and for cheap. Families have limited money to spend on food, there two options are get fast-food or go to the grocery store and get something healthy. Most people decide to get the fast-food because one cheeseburger from McDonalds will fill you up more than fruit will. Many divorced families struggle to provide food for their family. Fast-food companies target teenagers because they are the ones that would rather have something quick over going in a grocery store. Zinczenko said “Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit.
” (Zinczenko). I agree that you will find fast-food restaurants anywhere you go because my experience is when I am I go out for lunch during school I pass so many fast-food restaurants and they always catch my eye. When I walk into a fast food restaurant I never see the nutrition and calories on the menu, which can be a bad thing because you do not know is actually in the food. Getting information about food ingredients and calories can be hard to find. Zinczenko states “one company’s Web site lists its chicken as containing 150 calories; the almonds that come with it (an additional 190 calories) are listed separately” (Zinczenko). Fast-food companies should do a better job of displaying this information to customers.
I feel like grocery stores are more strict when it comes to displaying ingredientes and expiration dates. The average amount of calories per day is about 2,000, which Zinczenko can agree on. Zinczenko states “Shouldn’t we know better than to eat two meals a say in fast-food restaurants?” (Zinczenko). Zinczenko’s point is that the time spent in a fast-food restaurant is the cause of the obesity. When a person eats a normal meal from Mcdonalds or bojangles they are consuming approximately more than half of the recommended daily calorie intake per day. Since obesity is a concern there must be something to help prevent it from happening.
There are many ways to prevent obesity from fast-food restaurants. Prepare as many home cooked meals as possible so you can have them throughout the week if your time is limited. This is time consuming compared to going out for fast-food, but it will benefit you in the long run. Also instead of searching to the first thing you come to maybe you can search for something healthier, like a sandwich place. You can go to farmers markets or even a grocery store.
The cost might be an issue for most people but there are always ways to help with that through something called food stamps.The population as a whole is suffering from obesity. Zinczenko is arguing why fast-food is unhealthy for people to eat and what health issues it can lead to into the future. I believe that fast-food companies should be blamed because they are the ones advertising.
They do not care about anyone but themselves and they are just looking for ways to make a profit. This article really expressed my ideas about how i felt about the situation, and the eater should not be the one to be blamed.
