As many people would recognize, there is a rising obesity problem in America and there are many influences that could contribute to this. Fast food is not the healthiest choice but, they should not be to blame for making children obese. In David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” he talks about how the obese population is blaming fast food companies for their health situations. He begins his argument with what he observes as a ridiculous headline, which is that kids are suing McDonalds for being fat. David starts by teasing these overweight individuals that are bring a lawsuit against McDonalds, but then later admits that he used to be overweight as a child and was able to change his life around.
The article “Junking Junk Food”, by Judith Warner, is one that explains two sides to the national obesity problem in the United States. She starts her article by talking about Sarah Palin's objections to the “Obama nanny state” which she believes is out to infringe upon the peoples right to eat whatever they please (401). Glenn Beck is also cited in her paper as objecting to the idea of government regulation. His anger over the issue includes reports of government health inspectors shutting down a 7 year old's lemonade stand (401). With about two-thirds of Americans being obese, the Obama administration has been fighting hard to help Americans with the issue of obesity.
Killer Void: The Food Disconnection Joshua C. Rodrigue DeVry University Killer Void: The Food Disconnection Over the last century there has been a transformation in the American food industry towards a more modern food industry and this turn has disconnected a large portion of the American population from their food source and the process that brings it to the table. This portion of America’s populace is starving their bodies of valuable nutrition and ignorantly pumping themselves full of toxins, to the point that they are paying for this ignorance with their lives. This illusion is being done by design, from the engineering of fads and the fabrication of false information, to the implementation of government subsidies and the industries
He informs the audience about obesity to emphasize how worse Americans’ health has become. Statistics are used frequently. For example, when experts (health professionals) are interviewed, Spurlock occasionally stops the interview and then uses statistics to prove or disprove what the expert has to say. He asks 100 nutritionists if people should eat fast food: only two out of 100 say consumers can eat fast food two times a week or more, 28 say consumers should eat
The Fast Food Industry is responsible for obesity in America as they have many fast food restaurants typically many within a small radius providing cheap easy solutions to societies hunger. David Zinczenko, a writer for The New York Times, describes marketing powers in his assessment "Don't Blame the Eater" he states that just about all fast food restaurants falsely advertise their foods and pass to many as a "healthy" meal choice but little do people know is that they are still extremely unhealthy foods that should not be included in anybody's diet what so ever. There has been many varieties of marketing techniques developed over the years of the fast food industry's attempts to persuade others to eat at their establishments. The fact that the foods they are extremely unhealthy for people of all ages from kids to adults is helping to cause obesity throughout America although some may be aware of the risks the average American still continues to eat out at fast food establishments along with the family giving the fast food industry a chance to get the entire family hooked for life. Going to fast food restaurants to prove his theory about how horrible fast food restaurants are for the human body.
Gluttony was one of the seven deadly sins (along with pride, greed, envy, anger, lust, and sloth), which Christian theologians have been denouncing for nearly 1500 years (University) to little effect. While Critser insists that “no one should be stigmatized for being overweight,” he advocates “stigmatizing the unhealthful behaviors that cause obesity” (66), assuming that people distinguish between the sin and the sinner. In practice, people rarely do. Critser does little to distance himself from anti-fat bias after introducing the bias-heavy term “gluttony” into the essay--which is a mistake: the overweight and obese have a hard enough time losing weight. They should not have to suffer the judgments of those who suggest “that thinness signals self-discipline and self-respect, whereas fatness signals self-contempt and lack of resolve” (Worley).
Instead most people blame the fast food companies. In the article “Its Portion Distortion” by Shannon Brownlee it is portion sizes and the lack of nutritional guides that are the cause of obesity. While some people may believe that is true I have no idea how to read a nutritional guide and I was taught as I was growing up that fast food is bad for your health. For example the movie “Super Size me” was made to warn people about the dangers of eating nothing but fast food. My family eats out only once or twice a week and the other days we eat home cooked meals.
While some argued that it is the fault of food industries, and for some, fault of consumers, it can easily be resolved with two words: self-responsibility. Therefore, consumers are definitely the ones responsible for the current epidemic in this country. The first reason why consumers are responsible for America’s obesity epidemic is because consumers are the ones that choose what to eat and feed their children. There are many alternatives to fast food but most people rather not take their time to prepare for a healthier meal. In “The Battle against Fast Food Begins in Home”, author Daniel Weibtraub tries to convince parents to take a stand and fend off obesity in their homes.
In the article, “Don’t the Blame Eater”, David Zinczenko believes that the fast food industry is the main cause of obesity. Some years before 1994, children with diabetes were most commonly associated with genetic disorders. Since then, the cost of healthcare has peeked. Fast food may be the only option for children to get an affordable meal. Fast food restaurants often give false perceptions of their foods.
President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “The lessons of history … show conclusively that continued dependence upon relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.” FDR is comparing food stamps to drugs, saying food stamps create dependencies, and are bad for Americans and the spirit of the nation. However, Larkin Warren, a mother that was once on welfare, responds by saying that applying for government benefits was her taking responsibility for her family, not taking handouts so she can depend on the government. She used the benefits she received to get her life back on track. Those benefits essentially saved her life during a difficult time.