Rhetorical Analysis of Super Size Me Fast foods are one of the leading causes of major problems like obesity for many Americans today. An average man, Morgan Spurlock, decides to conduct an experiment dealing with the effects of consuming too much fast food. The film Super Size Me, a persuasive documentary following Spurlock’s experiments, aims to show the danger of fast food, particularly focusing on McDonald’s food, on consumers’ health. Its purpose is to bring awareness to the public about corporate responsibility concerning the food consumers eat, such as McDonald’s, which makes them overweight. In his documentary, Spurlock eats only food from McDonald’s for a month (thirty days) to see how his health can be affected and he is examined by three doctors before, during, after the experiment.
He recommends that in search of a better way to serve customers, the fast food industry has negatively infused its way into the American culture. Schlosser brings to light plenty of shocking facts like how the actual cost of a Happy Meal is determined and how it manipulates the children to persuade their parents to treat them out to McDonalds. A growing awareness of the connection between diets and disease is slowly but surely taking hold in the minds of consumers. Natural and organic foods are becoming more popular across the country. However, our government hasn’t taken the steps that most
In his essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater” (They Say / I Say, Third Edition, 2014), David Zinczenko claims that the lack of information and healthier food options in the fast food industry are causing an outbreak in childhood obesity in todays society. He uses his own personal experiences with fast food and he lays out certain statistics to cater his thesis. David grabs the audience right away within his first paragraph by using a counter argument and then begins to describe his personal experience with fast food as a child. He shares his childhood experience by saying that living in a single parent household steered him in the direction of fast food like McDonalds and Taco Bell because there was no healthier alternatives (241). David continues on by giving some statistical evidence that the incidents of childhood diabetes is quickly escalating as well as the cost of related health care in America.
Obesity: Society’s epidemic Since the introduction of fast food in the 1980’s, obesity rates have risen due to a variety of factors. Physical activity has decreased among schools while more fast food restaurants are created in the US. Furthermore, the convenience of a meal makes people come back for more, with catchy commercials luring both children and adults in. Moreover, the food is convenient, cheap, and advertised well, and our nation pays for the cost of obesity. Fast food has become part of our culture, forming our adults and children into becoming overweight.
Ludwig and Nestle states in article Can the Food Industry Play a Constructive Role in the Obesity Epidemic?, “Far greater profits come from highly processed, commodity-derived products-fast food, snack foods, and beverages-primarily composed of refined starch, concentrated sugars, and low quality fats” (1809). I believe that the corporations can if they really want to send the right message to their consumers. Some corporations actually do promote healthy eating habits to their consumers when they come to the fast food corporations. The corporations started to promote healthy eating more after many research have been done to prove how bad fast food has been towards its consumers. Ludwig and Nestle expresses, “Research links frequent consumption of highly processed foods to weight gain and increased risk for diet-related diseases” (1809).
Many Americans cannot afford to purchase such material, so they have to rely on the abundant diversity of fast food and microwaveable dinners. As seen in Figure 1 the percent of obese people has increased since 1988. So has the production and consumption of unhealthy foods such as fast food restaurants. These unhealthy ways of eating are not helping the obesity rates to decrease, but rather causing more damage to more citizens across the nation. There have been several studies done in order to interpret the correlation between obesity and its alarming increasing rate.
As far as healthier affordable alternatives, you pass just as many Subways, Jimmy Johns or Panera’s as you would a McDonalds. In this essay I will attempt to counter Zinczenko’s arguments by providing other alternatives for individuals who desire to eat healthier, explain why I feel filing a lawsuit against the vendors is really a way to place blame where it isn’t due. I will explain that Zinczenko bases his arguments based on his own personal situation and not sources such as surveys or polls. In conclusion I hope to explain how people themselves are to blame for their obesity. I will show how you do blame the Eater!!
Hate it hard. But don't blame McDonalds because you can't control your own life"(Klosterman). Klosterman nailed it with this point because people in the end make the choice to eat the food, or to not eat the food, simply put. Corporation and higher ranking business men could care less about the customers that enter and eat the food, only the money exiting their pocket and entering the McDonalds cash register. Yes, eating a whole new diet and getting away from fast food can be difficult, but Klosterman sums life up by saying "staying alive is hard", and it truly is with all the disease in the
After seeing, “Super Size Me,” it has shown me the devastating effects of excessively eating fast food. The documentary shows Morgan Spurlock was made to show the increasing spread of obesity throughout the United States society. Many lawsuits were brought against McDonald’s for increase in obesity. In “Super Size Me”, Places like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s also advertise toys that are included in kid’s meals to cause children to want to get those meals rather than something healthier. The increasing spread of obesity has become an epidemic and if Americans do not change their eating habits it will greatly effect the world to come.
A person is considered obese when his or her weight is 20% or more above normal weight and as fast food companies grow, so does America's rise in obesity. Fast food restaurants have more than doubled from 1972-1995. Popularity contributes to a company’s growth which shows that more and more people are eating unhealthy foods more often. An estimated 10% of America's energy intake is from fast foods in 2004, opposed to 2% in the 1970's. The calorie intake is one tenth of the daily food intake for the average American showing that unhealthy food is becoming a trend.