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. He made a point to show health concerns with being obese and eating fast food regularly, such as type two diabetes which has risen about twenty-five percent since 1994. This raise in diabetes also requires much funding for the United States to spend to try to find a cure. David explains how there is very few alternatives for the youth of America because those health alternatives are more expensive and harder to find. False advertising is also another unpleasant practice that fast food companies use to lure in costumers.
Americans are becoming comfortable with fast food and unhealthy choices. They have become too lazy to work off their bad choices in food so the effects keep adding up inside their body causing obesity. Obesity is the condition of being very fat or overweight. This is caused by the over consumption of food by many people. Most of us don’t have what we call, portion control, so we eat until we feel full causing our stomach to expand.
Over the last couple of years, the United States has, not only, become the most obese country in the world, but also has a large increase in health problems such as heart attacks, diabetes, high blood pressure, and strokes. Business executives of fast food restaurants do not consider the well being of their consumers because that same greed they have, doesn’t allow them to worry about them. In chapter two of the book, “Welcome to Fatland,” there is a focus on how executives came up with different ways to earn more profits and entice customers to buy their products. The best marketing strategy they have developed is “bigness.” Basically, this strategy consists of offering larger quantities to consumers. The cost to the company to produce bigger goods is only slightly different than producing the regular sized, and they could charge consumers a higher amount.
In said chapter, the reader finds quotes such as two by Diane Martindale “Foods that are excessively high in fat and sugar, can cause changes to your brain and body that make it hard to say no.” and “Exposure to fatty foods may quickly reconfigure the body’s hormonal system to want yet more fat.” (Fast Food 12-13). A man took this statement so intensely that he took it to the levels of lawsuit. The fifty-two year old man blamed all the fast-food companies for his diabetes, overweightness, and his two heart-attacks. He claims that it is unfair to people, not telling them the harmful substances they eat, and making the substances quote addictive. He was soon backed by a few universities that didn’t really make a difference in the long
Obviously our kids are becoming overweight with all of the unhealthy choices they have to choose from. Childhood obesity in the United States has grown at a phenomenal rate in the last few years. You would think this is an easy condition to treat but unfortunately it’s not, it is actually quite difficult. Kids are becoming less active and their eating habits are virtually non-existent. The annual cost to treat obesity is nearly two billion dollars.
"Hundreds of millions of people buy fast food every day without giving it much thought, unaware of the subtle and not so subtle ramifications of their purchase" (Pg. 10). The widespread phenomenon of fast food consumption has transformed even the simplest aspects of everyday life. An era when eating out was rare and saved for special occasions is coming to an end, and is quickly being replaced with a sky-rocketing demand for fast food. Over time, the fast food industry has increasingly manipulated consumers and corrupted the stability of the nation, and although the convenience and affordability of fast food has made it widely popular, the disadvantages noticeably exceed the benefits.
Eating carbohydrate rich foods or drinks such as alcohol that are quickly processed into blood sugar causes the pancreas to go into overtime to produce the insulin necessary for all this blood sugar to be used for energy. This insulin surge tells our body that plenty of energy is readily available and that it should stop burning fat and start storing it. But fat deposit is not the biggest problem here. The greater concern is that the insulin surge causes too much blood sugar to be transported out of our blood, which results in our blood sugar and insulin levels dropping below normal. This leaves us feeling tired and hungry and wanting to eat more.
Should Fast Foods Be Allowed in Schools? “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 percent of children (over 9 million) 6-19 years old are overweight or obese – a number that has tripled since 1980” (What Are Children Munching On?). Though many reasons contribute to this overwhelming fact, one is the overeating of fast food. Because of its supposed “ease” and convenience, fast food has swept the world in a sort of epidemic. The easy way out to being healthy and eating right for ones body, fast food has plagued the nation especially with diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and even strokes or heart attacks.
It is more expensive for men and women who are obese to take care of themselves health wise and financially because Americans are now consuming fifty pounds more meat and fast food than in years before (“Obesity in America, By the Numbers: NPR”). Americans now spend sixty dollars more on fast foods because they are always on the go and spend little time worried about in healthier in order to quickly get back to other activities. They are more likely to spend money that can be used on more important things on food from the vending machine at work and to upgrade to the large meal. Being healthy doesn’t have to be expensive if a person allows time to research where to get the best products for a reasonable price and does not just settle at one store on things they know they do not want in the first place as a substitute. The local farmers market always has the great fruit and vegetable options that can fit everyone’s budget and still make a delicious meal (“Obesity in America, By the Numbers: NPR”).
There is no way to escape the never ending advertisements from fast food restaurants. This is where obesity begins; consuming more food portions than your body needs. Americans are also overweight due to the lack of exercise; there is more time spent on the couch sitting in front of the television, than there is in the gym. Just an hour each day could better your health. Obesity ranks itself as second leading cause of preventable deaths in America, following smoking by only one percent.