ENC 1101 09/23/11 Negative aspects of McDonald’s on Teenagers Fast foods have become increasingly popular among Americans, including teenagers. Due to increased advertising and the Americans' fast-paced lifestyle, fast food restaurants have raised exponentially, becoming multi-millionaire industries and harming the health of their consumers. A regular meal at McDonald's consists of a Big Mac, large fries, and a large Coca-Cola drink, all this combined goes up to 1,430 calories. A diet of approximately 2,000 calories is considered a healthy amount of calories for an entire day. This may vary depending on several factors such as age, weight, height, physical activity and gender.
How Poverty Affects Obesity English 135 How Poverty Affects Obesity How fast would you die if you didn’t have food? A better question might be how fast could you die if you did have food? Americans are slowly eating themselves to death; getting larger and larger and the more financially disadvantaged you are the quicker the food you are eating will kill you. Obesity also has a stronghold on the weakest of society, the children. Although obesity in adults continues to rise, the citizens of this nation are accustomed and less attuned to this issue.
In addition, overweight and obese people are portrayed in a negative way in the media, including television and movies. Sociocultural influences on body image can lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia and even obesity if an overweight viewer does not feel that she or he are living up to the culturally desirable image. The end result is a serious psychological as well as health issue. While obesity among adults has doubled since 1980, overweight among adolescents has tripled. The United States Office of the Surgeon General (2001)
Busy and cash-stapped families increasingly rely on take-out food for family dinners, and regular consumption of over-sized portions of fatty foods can lead to widespread obesity” (Murphy 1). When people buy fast food, it is usually because they are in a hurry and need a quick meal. With advertisements of fast food chains
The Modern Plague: Obesity With one of the highest obesity rates in the world, many Americans are affected by this disease, however, they continue to make poor choices in regards to their health. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that over 65% of U.S. adults were overweight, 32% were obese, and about 5% were extremely obese (Marchiondo). Considering that more than half of our population is at risk for obesity, Americans do not seem very distraught. Even with all the dieting techniques, negative depictions in the media towards heavier individuals, advanced technology to help combat obesity, and being one of the world’s most developed nations in terms of resources
Does obesity and poverty go hand in hand? Are the poor getting fatter, while the rich get skinnier? The correlation between obesity and poverty is quite simple, healthier foods are more expensive, and most people who don’t have money don’t have gym memberships and have more of a sedentary lifestyle. When going into any “health food store”, you will notice immediately the price difference between healthy foods and junk foods. Fruits, vegetables, unprocessed foods, organic, and lean meats are all expensive.
As the pace of the American lifestyle increases there is less time to prepare a home-cooked meal, which leads many families to stop at the drive-thru on their way home. This rise in fast food consumption may be one contributing factor to the rise in obesity among Americans, especially among children and adolescents. High fat fast food meals take a toll High fat diets, typical of fast food meals, contribute to a variety of negative and costly health outcomes, including obesity, high cholesterol, heart disease and some cancers. With the increase in consumption of high fat and calorie foods, there’s usually a decreased intake of foods rich in nutrients such as fruits and vegetables. This doesn’t mean that all fast food is bad, and it would be unrealistic to recommend totally eliminating it altogether.
When you take in more calories than you burn, your body stores those unused calories as fat. Obesity occurs when a person has too much body fat. Low-income families are more susceptible to obesity because of limiting factors such as: limited resources and lack of access to healthy, affordable foods; fewer opportunities for physical activity; cycles of starvation and overeating; and high stress levels. Low-income neighborhoods often lack farmers’ markets and other grocery stores where fresh fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy, and whole grain products are readily available. Those without transportation are subjected to shopping at convenience and corner stores.
Teenage Americans and Fast Food American teenagers have grown up in a fast food world. Many believe that this has had a profound effect on the majority of them, and that most teens eat more fast food than they should and that this has a negative effect on their health. This study suggests that many teenagers don’t in fact often eat fast food and that in their opinion eating fast food doesn’t necessarily mean their diets are unhealthy. This study also looks into the reasons teenagers eat fast food often and why these habits continue into adulthood. It was found that most teens actually eat a more healthy diet when then when they were younger and had little control over what they ate.
Mass, routine consumption of fast food directly relates with internal body functioning, increase in body fat, as well as lower levels of energy and stamina. A high-calorie diet with little to no exercise builds up over time, potentially leading a person to be severely overweight and in being most effiecient in their day-to-day lives. Indulging in too many fatty foods can bring about atherosclerosis, a syndrome in which the artery wall thickens. Another health risk from excessive visits to your local fast food restaurant is diabetes. High sugar contents in entrees, drinks and desserts contain a significant amount of sugar.