Mel Easley IV
Prof. Altman
ENGL 114A
23 November 2012
Why Americans Are Getting Fat
Fast food franchises such as McDonald’s, Burger King, Jack In The Box etc. are highly influential aides in America’s overweight epidemic. Food corporations have children in the palm of their hands. Obesity and other weight related issues in children have gotten out of control due to three factors: their unhealthy diets consisting of high amounts of fast food, lack of parental control, and advertising that advocates the consumption of fast food. When will Americans resist the delicious greasy temptation?
In today’s economy, Americans tend to want to get their moneys worth. Fast-food corporations have taken advantage of this poor economy by: making their food cheap and on top of that, tasty; its so good and affordable that people tend to buy more and start going to fast-food restaurants more often. For example, in Brownlee’s statistic, “fast-food franchises were sustained largely by a core group of “heavy-users”, mostly single males, who ate at such restaurants as often as 20 times a month. In fact, 30 percent of Taco Bell’s customers accounted for 70 percent of its sales” (Brownlee 33). It’s ironic that, they feed consumers fat and consumers feed the fast-food corporations billions and billions of dollars. These high consumptions of fast-food are the leading causes of unhealthy life styles. Sure, it’s light on the wallet and very good but are the savings and taste worth our overall health? Another example is when Brownlee states, “All that mattered was that it was fast and cheap” (Brownlee 34). The taste isn't even a big factor, most people just like being gluttonous because they can eat a lot since their not paying a lot. People need to care about what the health risk are when they consume too much junk food. Furthermore, Brownlee states, “You’re already at the counter, you’ve ordered a cheeseburger... “Would you like to super-size that for only $4.47?” By this we can tell that one’s already getting enough food but super-sizing is just exaggerating the amount of fatty calories one’s getting. It’s just not ethical to eat like that; the consequences of eating fast food should be looked at more thoroughly because the trail of grease and saturated fat only leads to future health problems.
Children usually depend upon their parents to make good decisions for them. Along side fast-food, parent’s aide obesity in children by not choosing their children’s eating habits carefully. For example, Weintraub states, “We have laws against parents leaving a loaded weapon where their children can find it and use it to hurt themselves or other. But no one seems to want to tell parents that they need to protect their children from unhealthy foods and from sloth” (Weintraub 43). From this we conclude that parents need more control over what their children eat and that its mostly their fault whether their child is healthy or not. Sure sometimes a parent has to go work and doesn't have time to cook a healthy meal, but maintaining children consist of taking into interest the consumption of a healthier diet. Children eat whatever smells or looks good, so without influence most children would probably be fat. Furthermore, ”It’s not. It’s the fault of parents who let their kids eat unhealthy foods and sit in front of the television or computers for hours at a time” (Weintraub 42). Parents have ultimate control over children, why can’t they control what their children eat? From this we can see a more thoughtful analysis of what factors play into a child being fat and in this case, the parents. Another example, Weintraub states, “My own home is by no means fast-food-free zone or shrine to physical fitness” (Weintraub 43). From this, we can infer that its not necessary to give up junk food but that it should be moderate and not given too much to children. Parents influence so many things in a child’s life, why can’t they influence the importance of a good diet and