The Fast Food Epidemic

Zac Weathers

The Fast Food Epidemic

There is no question that America is facing an epidemic. According to www.nationmaster.com approximately 30.6% of the United States  population are considered obese by their calculated height, weight, age, and Body Mass Index. This alarming trend is apparent anywhere you travel across the States, but around the world this is not the case; people, for the most part, are in shape. What makes Americans so fat? Many would argue that American obesity is caused by our abundance of food choices, eating habits, and overall American gluttony.

However, there is another side that argues that it is not originally to blame on American attitudes of gluttony, but the food corporations, which have seemingly duped the American public into using their products excessively contributing mightily to the obesity epidemic. Both sides of the issue are debatable; however, there is no clear defining reason for the big question. Why are Americans so fat?

With the American lifestyle, food has become a secondary thought. It has become so readily available we have steadily increased the amount we consume through snacking and the abundance of foods, healthy and unhealthy. Those who live a sedentary lifestyle with an abundance of calories and food choices are more than likely to become obese.

Since the creation of fast food corporations and their advertising, obesity statistics have steadily climbed to the epidemic status we see today. Many question if fast food restaurants are actually a contributing factor to obesity. However as seen in this study done by the National Bureau of Economic Research Fast Food plays a determining factor in obesity statistics.  With massive advertisement campaigns, Americans are bread into a fast food world, where the convenience, price, and taste are integrated into our personalities through constant seemingly subliminal exposure to these giant corporations brands. The fact is that fast food is not healthy and is a leading cause in America’s unhealthy epidemic; don’t let those Paris Hilton ads fool you.

  http://money.cnn.com/2005/05/24/news/newsmakers/carls_ad/