It's Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat Analysis

From Morgan Spurlock’s documentary “Supersize Me”, an inference can be made that fast food can and should be taken with certain precautions especially in america where obesity is at an all time high. A correlation can be made that there is a fast food restaurant on every corner and the vigorous ads and commercials that are displayed on billboards, televisions, radio and cell phones teasing the audience to go out and buy this new burger instead of them staying home and eating something that would actually be beneficial to their health. Americans are not safe from the alluring temptation of fast food. In the video documentary “supersize me” Morgan Spurlock admitted that his body had cravings after 3 days of eating McDonalds non stop.

In the article "Don’t blame the eater" written by Zinczenko, he argues that fast food is the main reason why so many teenagers are suffering from obesity in United States. He explains that many companies will use advertisements to deceive customers. For example, a company’s website offers a chicken salad with less than four hundred calories per serving; however, they don’t label everything that the salad has In the first label. They will use separate labels in the products that the salad has on it, so the costumer gets confused and thinks that he is actually eating a four hundred calories salad that is "healthy". However, he is actually eating a seven or more hundred calories meal.

For starters, the price gap between actual groceries and fast food is astronomical. When you can buy a burger at a fast food restaurant for a dollar but a salad at the same place cost 7 dollars, the cheaper option—more times than not— appears to be more desirable. In many cases, the financial burden forces them to sacrifice a healthy lifestyle for full bellies. While accessibility to healthier food choices is scarce in many areas, fast food restaurants have managed to appear on just about every corner.

In David Freedman’s essay How Junk food Can End Obesity, Freedman makes the claim to policy arguing that instead of demonizing processed foods, Americans should instead support the idea and production of healthier processed and junk foods. He calls on the public to recognize that while many products on the market these days are labeled as “wholesome” and “healthy”, consumers should learn to become aware of the fat and calorie content in these products because many times they have the same- if not more- fat and calorie contents as that of a typical Big Mac or Whopper. In his essay, Freedman primarily places blame on the media and the wholesome food movement for the condemnation of the fast and processed food industries saying, “An enormous amount of media space has been dedicated to promoting the notion that all processed food, and only processed food, us making us sickly and overweight” (Freedman), he further expresses that this portrayal of the

The companies know that there is no better consumer than a child. When you have the child as a consumer

The main contributor, widely reported by top experts, is the consumption of cheap, and convenient foods such as fast food and the myriad of boxed foods available in the supermarket. Diane Brady asserts in her essay, “The Employer-Friendly Case for Pricer Big Macs” that “Of all the reasons why a third of U.S. adults are obese, the lure of cheap, unhealthy food ranks near the top” (519). With continual attention being given to the effects of unhealthy foods on adults and especially young people, one would think that America would wise up and stop consuming it at such an alarming rate. Again, Brady points out that, “Fast food chains have raised their game with healthier menu offerings and support for programs that encourage physical activity, but they continue to thrive by selling high-calorie food. McDonald’s salads, introduced in 1987, make up just 2 percent to 3 percent of U.S. sales” (520).

Now don’t get me a wrong, a good juicy cheeseburger is good every once in a while. Through the opening of these fast food restaurants, kids, adults, and students alike will be more tempted than ever to spend the money on a quick and easy meal. I can’t count the number of times my parents have gotten take out simply because they didn’t want to cook. Secondly, the prices of fresh food are at an all-time high. Currently, the prices of fresh eggs are higher than recent years because of a bird flu.

Junk food is responsible for the growing rate of obesity. This is outlined by David freedman in his article of “How junk food can end obesity.” David Freedman has credited the “health-food” motion, and followers of it along with Michel Pollan. Freedman claims that if the America desires to stop the obesity epidemic, or at least reduce its effects, they must shift to the fast meals and processed meals enterprise for assist, now not the “health-food” movement.

Media promotes all forms of obesity. In If You Pitch It, They Will Eat, a New York Times article written by David Barboza, Susan Linn, a psychologist who studies children’s marketing at Harvard’s Judge Baker Children’s Center states, “It used to just be Saturday-morning television. Now it’s Nickelodeon, movies, video games, the Internet, and even marketing in schools”(5). Essentially, Linn is saying that their has been an increase in food marketing because of how advance technology has gotten which has lead to the increase of weight in children and many americans. David Barboza, in If You Pitch It, They Will Eat, explains how marketers use television by stating, “Marketers know that children love animals and cartoon characters, and industry observers say they have used that knowledge not just to create new shows but to produce a new generation of animated pitchmen”(29).

Major companies are trying to take our money , and trying to influence our children life style aswell. For example; food, not just any food, but the one of the most greasy and fattening foods on the market, another key factor to keep in mind is that, these companies are trying to put faces on these certain products , such as, Spongebob. Spongebob was on the cover of a macaroni and cheese box, and since it was put on the lower shelves the box was easy to spot by children. But one of the most important thing about children being advertising is that certain foods that kids want are so fattening that is can cause life threatening diseases like diabetes or in some major cases cancer. One of these key factors being that these major companies such

While researching information on this project, the information I found included many things the fast food industry keeps from us that we often do even think about. For example, a food product can be labeled as “sugar free” but can be substituted with other things such as, agave which is often worse due to its high concentration in fructose syrup. Another example would be that, Gerber uses fruit pictures to claim its Gerber’s are made from real fruit when in reality they are filled with corn syrup, syrup and grape juice concentrate. These are known as “calorie distracters” and work really well on people who refuse to give up eating fast food. Whether they know that fast and processed foods are unhealthy or not, they are satisfied by knowing that a label says “sugar free” and therefore it is okay for them to consume it.

According to Centres of Disease Control and Prevention more than one-third (34.9% or 76.6 million) of U.S adults are obese. In this fast moving world, may it be people from the corporate world or even students no one really have the time to wait to get their food done. So the only way is that they buy themselves fast food. However, awareness is being created these days about the effects of fast food people are also starting to blame fast food for increasing rate of obesity.

“Fast food restaurants have us hooked on to their tasty food. You See a lot of people buying fast food because how good it tastes. Well let me tell you it is not good for your health. Why do fast food places lower their prices because they know people will buy it if it doesn’t cost that much and most people buy it cause that`s how much they can afford”. Fast food places is a way to not cook every week I feel bad for people when I go to McDonald’s and ask them, do you know what you’re eating in they say

In a result of this many people, health officials, and parents are complaining because there has been an increase of child obesity. Children grow up learning healthy eating habits and how to make smart food choices which will continue to follow them as they get older. On the other hand, children growing up with

Fast food is considered popular because it 's convenient, it 's cheap, and it tastes good. But the real cost of eating fast food never appears on the menu. Fast food marketers marketing to children and adolescents has skyrocketed throughout the last century. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, funded by the government, "In the United States, the percentage of children and adolescents affected by obesity has more than tripled since the 1970 's" ("Healthy Schools"). In fact, this statistic is predicted to increase significantly as fast food restaurants are continuously being built everywhere in the U.S. Fast food restaurants are everywhere.