Fast Food Restaurants: The Cause Of Obesity In America

Improved Essays
In the 1800s, Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “The search for a scapegoat is the easiest of all hunting expeditions.” In this case, the victims of scapegoating are the fast-food restaurants throughout America that appear to be “causing” obesity. Many people rush to attribute the source of the American obesity predicament to the vast number of fast-food restaurants that plague society. This tends to be a common occurrence because of the nature of the fast-food industry. Fast-food restaurants have become a homogeneous, monotonous source of great tasting, filth-ridden food. The deceptive advertising, savory appearance, and inexpensive prices make it an ideal scapegoat for the people who suffer from the illusion that the fast-food restaurants are at …show more content…
From trying to decide between sleeping in or getting up to figuring out what to have for lunch, decisions are an inevitable part of our life. The fast-food industry gets the blame for providing the American people with a source of food that will be detrimental to their health. However, it is not the fast-food industries fault that the weak-willed American people are unable to say no to the desires that the food brings them. Obesity has led to 300,000 deaths and has cost people roughly $117 billion in health care. Many of the people whom obesity has affected have proceeded to file lawsuits against fast-food restaurants (Stern par. 4-7). All the fast-food franchises are guilty of is providing an unhealthy option. These franchises are not roping people in and forcing them to eat their food. The University of North Carolina conducted a study that proved people who frequent fast-food restaurants are 2.2 times more likely to follow an unhealthy diet plan. Those who are low consumers of fast-food restaurants are 1.5 times more likely to follow that same unhealthy plan (Healy par. 6-7). This study has proven that even the people who do not go to fast-food restaurants very often still have a high likelihood of following an unhealthy meal plan. There are many healthy food options that people could potentially turn to, but most Americans do not often view these options as favorable. Society has built the perception that all …show more content…
The deceptive advertising, many people argue, draws consumers in and persuades them to eat their food. The marketing community is taking their aim at children in hopes that the children will persuade their parents to take them to these fast-food franchises. Children are naïve and prone to fall victim to the deception that restaurants utilize.
Those arguing in favor of the role that fast-food restaurants take in American obesity to not take into account the full extent to which people are at fault for what they consume. Deceived children are also under the undeniable authority of their parents and can be told, “No”. The world is a deceptive place and in order to not be a victim one must have the will power to say

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