Fast food and Obesity in the US Essay Example

Obesity is a serious problem that has been linked to poor mental health and a decreased quality of life. Obesity has also been linked to some of the leading causes of death in the United States, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. America has the highest obesity rate in the world when compared to other countries. One of the most notable differences between the US and other countries is our proximity to fast food. Many people believe that fast food is a positive rather than a negative thing for the United States because it is efficient, cost-effective, tasty, and beneficial to the economy.

Others focus on the negative aspects of fast food, such as obesity, which is a major contributor to many of the United States' leading causes of death, such as cancer and heart disease. “Fast food is central to the American way of life. Each day one in four Americans eats fast-food. Elsewhere in the world the figures are lower“ (Atlantas of food). Because fast food is important to our economy and widely advertised, this statement illustrates the statistics of fast food consumption in the United States and proves why it is higher here than anywhere else. In today's diet, it's extremely difficult to choose between a salad with low-fat dressing and a fast McDonald's burger because items like McDonald's burgers are heavily advertised. Despite the fact that fast food causes many health problems, it has been found to be very beneficial to our economy. According to the gale encyclopedia of medicine “There are more than 90,000 fast-food outlets in the United States and the total value of the fast-food industry in 2016 was $198.9 billion”. 

As mentioned in the quote, the United States has a variety of fast-food establishments. US citizens can see one on about every corner with bright lights luring people in. As a result, brings fast food brings in billions of dollars to our economy. Poverty is another factor related to the high obesity rates in the United States. According to Gallup data  “This study revealed that 23 percent of Americans who make more than $90,000 a year are obese, compared with 32 percent of people with an annual income of $36,000 or less”.Obesity has been found to be more prevalent in low-income communities, where fast food is seen as a positive thing because it does not require them to expend any of their money and allows them to have a quick and inexpensive meal. Rather than driving to the supermarket and selecting pricey healthy ingredients for a dinner, it is much more convenient to go to Burger King and order a meal that does not require much effort. To people that do not have enough money to afford a healthy lifestyle, fast food can seem to be a positive idea.  People in those situations are often found to become obese simply because they can’t afford it buying healthy food every day. “The U.S. is one of the wealthiest countries in the world and accordingly has high obesity rates; one-third of the population has obesity plus another third is overweight  It has been suggested that individuals who live in impoverished regions have poor access to fresh food” . According to this quote, the United States is one of the wealthiest countries in the world because of how much money we make from fast food sales. In 2019, the cost of fast food consumption was nearly 167.56 billion dollars, up 2% from 2018.

Fast food can be harmful to the youth of the United States, causing them to become obsese as they grow older. When you are a child and constantly eat fast food, you are conditioning your body to believe that it is good for you, and your body may crave it even more because you don't know any better. In the video “portion size me” antonie thomas and pete grant observe two highschool students as they eat exclusively at fast food restaurants for 30 days. Both of the boys take on the challenge and so they notice how they started gaining weight and feeling sluggish and lazy and have headaches and overall a whole bunch of problems they started that they were experiencing physical health.