Elyette Millar
Professor Ross
English 102
30 January 2023
Modern Argument
Obesity in America
More than two thirds of adults in the United States are either obese or overweight. 36.5 percent of adults are obese with another 32.5 percent overweight. That is more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or have obesity. Limiting the availability of fast food and their locations can decrease the obesity rates in the United States. Fast food is one of the top contributors to obesity and should be more regulated. The unhealthy ingredients in fast food are addictive, leading to an increased BMI. Having less access to fast food will limit the consumption and it is an affordable way to effectively lower obesity.
Reducing the number of fast food locations makes the consumption of it less convenient, therefore, causing
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In the article “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” by David A Freeman, we read, “Fat carries more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates and proteins do per gram, which means just a little fat can turn into a serving of food into a calorie bomb” (80). Because a filling meal at a fast food restaurant carries large amounts of fat, eating until one is full would be an overload of calories. The overload of fat and calories decreases the health of the consumer and increases obesity. The same article rights, “A central claim of the wholesome-food movement is that wholesome is healthier because it does not have the artificial flavors, preservatives, and other additives, or generally modified ingredients found in the industrialized food; because it isn't subjected to the physical transformations that processed foods go through; and because it doesn't sit around for days, weeks or months, as industrialized food sometimes does” (82). The large contribution fast food has on the population and their obesity is substantial and should be
Fast food restaurants are on every street corner and they infest every city across the United States. Society relies on them for cheap, quick, and accessible food that is advertised as healthy and full of nutrients. However, the way fast food is portrayed and the ingredients that are used within the food is inconsistent. Modern day food industry is toxic, promotes unhealthy food and it plays a key role within the obesity rates in the country. Fast food is a multi billion dollar industry that was first seen during the 1920s.
In the first article “Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, by Mary Maxfeild she ¬argues many things against the other author Michael Pollan about how we need to change how the American people eat, and how the government needs to handle obesity better in the United States. This portrays to the other article “Escape from the Western Diet” by Michael Pollan in many ways, as well as many challenges. “The challenge we face today is figuring out how to escape the worst elements of the Western diet and lifestyle without going back to the bush” (Pollan 437). In this paper I will go over many subtopics including: Obesity, health, and food.
How Junk Food Can End Obesity David Freedman In the article, “How Junk Food Can End Obesity,” David Freedman believes that food from health food restaurants and grocery stores can have the same amount of calories and fat that is in fast food. He also states that fast food is making healthier options for those people who can’t afford the healthier food at the restaurants and grocery stores. Many of the fast food restaurants have made changes. I think that is what Freedman is trying to get across.
Fast Food Companies Can End Obesity Judging from the title of David Freedman’s “How Junk Food Can End Obesity” published in The Atlantic, Freeman's audience, the upper middle class of America, conjures up an image of Freedman throwing away every piece of scientific data that shows junk food is hazardous to your health. However, this is not the case. Freedman brings to light a more compromising approach to solving America’s obesity problem than others have proposed.
Zinczenko explains that in America today, the easiest food option to acquire is Fast food, as it is cheap and located virtually everywhere across the country. There are more fast food options than healthy foods. Healthy food is also more expensive, and low-income households can’t afford such expensive meal options. While fast food is more affordable to purchase, the health effects it has on the human body are detrimental. Obesity rates and diabetes seen in children have been on the rise since fast food companies have taken over the American adolescent diet.
The Truth of Obesity Fast food has been around for decades and it is an industry which will continue to grow, it is because of this main reason why so many Americans are now obese. Along with the lack of education and knowledge that many Americans are decrease their life span. However, obesity has never been such a vast problem as it stands today with its large population of uneducated and fast food hungry Americans. With this massive epidemic that is taking over America, comes many health issues and its targets begin with the children who become addicted to unhealthy but satisfying meals suffering from overweight, high cholesterol, and blood pressure to name a few.
When the dinner bell rings in America, many families are not flocking to the table, but running to the car and the call of the “Golden Arches”. In today’s over-scheduled world, food has now become an afterthought and America is paying the price, literally. Obesity is now an epidemic and a crisis that is not slowing down. The nation is not only paying the price with sky-rocketing medical bills from the effects of the American diet, but also with the deteriorating health of its citizens and for the first time in history, a generation with a shorter life expectancy than the generation before. Food today looks nothing like the food of just 40 years ago, and now instead, is making people sick and obese.
One of the main causes is the abundance of unhealthy food options. Fast food restaurants and convenience stores that sell highly processed and calorie-dense foods are ubiquitous, making it easy for people to consume more calories than they need. Moreover, these foods are often cheaper than healthier options, which can be a significant barrier for individuals on a tight budget. Another factor that contributes to the obesity epidemic in America is the sedentary lifestyle that many people lead.
Quinn Johnson Mr. Griner College Comp. 2 April 17th Obesity Rates In America Obesity rates in America are very high (around one-third of the current population) and are only heading upward every year. Obesity leads to many health issues. Some of these health issues include heart disease, strokes, and even diabetes.
Ashiqullah Pardisi Instructor Porter ENG 111.124B 8 April 2015 Rhetorical Analysis: Don’t Blame the Eater David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame the Eater” and Dr.Mercola’s advertisement “Childhood Obesity is Everyone's Problem” (see fig.1) both argue that obesity is a very big problem which threatens everyone especially children. Fast food and junk food are the main causes of obesity. In David Zinczenko’s essay he talks about how easy it is for teenagers to get obese by eating fast food every day, and he talks about how he became obese when he was young. Dr. Mercola “Childhood Obesity is Everyone's Problem” argues through a picture and title to tell people that obesity is epidemic, and it is not only one person’s problem. FIG 1 Childhood Obesity
No matter where people go, there are always a fast food restaurant or vending machines filled with unhealthy products everywhere. A Yale University psychology professor states, “While you’re pumping gas you punch in Fritos, the Twinkies and the Coke, and somebody brings it to your car. So the physical activity required to go in and get is eliminated.” (Murray). Fast food industries make it difficult to prevent obesity from local communities, since fast food restaurants are placed at every corner.
Americans today are fighting an obesity epidemic. According to a study published by Genomics & Genetics Weekly, the number of severely obese Americans has increased by 70 percent in a 10-year span (2012). The study also claimed that over 15 million Americans have a body mass index of greater than 40 percent (Genomics & Genetics Weekly, 2012). To put that number into perspective, people with a BMI (body mass index) of 25 to 29 are considered to be overweight while people with a BMI of 30-35 are considered to be obese. Some may ask what has led to this significant increase in obesity?
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.
More money is being wasted on junk food when it could be going into a nutritious meal. In “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” by Mark Bittman, he explores how a healthy diet would overall be cheaper. Many Americans put the blame that food is too expensive as an excuse to eat their favorite food. As Bittman argues “The core problem is that cooking is defined as work, and fast food is both a pleasure and a crutch” (1). Nowadays Americans live a very busy lifestyle with most working a 9 to 5.
Food answers all problems. As the obsession with food increases, the obesity crisis in America also grows immensely. The obesity epidemic in America stems from three sources: the food industry, the government, and the American culture. The food industry’s lies and greed prevent Americans from knowing what food possesses as ingredients and why one feels the need to continue eating it. While the government and the FDA fail