Evolution Of Fast Food Research Paper

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Evolution of Fast Food

Fast food companies have eradicated competition throughout history in the restaurant industry. The practices used to eradicate competition such as using unhealthy food to make a profit have been reported unethical by Americans but tend to be desired to the American society. According to the American Franchise Corporation, certified by TrustArc, fast food companies generate $570 billion annually in the United States ("Fast Food Industry Analysis"). These statistics continue to inflate as more and more fast food companies become ubiquitous. As a result, fast food companies get richer, while people become contracted with life altering health effects. Throughout the last decade, the controversy whether or not fast food …show more content…

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 will continue to increase as more and new fast food restaurants are being built in the US. Fast food restaurants are everywhere. Anyone can walk down the street and see a fast food place almost anywhere they go. Humans have a tendency to be lazy. It's much easier to go down the street and pick up a hamburger than to make a low-calorie meal at home. It's less complex to the consumer. According to a Heidi Godman, executive editor of Harvard's Health Letter "teenagers and kids consumed far more calories in fast-food and other restaurants than they did at home. The numbers were alarming: eating out was associated with taking in as many as 160 extra calories daily for younger kids and as many as 310 calories daily for teens" (Godman). In fact, these numbers are very alarming and is why obesity rates have multiplied in the last century. Fast food companies take small steps to reduce these problems by introducing healthy options such as including apple slices into kid's menu. But, almost every kid chooses fries instead of apples. There is a large gap in this part of research which needs to be dug into deeper to find a permanent