Persuasive Essay On Obesity

1785 Words8 Pages

Obesity has become a worldwide public health problem with an exponential rise since the 1970s. One of the main industries blamed for the rise in obesity is the fast food industry. There are multiple fast food restaurants around every corner and down every street. Fast Food commercials pop up everywhere - on highway billboards, television, informative devices, and even in kid’s toys. CEO of Young & Rubicam marketing company, Peter Georgescu, argues in his Huffington article that “the fast food industry has purposely addicted us to sugar and fat and artificial ingredients, the way the tobacco industry induced us to smoke. You know the way it goes: If you can’t pronounce the ingredient name, don’t eat it.” The fast food industry should not be entirely blamed for the obesity epidemic. There are many common myths accusing the fast food industry of causing obesity that should be debunked. Three of the common myths are about junk food banning, organic food, and fresh food.
Myth #1: Banning junk food will help decrease obesity rates.
First Lady Michelle Obama initiated the "Let's move" campaign back in February 2010 to kick start a nationwide movement in response to the growing childhood obesity problem. The goal of the campaign is to help children today grow up …show more content…

American journalist Michael Pollan argues that “instead of paying workers well enough to allow them to buy things like cars, as Henry Ford proposed to do, companies like Wal-Mart and McDonald’s pay their workers so poorly that they can afford only the cheap, low quality food these companies sell” (576). The government knows that there is a split in the economy because they collect taxes from paid wages in every payroll period. Big corporates know that people will tighter budgets will go for the cheaper necessities. Both the government and large corporations know that fast food doesn’t entirely cause obesity; their greed for profit is partially the cause