by Marijane Suttor

Created on: June 10, 2009   Last Updated: October 21, 2011

The fast food industry is one of the main culprits in the epidemic of obesity in America. It is not the lone villain, because the consumer certainly plays the largest role in the health problem which has been overpowering the nation. There are several reasons why fast food is the cause of obesity in America.

Portion Sizes

"Do you want that to be a medium or a large?" a customer is asked at the Mexican fast food drive through. The customer doesn't really think about what the size of this might mean to the portions of the food that he will consume. He just thinks that he is hungry and thirsty. The customer replies with, "Make that a medium," because a small would be something appropriate for a child. The resulting food that made it in his car window contained fried potatoes that were enough to feed a family and a 32 ounce soda pop.

One of the main reasons that obesity is on the rise is that portion sizes at fast food restaurants have increased and have even been encouraged. It is only a small amount of money to increase the size. According to the book Obesity by Melissa Abramovitz, ordering a large French fries at McDonald's instead of a medium will add another 160 calories and 7 grams of fat to the meal. Many people will order the bigger meal with no sense that the portion too large.

Food Content

Another problem with fast food is that it is high in fat, sugar, and salt. According to Abramovitz in her book Obesity, "Studies conducted in the late 20th century show that lab rats fed fat and sugar together gain more body fat than those fed these food separately. Scientists believe the same thing happens in humans." So part of it is the combination of the high fat fries, burger and the sugary soda. This would be true for any American restaurant that serves this cuisine in combination. Just by opting to drink water instead of soda pop with the same high fat meal would drastically reduce the effects of the fast food. It is easy to blame the food, but more likely it is ordering the combination that creates the effect of obesity.

Convenience

Another reason that fast food is the cause of obesity is that consumers can access the product too easily. Americans can simply drive up, order, and drive away with a thousand calories in a bag without ever having to take one foot step of exercise. As a result it is just too easy to impulse buy and impulse binge with no thought to nutrition, fat, or calories. According to Abramovitz, scientists recognized that it isn't just the

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>