Fast-Foods: A Super-Sized Issue
Based on reports from the World Health Organization, it is estimated that roughly two-thirds of the American adult population is overweight. Emerging economies have also seen a tremendous rise in obesity. One might ask, what is the common link between the United States and emerging economies – Fast-Food consumption!
Each year, fast food chains spend billions of dollars advertising their products both domestically and internationally. And each year, Americans have seen a rise in obesity levels in virtually every advanced and emerging economy. According to David Zinczenko, the author of “Don’t Blame the Eater,” fast food chains have marketed their products directly to children in an attempt to build life-long customers, irrespective of the known consequences of engorging in too much fast-food! By Zinczenko’s own admission, he was overweight by roughly 40lbs by age 15, based solely on his diet of fast foods.
You might ask why anyone would eat fast food knowing the harm it would cause him or her years down the road… Simply stated, there are no viable, inexpensive, and easily accessed alternatives. Zinczenko poses a challenge to his readers: “drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I’ll guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit.” This challenge can be visually assessed by everyone, and yet, we as a nation have yet to demand that changes be made by fast-food restaurants to incorporate a healthier diet.
Some would argue that it’s not the fast-food restaurants fault if a person gains weight from eating their products, but on the contrary, in my opinion, fast-food restaurants are not keeping their consumers informed enough to make healthier meal choices. Think about your last trip to a fast-food restaurant; could you easily find the nutritional value of your meal? Was your entire meal considered a single portion? These are the questions that drive consumers to make more informed choices.
For instance, my last trip to the local McDonald’s I ate a “healthier choice” grilled chicken sandwich, regular order of french fries, and a sprite, which, by all practical purposes, is an average fast food meal. To my surprise, my grilled chicken sandwich contained 530 calories, and 12 grams of fat, before I even added the condiments! My regular order of french fries contained 210 calories per serving, but the regular fries are considered 1.6 portions, so in actuality, my french fries contained 380 calories and 20 grams of fat. Ketchup, a necessity for french fries, is 15 calories per pack, and combined with my average of 5 packs of ketchup per fries and sandwich adds 75 more calories to my meal. Finally, Sprite is 100 calories per serving, but a regular sized drink is 2.1 servings, so now my Sprite is 210 calories! Adding it all up, I consumed 1195 calories in one packaged meal!
True, I made the choice to eat at McDonald’s; in hindsight, I would have made a different decision had I known the nutritional content of my meal. My experience like many others is a direct result of not being provided adequate nutritional information and portion sizes on the menu at the time of ordering. In retrospect, I understand why Zinczenko feels that children initiating lawsuits against the fast-food industry are justified, and I agree with his argument that fast-food companies market “product[s] with proven health hazards and no warning labels.”
Changing not only how we view fast-food meals but also how they are marketed both by portion sizes and nutritional value should be a top health concern for the American public. In an age of growing obesity, every fast-food chain seems to be in a race to create the “ultimate” sized portion. Frequently we hear the words “Would you like to super/up size your meal?” and all to often, we succumb to this marketing strategy because we are taught at an early age, “more is better!” But as we all know, more has added inches to our waistlines, robbed us of a healthy lifestyle, and taken additional money from our wallets. However the true travesty is that as Americans we have very little knowledge of nutrition and portion sizes.
“Why is it our fault one might ask…?” It is within the scope of each individual to understand the dynamics and importance of maintaining a healthy and balanced diet. To a larger extent, we are also responsible for demanding that fast-food companies cater to our needs as consumers – requiring healthier options, shrinking portion sizes, and practicing healthier cooking options when preparing fast-foods.
Within my own scope of cognitive reasoning, I blame myself for my lack of knowledge concerning my dietary choices, but personal responsibility can’t shelter the full burden of blame. Fast-food companies have known for years their products are not healthy for their consumers; however, fast-food companies continue to increase portion sizes with each new revision of their menu. Remember when a double cheeseburger was the ultimate in hamburgers? Within the last few years, fast-food companies offer triple stacks, half-pounders, and the latest offering the Full-Pound-of-Beef burger. When will the increases in portion sizes stop?