THE BUTTERBALL COUNTRY
THE UGLY
TRUTH
ABOUT THE OBESITY
EPIDEMIC
Bryanna Michelle Akins
Teacher: Croft
ERWC, Period 3
29 May 2013
Food Politics Research Paper
It is amazing, surprising and,
worst of all, scary as hell…in 1972, the United States
I
have had experiences in my 10th grade English class that involved
writing an essay about the topic in question. The question we had to answer,
and back up, was this: who is really to blame for the horrible obesity
epidemic? I originally said the media and the people. They are both at fault
for it. But my recent research claims that the media (magazines, TV, movies,
websites, etc.) are the REAL culprit. We have all seen hot, skinny, bony
supermodels that star in commercials for fast food, alcohol products and other
related items (Freeman 1). Over the course of a few decades, people are truly
convinced that “thin is in”. This subjective advertising has been ingrained in
people’s brains (mostly younger men and women), so much that today, overweight
and obese people are targets for bullies and figures of ridicule. I myself have
been bullied since kindergarten, and it made my school years hell on earth for
me. But it has completely stopped, and I am very thankful for it. But there is
a valid reason for why the media should be the ones to blame for making the United States
There
are several reasons why there are nutritional food labels on almost everything.
It gives you nutritional facts, what fats it has and, more importantly, how
many calories ONE PORTION of that food item has. Portion sizes were
figuratively anorexic if you traveled back in time nearly 20 years. Let’s look
at pizza, for example. 20 years ago, 2 slices of pepperoni pizza contained 500
calories; today, they contain 850 calories (Caroline, 2). What about yummy,
buttery, sumptuous popcorn? 20 years ago, a small, striped rectangular
container of popcorn (5 cups) contained 270 calories. Not too bad, right?
Today, a large tub of the stuff contains a whopping 630 calories, nearly triple
that of the popcorn portion just two decades prior (Caroline, 2). Lastly, let’s
look at that hot, warm beverage you have two or three of every day to
kick-start your brain and get through the morning without dozing off on the
job. You guessed it; it’s coffee! Technically, an 8 oz. cup of coffee with
sugar and creamer has 45 calories. Today, Grande café mocha at Starbucks is 16
oz. and contains 330 calories (Caroline, 2). Due to fierce and heavy
competition between fast food restaurants, they’ve had to lower the prices and
blow the meal portions completely out of proportion! Now that portions are so
humongous and the prices are so ridiculously low, I don’t think the fast food
joints are going to be closing down anytime soon. But that’s not the worst of
it…
The
worst and most sickening part of this horrifying reality is that the fast food
joints and their advertisements target young and innocent children, so that
they, too, can become a part of the growing problem of obesity. Why do they intend
on targeting children for their subjective ads? Well, part of it is because
children are little balls of wet clay. The reason why I give this analogy is
that nothing will cause a ball of clay to take shape without outside
influences. In this case, the ads are the foreign, outside influences that are
molding the little, innocent kiddies into becoming little eating machines that
want nothing, but McDonald’s (or Burger King or whatever restaurant they
prefer). It’s no surprise, then, that “one-third of all children in the United States are overweight” (Gottesdiener 1). That’s
not all. When I watch TV channels, such as Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network or
Disney Channel, almost every commercial I see is about a fast food restaurant.
“Kids experience at least $1.6 billion worth of food advertising a year”
Gottesdiener 1). These influential, subjective commercials cause children to
want fast food more and more when they get hungry.
If
you don’t believe me, I have done more research on what happens when there are
none of these subjective commercials at all. In Quebec , Canada Canada (Gottesdiener 3). Also, the fast food places know
that if you cater to the children, the parents will follow, bringing more
customers along with them. It just goes to show you that if the media would be
less subjective and not target our kids at all, the United
States would be a much healthier place for children everywhere.
I
have tried to find just one fast-food place (or something close to it) that had
nothing, but healthy food. All my searches have been in vain…almost all of
them. I only found and know of two places that are close to being fast-food
restaurants and contain healthy food. Subway is a good example. There’s no
fried chicken or French fries here. Subway’s restaurant style means that you
can choose what your sandwich will have, from the bread used to the condiments
to the meat and veggies on your sub. Unlike other places like McDonald’s, you
have the pleasure of watching your own sub being made on the spot. Personally,
this is my favorite restaurant that serves both affordable and delicious food.
Flame Broiler is another healthy restaurant that I love to dine at. They
specialize in bowls, filled to the rim with white/brown rice, beef/chicken and
vegetables. The plates have the same contents, along with an orange and a small
salad. Not only are they healthy and affordable, they promote healthy eating
choices by putting up posters, advertising their products. They use no MSG, no
added preservatives, nothing extra and unnecessary. It’s all fresh and organic
food. It’s hot, it’s delicious, it’s cheap and it’s healthier than any
McDonald’s or Burger King could ever be. You can’t beat that, right?
On
the other hand, McDonald’s is not only unhealthy, but it also lures in
unsuspecting and innocent children to eat their food by including free toys in
their so-called Happy Meals. “McDonald’s distributes more toys in its meals
than Toys-R-Us” (Fast Food Facts, 1). But there is a miniscule diamond in the
unhealthy and disgusting rubble that is the fast-food industry. “Only 7 items
on McDonald’s menu have no sugar” (Fast Food Facts, 1). And now, McDonald’s is
stepping up to its own plate of critics and adding milk and apple slices to
their Happy Meals. Just goes to show you that even the restaurant chains are
trying to make a difference in the world when no one else will step up and do
anything to stop the epidemic of obesity.
In
conclusion, the fast food industry uses uses three tactics to lure in customers
young and old and big and small. They use child-targeting ads to lure them and
their family to the restaurants to make more money. They blow their portions up
and lower the prices, so that they get more for their money. As long as our
recovery from our recession drags on, the
fast food joints will always be the easy option when it comes to
spending less.
Works Cited
- Caroline, Divine. "Portion Size, Then vs. Now." Divine Caroline. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.divinecaroline.com/self/wellness/portion-size-then-vs-now>.
- "Fast Food Facts from the Super Size Me Web Site." Fast Food Facts from the Super Size Me Web Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.vivavegie.org/101book/text/nolink/social/supersizeme.htm>.
- Freeman. "Are Media to Blame for Obesity Epidemic?" CBSNews. CBS Interactive, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20067704- 10391704.html>.
- Gottesdiener. "7 Highly Disturbing Trends in Junk Food Advertising to Children." Alternet. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.alternet.org/food/7-highly- disturbing-trends-junk-food-advertising-children>.
Word
Count: 1,711 words
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