The ignorance of the United States has allowed an epidemic of increased obesity rates to swamp a once flourishing, successful country. The lack of information given on the effects of healthy and unhealthy food contributes to the the dramatic increase in weight in America. Compared to the 1970’s, where meal intake was valued and daily physical activity was the norm, America lacked knowledge on how the fast food will affect the human body and the economy. Life today is not the exemplar of how a country should run. At an alarming rate, children and adolescents are becoming more and more overweight due to fast food restaurants on every street corner or the high price for healthy options, which makes unhealthy options more desirable. The low …show more content…
In David Zinczenko’s article, Don’t Blame the Eater, Zinczenko provides evidence for the devastating truth of childhood obesity and first hand experience of what it is like as well as the health risk she was exposed to at a young, vulnerable age. The considerable difference in obesity rates in children has become a tough situation for parents to resolve. Why? Not enough of legal guardians, and consumers as a whole, spend more time looking at the nutritional value rather than just looking at the price of the good. The adolescents that are seeing this as exceptional action are going to raise children in that matter and make government-based decisions that can later affect the country. Zinczenko gives statistical evidence of his claim on more cases of lifetime obesity occurring when he allocates, “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder- only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today, according to the National Institutes of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country”. This shows how drastic the American culture is being changed and negatively impacted due to ignorance of the consumers. The obesity epidemic will cause long term health issue for those that possess the issue, therefore, means an unhealthy weight gain can lead to a series of comorbidities such as, Type 2 Diabetes, various forms of cancer, gallbladder disease, and cardiovascular diseases( i.e. heart failure and hypertension, as well as many other forms of
In “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, kids are suing McDonald’s for making America fat. Zinczenko asks, “Whatever happened to personal responsibility.” At the same time he sympathizes with people who do eat fast food because he used to do the same thing, making him obese. He fortunately realized how unhealthy fast food is and the toll it takes on the body. Conventional wisdom is that we should not eat at a fast food restaurant twice a day.
In the article "Don't Blame the Eater" informs the parents and any fast-food consumers on the dangerous health effects fast-food can cause. Child obesity and type 2 diabetes have increased within the country, a possible factor for this kind of sickness can be tracked to fast-food, David Zinczenko attentively constructs his argument against teenage or child obesity and properly builds support for his position. His argument was achieved by his usage of humor credibility, and forced teaming. Together, these devices complete Zinczeko's mission while he remains considerate of the opposing side. Instead of opening his introduction with a tedious writing based on his future discussion points, he decides to craft his way into introducing his article with a bit of humor.
“Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko is an article that argues that the fast-food industry is at fault for the rising rates of obesity and health care, not the consumers because they advertise and market cheap meals without mentioning the negative nutrition information. It is in some ways no different than the tobacco industry, in which they sell cheap and unhealthy food without offering information that is easy to read and comprehend. Zinczenko claims that “Fast-food companies are marketing to children a product with proven health hazards and no warning labels” (464). The author insists that the fast-food industry is primarily at fault for the health problems related to obesity in the United States. This assertion seems legitimate and
According to recent polls, approximately 3% of Americans admit to consuming fast-food at least once per day. This number, although it may appear small, it accounts for 9.5 million citizens across the United States who are unashamed of chowing down on a quick meal. Unfortunately, due to this consumerization, obesity and other like-minded illnesses have risen in recent years. The effects are costly and capable of making people pay the ultimate price: their life.
Many people blame the overweight person for eating too much but in reality, it could be that the fast food industries are not giving us enough knowledge to help with our diets. In the article Don't Blame The Eater by David Zinczenko he talks about how he used to be a victim of the fast food industry like everyone else because the fast food industry hides certain information that leads to obesity and health issues. Today it is so much easier to go and get a burger at McDonald's then to drive to a store and shop it is time-consuming. The author talks about how he used to be a follower of the trend” I tend to sympathize with these portly fast-food patrons, though, Maybe that`s because I used to be one of them”. He describes his figure as once
Both Editors David Zinczenko and Radley Balko offer different perspectives on how fast food has increase obesity in the united states and who is to blame Zinczenko contents the need to provide nutritional chart in fast food restaurant (392) while Balko argues that consumers need to become personally responsible for what they are consuming (397). In Zinczenko’s writing “Don’t Blame the Eater”, and Balko “What You Eat Is Your Business” while both agreeing that something has to change to reduce obesity in the United States, but at the same time have different views on how to approach the problem. Zinczenko argues the need for fast food industries to convey calorie labels similar to grocery items, and make them simpler for the consumer to understand (392). Balko judges the
Radley Balko’s essay “What You Eat Is Your Business, in They Say, I Say, the author argues that the government should take more targeted initiatives in dealing with obesity. Within the last 15 years, the United States government has implemented numerous laws and initiatives to try to make America healthy again. However, are they working? The daily lives of Americans seem to revolve around food, whether it be eating healthy and following the food pyramid, or on the other end of the spectrum, eating fast food for every meal and snacking on junk food. There are larger issues that the government could be handling, yet they choose this obesity epidemic over pressing day-to-day problems.
When the dinner bell rings in America, many families are not flocking to the table, but running to the car and the call of the “Golden Arches”. In today’s over-scheduled world, food has now become an afterthought and America is paying the price, literally. Obesity is now an epidemic and a crisis that is not slowing down. The nation is not only paying the price with sky-rocketing medical bills from the effects of the American diet, but also with the deteriorating health of its citizens and for the first time in history, a generation with a shorter life expectancy than the generation before. Food today looks nothing like the food of just 40 years ago, and now instead, is making people sick and obese.
Through the span of twenty years, it is clear that America has faced evolving obesity percentages. These obesity percentages correlate usually with children, and adolescents. However, the rate of obese personage lightened in the last few years. David Zinczenko, Men’s Health Magazine’s editor in chief, distributed his article, “Don't Blame the Eater” in 2002. In this article, he targets the reader's attention by informing them of the harsh realities and ramifications of Fast Food Industries.
In “What You Eat Is Your Business,” Radley Balko tackles the issue of who is responsible for fighting obesity. Balko argues that the controversy of obesity should make the individual consumers culpable for their own health and not the government (467). As health insurers refrain from increasing premiums for obese and overweight patients, there is a decrease in motivation to keep a healthy lifestyle (Balko 467). As a result, Balko claims these manipulations make the public accountable for everyone else 's health rather than their own (467). Balko continues to discuss the ways to fix the issue such as insurance companies penalizing consumers who make unhealthy food choices and rewarding good ones (468).
Americans today are well-known for their eating habits. With all the options the food industry gives us it makes it hard to go to the grocery store and resist picking up that bag of barbeque-flavored chips or blueberry flavored candy. Due to these processed foods obesity is a growing epidemic in our country and who is to blame for it? In an article entitled “What You Eat is Your Business” by Radley Balko, Balko argues for less government intervention. Balko believes is it our responsibility to take care of ourselves and make it a priority.
In both David Zinczenko’s “Don’t Blame The Eater” and “ Radley Balko’s “What You Eat is Your Business”, the argument of obesity in America is present and clear from opposing viewpoints. Both articles were written in the early 2000’s, when the popular political topic of the time was obesity and how it would be dealt by our nation in the future. While Zinczenko argues that unhealthy junk food is an unavoidable cultural factor, Balko presents the thought that the government should have no say in it’s citizens diet or eating habits. Zinczenko’s article was written with the rhetorical stratedgy of pathos in mind.
Obesity is a major problem in the United States, and with all the special privileges given to its people, America has become very lazy. With portion sizes rising and physical activity decreasing, it is easy to see how the rates on obesity has risen over the years in America. Obesity is a major problem that needs to be resolved because it affects all people of every gender, age, and race are at risk of being obese. Obesity rates in America have nearly doubled rather tripled within the last twenty years due to the many privileges that the American people have before us. Something must be done to overcome decrease the
More children are starting to suffer from these problems at a much younger age than in the previous generations and part of it is due to the fact that children are constantly seeing ads on the latest new grease filled burger or sugar filled pastry and want to have it. Parents agree to their demands for these unhealthy meals because of the convenience and the low price without even realizing how harmful these non-nutritious foods are for their children. Igna Kiderra spoke to a physician who studied that “people look to others when deciding how much to eat and how much weight is too much.” People turn to those around them when looking for what to eat and find it acceptable to put on a few pounds if others are okay with it. Some even overeat “to make [themselves] feel better” and end up feeling worse.
Is healthy food is more expensive than unhealthy food the problem Is the people tend to go towards the unhealthy it’s easier more convenient and processed food sometimes can be a bit cheaper. In a study that shows that eating healthy is it really that expensive maybe it takes a little more time to prep your meals but it’s worth it at the end. ”swapping out some of these less expensive, and less healthy foods, for fresher and more nutritious ones added up to only about $1.50 more per day. ”-Alexandra Sifferlin.