Tiffany Chen
Professor Reynolds
English 113B
April 27, 2012
The Social Impacts of
Fast Food
The food society
consumes eventually affects the way they live their life. Convenience, time,
and money are all essential to our lives; however, there are consequences for
those who use them unwisely. Fast food consumers face the dangers of social
consequences, societal costs, and family issues. American society has changed
the way they live because of eating fast food.
Social consequences are one of the big impacts from
eating fast food. It occurs to Americans who are known for their impatience and
their pursuit to make things faster, easier and cheaper. Our fast food services
caused many Americans to lose their patience for other aspects in our lives.
Impatience will cost you. Having patience in our lives is essential in gaining
friendship, goals, and almost anything one can think of. We get many rapid
services and products now days, for example: internet service, 2-in- 1 shampoo
and of course, fast food. We got used to our rapid speed services in which we
find very efficient for our lives. This unfortunately caused our society to
become impatient.
Family issues had
increased as much as social consequences. As a tradition in the past, families
would all get together at the table for supper to eat and spend quality time
with the family members but, ever since fast food chains became a big impact in
our society, family dinners reduced a lot compared to before. Fewer family
dinners equals less communication and traditions between the family members.
Children these days need more family time due to their change in behavior most
of the time. They need their family’s support for their mental health and
stability. In her article, “The Family Dinner: Nutrition and Nurture,” Kathleen Zelman maintains that “It’s very
comforting to children to know that their parents want to know what’s going on
in their lives…Chatting around the dinner table encourages kids to talk to
their parents about sensitive issues”(Zelman). Without proper communication,
parents are less aware of their children’s lives outside of their home. Knowing
how our society has changed compared to the years before, parents should be
able to know what their children are going through especially with school and
friends. This tends to create an unhealthy nation because of the lack of
communication. Our society should desire the need for having family dinners in
order to have a healthy relationship and life.
There are many ways to
reduce social consequences. Families should start planning slowly and work
their way up if they are not cooperating in family dinners. If families start
changing their eating habits slowly instead of making dramatic changes, I
believe that their children will eventually adapt to the routine. Making
everyone involved in preparing the table and dinner can help bring the family
closer. Communication and teamwork are great examples of family bonding. When
children have the opportunity to help out with dinner, they will sooner or
later get to learn how to set up the table, shop and prepare the food, and also
getting a habit of cleaning after themselves. According to Davies, “A Harvard
Medical School study found that there are nutritional, as well as social,
emotional and academic advantages that occur in children when families share
meals together” (Davies). There are many positive effects from eating with your
family instead of individually.
Another danger of buying fast food is societal costs. Since
fast food is convenient and inexpensive, people have a hard time resisting at
times. Unfortunately, it is one of the worst selections when it comes to a
person’s diet. Researchers
have found that fast food leads to addiction. They found out that it affects
the brain the same way narcotics do. “Doing
drugs such as cocaine and eating too much junk food both gradually overload the
so-called pleasure centers in the brain, according to Paul J. Kenny, Ph.D…” (Klein).
These researchers’ theory of saying fast food is addicting is extremely useful
because it sheds light on the difficult problem of our society spending way too
much money and time. By the time a customer has a bad addiction to fast food;
they have already spent way too much money on it, which could have been used on
fresh vegetable and fruits. Addiction can also lead to danger health risks, for
example health disease and diabetes. These problematic factors are very costly;
fast food now does not seem so inexpensive after all these problems occurred.
After knowing about all these dangerous factors, we have to inform children
about their health risks because they are most likely surrounded by fast food
restaurants these days. In the article “Developing Fast Food
Consumer Skills”, Birch stated that children should develop consumer skills for
fast food knowing how much fat and grease is contained in the food. Without a
doubt, children who lack the knowledge of health risks are most likely in
danger of having health problems.
There are many ways our society can start lowering down
their consumption of fast food. From what I have personally experienced, fast
food chains trick you by their supersize portions. “This is a common offering
at many fast food restaurants where bigger items are priced only slightly
higher in order to encourage patrons to purchase more. Generally, even the
smallest size available is a more than enough on its own” (Henshaw). We have to
train ourselves to not fall for that trap. The best option is to be completely
away from them even though they are everywhere in our sight. It is crazy how
much we get lured in by the menus and advertisements on the television and
billboards. According to DeNitto, “Healthcare advocates are putting at least
some blame on fast food companies” (DeNitto).
Social consequences, family issues, and societal costs
is conflicting our American society. By working together to have our society informed
with the right knowledge of what is good to eat and to start having family
dinners again, we are able to live our life happier and healthier.
Works Cited
Birch, David.
“Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills.” Journal
of Health Education, 27
(1996): S60-S61.
Davies, Leah. "Is Family Mealtime Important?" Children's Books. Web. 26 Apr.
2012.
DeNitto, Emily. "Fast-food Ads Come
Under Fire." Advertising Age, 65 (1994): S14.
Henshaw, Ashley. "The
Major Health Hazards of Fast Food." Symptomfind.com.
29 Jan. 2012. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.symptomfind.com/nutrition-supplements/health-hazards-of-fast-food/>.
Klein, Sarah.
"Fatty Foods May Cause Cocain-like Addiction." CNN. Cable News Network, 30 Mar. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2012. <http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/28/fatty.foods.brain/index.html>.
Zelman, Kathleen M. "The
Family Dinner: Nutrition and Nurturing." WebMD.
04 June 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.
<http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/guide/the-family-dinner- nutrition-nurturing>.
Annotated
Bibliography
Birch, David.
“Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills.” Journal
of Health Education, 27
(1996): S60-S61. 20 April 2012.
“Developing Fast Food Consumer Skills” explains
how students these days should develop consumer skills for fast food. It has
been known that fast food contains a high percentage of fat and sodium.
“Although fast food restaurants continue to offer foods high in fat, sodium,
and sugar, many have responded to consumers’ increasing nutritional awareness
by adding to or modifying menu selections”(Birch). Children should be aware of
what can happen to their health by the overconsumption of fast food. This
article also explains how children should differentiate the amount of sodium,
sugar, and fat in their different types of food. Without the proper education
on what could happen to their health, children are most likely increasing their
health risks of many diseases. Many children have no knowledge on how to spend
their money correctly. Some parents need to make sure that their money is used
wisely.
DeNitto, Emily. "Fast-food
ads come under fire; Advocates of healthy-eating decry high-fat diets
for youngsters." Advertising
Age. 14 February 1994. LexisNexis Academic. Web.23
April 2012.
In this
article, DeNitto explains how fast food advertisements are part of the cause of
children being attached to eating
fast food. “They found the percentage of high-fat
foods advertised during
Saturday morning children's TV viewing time increased from 16% to 41% of all food advertising between
1989 and 1993”(DeNitto). She explains if we gave a plate of a hamburger or
veggies to kids, they would automatically choose the hamburger. It has been
said that some healthcare advocates are blaming food companies for the rise of
child obesity. Throughout the article, Lisa Cohn stated how she did not have a
problem with fast food advertisements; however, she is concerned about the
education of good health for the children who are surrounded by these ads all
the time. It has been said that Coca-Cola and other sodas have avoided being on
children’s television commercials unlike fast food places.
Durning,
Marijke V. "Type 2 Diabetes and Fast Food." EverydayHealth.com. 09 Jan.
2012. Web. Apr.
2012. <http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-2-diabetes/type-2-diabetes-and-fast- food.aspx>.
“Type 2 Diabetes and Fast Food” by Durning
explains how humans usually get type 2 diabetes.
It is usually caused by how individuals live their lifestyle. Controlling one’s
fast food cravings and diet can help lower down a person’s risk of getting
diabetes. Without a doubt, many people say fast food is cheap, convenient and
easy to handle. “There's no
denying that these quick-bite chains seem to be everywhere — the United States
currently has about 7.52 fast-food restaurants per 100,000 residents, according
to a recent article in the journal Critical
Public Health”(Durning).
Planning ahead before ordering what one wants at a fast food place is smart.
These places seem to rush people which causes them to order random things they
were not about to eat. Many fast food
chains now provide a nutritional guide along with their menu. This informs
their customers how many calories and other factors in their body.
Haines, Cynthia D.
"Health Guide." Fast
Foods Nutrition. A.D.A.M, 6 Aug. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.
In this website, Haines explains how fast
foods provide a nutritional and ingredient guide along with their food now.
Even with the help of the guide, customers have to choose wisely of what to eat
at a fast food restaurant. “Fast
food items have been modified to reflect consumers' concern about the fat
content of their food. Many fast food restaurants have switched from beef
tallow or lard to hydrogenated vegetable oils for frying”(Haines). This article
also explains the side effects of fast food. Society should eat more food from
places that have a variety of salads, soup and vegetables. There is no control
over what these restaurants put into their food like the amount of fat and oil.
Sometimes, we would want to have less sauce for example. Making a home cooked
meal is more convenient for a person who wants to know what is in the food.
This website gives tips on what to order on our pizza, burgers, sandwiches and
more. It informs you how to eat healthier.
Kaufman, Francine R.
"Clinical Diabetes." Type
2 Diabetes in Children and Young Adults: A“New
Epidemic" Oct. 2002.
Web. 22 Apr. 2012.
In “Clincial Diabetes”, they explain how
type 2 diabetes has increased dramatically throughout these years. It explains
the ethnicity of people who usually have type 2 diabetes. They also explain how children should be inform with
what is healthy and not. “Nutrition counseling needs to be available in
school so that children understand the importance of healthy eating” (Kaufman).
She took a stand of how children these days should not be allowed to buy candy
or anything containing sugar in the drink in school. They explained all about type 2 diabetes; they
talked about how a person can get it and other risk factors. They do not know
of any effected regimens except for exercising and having a good
nutrition. She convinces us that we are
in an epidemic.
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural
History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin,
2006. Print.
The very first chapter in this book
describes how everything comes from corn. Throughout this book, Pollan explains
how we are what we eat. In one of the
chapters, he started explaining about McDonalds. He bought a meal for his son
and family. He explained how the chicken nuggets contained ingredients that
were not from corn. “According to the handout, McNuggets also contain several
completely synthetic ingredients, quasiedible substances that ultimately come
not from corn or soybean field but from a petroleum refinery or chemical plant…keeping
the organic materials in them from going bad…”(Pollan 186). He also points out that our eating decisions
come from a tradition, for instance, he gave an example of the French Paradox
of how they ate. French people ate mostly cheese and drank wine.
University of
Minnesota. "Fast Food As Family Meals Limits Healthy Food Intake,
Increases Obesity Risk." ScienceDaily,
8 Jan. 2007. Web. 22 Apr. 2012.
This article explains how eating at
home with your family can benefit your health than eating out on a daily basis.
According the article, “Families whose meals frequently consist of fast food
are more likely to have unhealthy eating habits, poor access to healthy foods
at home, and a higher risk for obesity, according to researchers at the
University of Minnesota Medical School”(Science Daily). The longer a family
consumes fast food throughout the week, the more chips and soda are usually
distributed. Researchers have found that consuming fast food as a family meal
affects their food choices negatively if they are consuming it as a daily
routine. It also explains Project EAT, which stands for Eating Among Teens. It
is “a study of obesity and nutrition among adolescents in the Minneapolis/St.
Paul metro area…examine the prevalence of fast food purchases for family meals
and the association between eating fast food for dinner and home food
availability”(Science Daily).
Zelman, Kathleen M. "The
Family Dinner: Nutrition and Nurturing." WebMD.
04 June 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2012.
In this article, Zelman explained how she
thought having family dinner was a very important tradition for her family.
According to Zelman, “Sitting down for a family meal is a symbol of love,
connections and communication.” Quality time has many positive outcomes for
families. During family dinners, traditions and cultural heritage are able to
be passed down and taught to their children. Better grades and less depression
are outcomes from family dinners. It also explained how many adults struggle to
know when they are actually full. This is why we should not let kids under the
age of 5 serve themselves, because they do not know when to stop eating. They
have to learn when they are satisfied and not super full. Having family dinners
make the parent a role model towards their children as well. It is better to
show your children then to tell them. By being a good role model, they will be
able to have good eating habits and good table manners.
-Tiffany Chen
his is gay
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