Rant on Unhealthy Habits in America.

CindiBryce

It annoys me when people immediately point fingers at McDonald's and advertising for bad health and the obesity epidemic. It is our fault. Who buys junk food & McDonald's, despite the well-known fact that it is detrimental to our health? Us. If we, as consumers, didn't like junk food, we wouldn't buy it, and McDonald's would have been out of business a long time ago (or at least suffering). WE made junk food popular. And as a business, it is their job to satisfy consumer's desires, and promote their products. So stop blaming America for the epidemic, when really, the problem lies in our collective poor choices.

servilia

I agree. Let's not forget personal respmonsibiity. Last I looked. Ronald McDonald wasn't forcing people through the doors with a gun to their heads. If there was no demand they would go out of business. But damn those quarter pounders with cheese are yumm!!

SiltyPigeon

I eat out at least once a week (not necessarily at McD's, but occasionally) and have still managed to reach a healthy weight.... so it isn't McDonald's fault anyone is fat.

Contrarian

I blame the Hamburgler.

servilia

I blame the Hamburgler.

OMG your profile pic scared me - it's that cat lady! lol

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

I agree. As a Marketing Officer in an Italian Restaurant business, its our job to promote our products & make it appear more appealing but its still up to the people whether they will eat it or not. Remember that no matter how do they advertised their products, its still up to us consumer to succumb to it or no. The ads only do the talking but we make our own decisions.

By the way, I don't believe that there's such thing as bad food. We can still enjoy Mc Donalds, KFC, Taco Bell, Burger King, etc. without sacrificing our health & figure. Key points here are moderation, frequency & the quantity.

maryd523

Yes, you are right. Fast food places would not be so popular if we didn't eat there. That being said, I kind of feel like large companies have a public responsibility to do the right thing. No, I don't expect them to make everything on their menu healthy. But 2,000 calories for one meal? Or sodium levels in the thousands? It just seems excessive, especially in the times before nutritional information became widely available. They were putting anything and everything in the food to make it taste good, which seems like a misuse of trust. No, of course we knew it was unhealthy, but I know we are often shocked at what the foods really contain. At least now we have more information at our disposal.

servilia

Yes, you are right. Fast food places would not be so popular if we didn't eat there. That being said, I kind of feel like large companies have a public responsibility to do the right thing. No, I don't expect them to make everything on their menu healthy. But 2,000 calories for one meal? Or sodium levels in the thousands? It just seems excessive, especially in the times before nutritional information became widely available. They were putting anything and everything in the food to make it taste good, which seems like a misuse of trust. No, of course we knew it was unhealthy, but I know we are often shocked at what the foods really contain. At least now we have more information at our disposal.

They don't pull their recipes out of a hat. They do TONS of market research, taste testing with people, to determine how much salt, fat, special secret sauce everything needs. And to make a profit, it all has to be economical. You think they're gonna use fresh thyme or basil? Nope, not at the your average restaurants and def not at any fast food places. They'll just pump it full of sugar, salt and fats to make it taste palatable. Oh well this is capitalism for you - gotta keep the shareholders happy!

MrsCon40

I blame the Hamburgler.

You're wrong. It's Mayor McCheese and his "big government" forcing us to eat that crap.

maryd523

Yes, you are right. Fast food places would not be so popular if we didn't eat there. That being said, I kind of feel like large companies have a public responsibility to do the right thing. No, I don't expect them to make everything on their menu healthy. But 2,000 calories for one meal? Or sodium levels in the thousands? It just seems excessive, especially in the times before nutritional information became widely available. They were putting anything and everything in the food to make it taste good, which seems like a misuse of trust. No, of course we knew it was unhealthy, but I know we are often shocked at what the foods really contain. At least now we have more information at our disposal.

They don't pull their recipes out of a hat. They do TONS of market research, taste testing with people, to determine how much salt, fat, special secret sauce everything needs. And to make a profit, it all has to be economical. You think they're gonna use fresh thyme or basil? Nope, not at the your average restaurants and def not at any fast food places. They'll just pump it full of sugar, salt and fats to make it taste palatable. Oh well this is capitalism for you - gotta keep the shareholders happy!

I realize that, it was my point.

servilia

Yes, you are right. Fast food places would not be so popular if we didn't eat there. That being said, I kind of feel like large companies have a public responsibility to do the right thing. No, I don't expect them to make everything on their menu healthy. But 2,000 calories for one meal? Or sodium levels in the thousands? It just seems excessive, especially in the times before nutritional information became widely available. They were putting anything and everything in the food to make it taste good, which seems like a misuse of trust. No, of course we knew it was unhealthy, but I know we are often shocked at what the foods really contain. At least now we have more information at our disposal.

They don't pull their recipes out of a hat. They do TONS of market research, taste testing with people, to determine how much salt, fat, special secret sauce everything needs. And to make a profit, it all has to be economical. You think they're gonna use fresh thyme or basil? Nope, not at the your average restaurants and def not at any fast food places. They'll just pump it full of sugar, salt and fats to make it taste palatable. Oh well this is capitalism for you - gotta keep the shareholders happy!

I realize that, it was my point.

I wasn't disagreeing with you.

maryd523

Oh, okay. Sorry. Have a good night!

servilia

no worries! good night!

ilookthetype

I blame the Hamburgler.

You're wrong. It's Mayor McCheese and his "big government" forcing us to eat that crap.

Love it.

ukgirly01

If i'm honest you couldn't pay me to eat a macdonalds mainly because I was never given them as a kid by my parents. When I did get one from a friends parents I asked for a knife and fork. We dont sit around the table and eat with our kids anymore. Eating has become something to do on the move rather than sat down enjoying each others company. Its a social problem.

AlyRoseNYC

I am a big fan of personal responsibility in all aspects of life. It's not McDonald's fault that people are fat for the same reason that it is not the tobacco industry's fault that people are dying from lung cancer. Everyone has choices.

Goal4Good

I am a big fan of personal responsibility in all aspects of life. It's not McDonald's fault that people are fat for the same reason that it is not the tobacco industry's fault that people are dying from lung cancer. Everyone has choices.

DITTO.

megz4987

Other countries have McDonalds and KFC, etc, too. You're right, it's not their fault. Most fast food places have at least halfassed healthy options, it's up to us to choose them if we have to.

pa_jorg

It annoys me when people immediately point fingers at McDonald's and advertising for bad health and the obesity epidemic. It is our fault. Who buys junk food & McDonald's, despite the well-known fact that it is detrimental to our health? Us. If we, as consumers, didn't like junk food, we wouldn't buy it, and McDonald's would have been out of business a long time ago (or at least suffering). WE made junk food popular. And as a business, it is their job to satisfy consumer's desires, and promote their products. So stop blaming America for the epidemic, when really, the problem lies in our collective poor choices.

I agree with you that personal responsibility and poor choices have a lot to do with the obesity epidemic. However, what most people don't realize is how farm animals are fed corn and hormones, which impact our meat and dairy. Industry also puts pesticides on crops and adds high fructose corn syrup to what seem like "healthy" options. These chemicals are not good for our health and contribute to weight gain and other ailments. Getting back to your point, we need to educate ourselves and as a collective group to call companies out on the games they're playing with our food and lives. I'm not preaching because my diet isn't perfect by any means, but the food industry in general is a scary business these days. I highly recommend anyone that wants more info about this to read a book by author Michael Pollan.

cervenec

I agree with you that personal responsibility and poor choices have a lot to do with the obesity epidemic. However, what most people don't realize is how farm animals are fed corn and hormones, which impact our meat and dairy. Industry also puts pesticides on crops and adds high fructose corn syrup to what seem like "healthy" options. These chemicals are not good for our health and contribute to weight gain and other ailments. Getting back to your point, we need to educate ourselves and as a collective group to call companies out on the games they're playing with our food and lives. I'm not preaching because my diet isn't perfect by any means, but the food industry in general is a scary business these days. I highly recommend anyone that wants more info about this to read a book by author Michael Pollan.

This. I haven't read the book, but you can put tons and tons of responsibility on consumers, but the simple fact of the matter is that the knowledge about food and products people consume is NOT available. Until recently, without insane amounts of hounding you probably couldn't figure out how many calories are in a Big Mac, and a lot of other fast food. There is a lack of transparency in the consumer industry so often times people have no idea what is in the products they get. (I mean, what exactly does "fragrances" mean in the perfume/cologne you wear? It's not natural, and it's all getting soaked into your skin.)

In US we do not have a culture that teaches responsibility for what we consume- there is little to no education for many consumers, and the government seems to support this. People will KNOW that McD's is bad, but US culture enables and reinforces this behavior. I feel that no matter how much you know- big business wants you to buy a product. They will do anything to make you think it's okay to consume, and safe.

I think I've been listening to way too much Jillian Michaels

tl;dr: it's not responsibility that americans are lacking, it's a decent consumer culture and education

brewingaz

McDonald's is not the cause of everything bad with obesity. It's self control.