Rant on Unhealthy Habits in America.

fitnesspirateninja

While I agree that personal responsibility is key, our food system is totally broken. I live in an agricultural community and our farmers struggle just to break even. We have a lot of organic, sustainable farmers here, but you know what? It's $14.00 to buy a chicken that was treated well and fed a healthy diet.

Yes, individuals have a responsibility to educate themselves and take care of their bodies. But it would be a lot easier to do so if we actually could afford to buy healthy foods, and the information about food was readily available.

I also don't think it's fair to characterize Americans as totally uninterested in their health. Do you think McDonald's and Burger King would've started offering apple slices, yogurt, and salads if their customers hadn't demanded it? Do you think they would've posted the caloric content of their menu on their own? Healthy lifestyles are growing in popularity. Giant corporations and government regulations are just behind the times. The other day I was chatting with some German tourists and they were talking about how surprised they were at the healthy foods available in America. They thought that the stereotype of fat, unhealthy Americans was true, too.

raevynn

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.

AND.. those countries are now starting to see rising disease rates similar to ours.

When huge corporations control the food supply, and spend millions of dollars in research and development to provide items that are shown to be physically addicting and unhealthy, it is a problem.

Watch list:
Food, Inc
Forks over Knives
Supersize Me

All are available on Netflix

cervenec

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.

AND.. those countries are now starting to see rising disease rates similar to ours.

When huge corporations control the food supply, and spend millions of dollars in research and development to provide items that are shown to be physically addicting and unhealthy, it is a problem.

Watch list:
Food, Inc
Forks over Knives
Supersize Me

All are available on Netflix

Your post reminded me! Not all fast food is created equal. I was in Japan a few years ago, and went to a KFC because it was raining and cold and I just wanted to point at pictures on a menu and get fed, so I ordered a regular coke, chicken strips, and fries. The portion sizes I got probably wouldn't even be considered a small here, but I was full. Fast food in America promotes the idea that for dinner, you need to eat a Big Mac to feel full, and people will eat in front of their TV and not realize that they're getting full. Unhealthy habits in America are enabled by our culture.

America is interested in being healthier! But this is hard when something the size of a Big Mac and fries is considered a normal dinner.

i_love_vinegar

I agree. One interesting fact though is that Mcdonalds is super affordable in the U.S.

I believe Mcdonalds is in most every developed country, however, it's not that cheap there though.

I think a common issue many people in general have is the inability (or just not caring to) think in the long-term/weighing risk vs. reward. The price is a huge reason I would think a lot of people would eat a high calorie burger, esp since they can't be certain they will lose weight in the future.

haeden

Couldnt agree with you anymore. If you dont like something, DONT go there. Or do you see that mcdonalds got sued for a woman being obese?She ACTUALLY sued them,wtf!

SuperScrabbleGirl

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.

Yes! We always ate round the table and I was brought up to say thank you to whoever cooked the meal and ask for permission to leave the table. I never had McDonalds as a kid, and because I was a vegetarian, I didn't really have the overwhelming urge to go in there.

cervenec

I agree. One interesting fact though is that Mcdonalds is super affordable in the U.S.

I believe Mcdonalds is in most every developed country, however, it's not that cheap there though.

I think a common issue many people in general have is the inability (or just not caring to) think in the long-term/weighing risk vs. reward. The price is a huge reason I would think a lot of people would eat a high calorie burger, esp since they can't be certain they will lose weight in the future.

Yeah, this is the hardest thing... I've had classes were we look at fast food culture and one of the biggest things is family environment- if you have kids to feed and you're tired, you just want them to be happy and have food, and this can lead to a cycle of feeding your family off of fastfood. There's a lot of other things like this, but I try to read a lot about teaching children good nutrition.

RE: the price... I always acknowledge that eating organic is more expensive, but at the same time I think people need to be educated that if they pay a little more for food (budget!) you will be paying less in medical bills. You are doing your own preventative medical care in a way.

jjs22

There's no way the food at McDonalds is healthy.

One example : included in the total fat in a single order of chicken McNuggets is something like 10 grams (I have the figure at home) of trans fatty acids. This is 10 whole grams of molecules that do not exist in nature. They are created in factories.

Because the human body has never faced these strange molecules, it has evolved no ability to distinguish these un-natural fatty acids from the naturally occurring ones it depends on for myriads of essential processes. Unlike carbs or amino acids, which are pretty generic, your body needs a very large number of specific fatty acids. When it gets confused and grabs the wrong one, bad things happen.

Some specific trans fats have been studied and shown conclusively to cause cancer, developmental problems in infants, etc. But there is such a large number of them, we're only scratching the surface.

But why, if these things are so dangerous, do we still see them in food ? Because the experts who determine what is healthy depend upon huge grants to do research, and only the "experts" who reach conclusions which satisfy their corporate and government funders get continued funding.

And labelling laws are nowhere close to adequate to deal with the issue. If you want to know how much trans fat is in a product, you can't. Unless you have your own biochemical research lab. Even if it says something about trans fats on the label, that only means that no ingredients were added that specifically contain already modified fats. It does not mean that no further modification took place. So it really means next to nothing.

Most people who go to McDonalds know absolutely nothing about this issue. McDonalds, however, is very well aware of it. I'm sure if you look into the source of all the money that flows into Washington to prevent any changes to our labelling laws, you'll see a lot of familiar names.

dad106

I also think part of the problem is, food like McDonald's went from "treat" to be enjoyed every now and then, to a staple in everyday life.

When I was a kid, we begged to go to McDonald's or any fast food joint for that matter because it wasn't an everyday thing. We weren't so busy with actives and crunched for time, that our parents couldn't make a homemade meal. Most mom's back in the day, stayed home.. that was the goal. Now both parents need to work, and since they are so busy, it's much easier to stop on the way home from work to put up fast food for the family, instead of taking time to cook.

CindiBryce

I also think part of the problem is, food like McDonald's went from "treat" to be enjoyed every now and then, to a staple in everyday life.

When I was a kid, we begged to go to McDonald's or any fast food joint for that matter because it wasn't an everyday thing. We weren't so busy with actives and crunched for time, that our parents couldn't make a homemade meal. Most mom's back in the day, stayed home.. that was the goal. Now both parents need to work, and since they are so busy, it's much easier to stop on the way home from work to put up fast food for the family, instead of taking time to cook.

Yes, good point. I see no harm for it to be an occasional meal.

HMonsterX

OP, thank you! Also some of the other posts here have been bang on the mark.

It really is down to us, the consumer, to educate ourselves, and then make informed choices. If one chooses to eat McDs every meal, its not correct to blame McDs! Some people simply cannot take responsibility for their own choices!

No one here is saying that a Big Mac and fries is "healthy". But then again, whoever said that everything we eat has to be healthy? Eating a McDs once a week will not suddenly give you cancer or cause you to gain 10lbs. We know that if we eat it every meal, it may do bad things to us, so we have to eat it in moderation! It's not McDs job to limit our order. It's down to US to do that.

tladame

...and then there's Uncle O'Grimacey, who comes around every St. Patty's Day to taunt us with shamrock shakes.


I agree, what we eat is our responsibility. If they closed all the McDonald's, people would just get their fast food someplace else.