Rant on Unhealthy Habits in America.
CindiBryce
Posts: 438
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.
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Replies
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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!!0
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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.0
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I blame the Hamburgler.0
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I blame the Hamburgler.
OMG your profile pic scared me - it's that cat lady! lol0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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!0 -
I blame the Hamburgler.
You're wrong. It's Mayor McCheese and his "big government" forcing us to eat that crap.
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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.0 -
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.0 -
Oh, okay. Sorry. Have a good night!0
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no worries!
good night! 0 -
I blame the Hamburgler.
You're wrong. It's Mayor McCheese and his "big government" forcing us to eat that crap.
Love it.0 -
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.0
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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.0
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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.0 -
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.0
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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.0 -
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 education0 -
McDonald's is not the cause of everything bad with obesity. It's self control.
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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.0 -
AND.. those countries are now starting to see rising disease rates similar to ours.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.
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 Netflix0 -
AND.. those countries are now starting to see rising disease rates similar to ours.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.
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.0 -
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.0 -
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!0
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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.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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
Yes, good point. I see no harm for it to be an occasional meal.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.0
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