Is Fast Food The New Tobacco? Public Or Private?

             I would presume it would be obvious to most people that fast food is not a healthy source of nutrition daily. For years, the topic of obesity has been controversial on whether this is a public or personal problem. Our choices have benefits and consequences. Much like what you eat will affect your health. So when we choose to go down to McDonald's to get a BigMac, were the ones making that conscious decision to eat there not realizing the consequences of our actions. Most people would want to take the easier route and just buy an unhealthy snack instead of taking that extra step to find something that might be just a little more expensive. Although our choices are very limited due to fast food places being down every street corner you go to and health food places hard or more expensive to find. “Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit.” (Zinczenko, 2002, p 392,) Much like trying to find a needle (quick and healthy food alternative) in a vast array of fast food haystacks. 

The government wants to make obesity a public problem instead of a personal problem is the wrong way to go. Trying to fit one standard into a big population will only create more of a disadvantage than a beneficial one. Everyone is different and has very different body types, different life situations, different mindsets, etc. So to force upon a social ideal on what we as a whole population should eat is stupid. Not to mention the fact that there seems to be a lack of information on what exactly goes into what you're eating when it comes to food. They make it look “oh so delicious”  in the advertisement but fail to inform well about the chemicals and strange ingredients that you're eating. Half of the time when they do you can’t even pronounce much less understand what the ingredients are. They advertise in little font and bypass the important stuff only showing you the appealing parts.

 If people knew what was being put in their foods they might make the right decision to eat something healthier. The government should give us a push in the right direction so we can make a choice for ourselves and reap the benefits. As Zinczenko mentioned without giving the added nutritional facts clearly and understandable there will be more sick individuals and obese children.

    “They would do well to protect themselves, and their customers, by providing the nutrition information people need to make informed choices about their products. Without such warnings, we’ll see more sick, obese children and more angry, litigious parents” (p 393) At a time when parents buy a happy meal for their child they would think it's hamlet because it's just chicken nuggets fires and a sandwich. But what they don't know is what is being put in their food. And then they wonder why their child is sick or obese.