In the United States, the growing obesity epidemic has a direct correlation with the amount of fast food that the average American eats. Through my research, I have found that the increasing levels of obesity have a direct relation with fast food. It is not only this food that is making the United States obese, but also the sheer number of calories we are taking in. This number has skyrocketed as Americans are eating more than ever on a regular basis. In my research, I found several independent studies done to find the effects of fast food on people. Each of these studies shows a direct correlation between fast food and health problems including obesity. If we as a nation do not change, we will continue to become more obese and the health issues of our nation will grow to a tipping point that we may not be able to recover from. 

My research encompassed various articles on the subject of obesity and its relation to fast food, the first being, “Muntel, Sarah. "Obesity Action Coalition » Fast Food – Is It the Enemy?" Obesity Action Coalition Fast Food Is It the Enemy Comments. Obesity Action Coalition, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.” Muntel goes over the basics of fast food in America, providing the calorie counts for some of the most iconic and common fast food meals such as McDonald’s Big Mac, Burger King’s Whopper, and Wendy’s Baconator. She then goes on to give the full calorie count of these meals with sides and a drink. This data is then shown next to what the average daily American calorie count should be, and the results are shocking. It is easily seen and described in the article that if someone sits down to one of these meals, they very well may be getting all their daily recommended calories in that single meal. Muntel backs this up by writing, “You could easily take in 1,500 calories from just one meal alone. Keep in mind that a general caloric recommendation for Americans is 1,500-1,800 calories per-day.” With this information laid out, she goes on to fault the consumer and not the fast food companies for the increasing obesity rates. To summarize her points, she says we as Americans are eating too many calories due to the cheap and easily accessible fast food that surrounds us. To help remedy the situation she lays out a list of the things to avoid at all costs when eating fast food. This list includes processed fried foods, sodas, and generally most things on a fast food menu. She also recommends that people try and find healthier options such as salads instead of fried meals. The facts presented are all from the most common fast food restaurants in the nation which shows that the epidemic is taking place from coast to coast. 

Another article that utilizes its own studies, shows that the problem is not only the fast food, but the caloric intake of the average American. In the article, “Welch, Ashley. "Is Junk Food to Blame for the Obesity Epidemic?" CBS News. CBS Interactive, 05 Nov. 2015. Web. 22 Jan. 2017” the average caloric intake of Americans is shown, and there is a shockingly steady increase over the years. The increase is outlined in the article, “Americans are eating over 500 calories more per day than 4 decades ago.” This calorie increase is partially due to the new larger sizes at fast food restaurants and fattier food options. More of this fatty food has led to a stark increase in the overall calorie intake of the average American. Most people would agree because the things presented are simply facts, but the fast food companies would disagree that they had any hand in aiding obesity. The simple fact is these companies are selling us more “bad” food than ever before, and we as Americans are helping them by eating more than ever before. This article lends a hand to showing what will happen down the road if the current trend continues, and the projections are terrible. The obesity epidemic will continue growing at an ever-faster rate than before if we do nothing. With a nation that is already over a third obese the future looks bleak. That is why the nation as a whole has to make changes or else we will all feel the repercussions of obesity down the road as taxpayers paying for healthcare. 

This brings me to my next point, which is the health problems associated with obese people who eat large amounts of fast food. These can best be observed in the movie, “Super size me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2017.” This movie follows Morgan Spurlock as he only eats McDonald’s fast food for one month. This movie is centered around the idea of showing the negative effects that fast food has on Americans. As the movie progresses Spurlock himself begins to have several health issues including high blood pressure, weight gain, and high cholesterol. In the movie, they visit a few doctors and researchers who are all blown away by Spurlock’s drastic health decline solely due to fast food. They all had the same thing to say to him, which was, that if he were to continue on this path, he would likely die due to heart failure, or if he were to live long enough from obesity. These doctors and dieticians also show how the average size of meals at fast food restaurants has skyrocketed of the years. This example is best viewed in the sizes of McDonald’s french-fries. What used to be the junior and small sizes no longer exist, the previous medium size is now a small, the previous large is now a medium, and now there is an even bigger large with twice the previous calories. The worst fact comes in the end when the dietician presents the supersize fries. McDonald’s large fries had doubled the previous calorie count, but with their supersize fries they nearly quadruple the number of calories from their original large. This is a perfect example of how fast food companies have slowly conditioned the public to eat more and more unhealthy fat laden foods. It also shows that the average American is simply taking in more calories than before due to the new sizes at these fast food restaurants. 

This increase in caloric intake is backed up in another article I utilized, “Rosenheck, R. (2008), Fast food consumption and increased caloric intake: a systematic review of a trajectory towards weight gain and obesity risk. 14 March 2008. Web. 22 Jan. 2017.” This article focuses on the cause for the alarming rate at which obesity is growing in America. This is the most extensive of the articles I utilized, and it includes 16 studies that all help shed light on the fact that the rise of fast food is directly affecting obesity. Rosenheck claims that these studies provide enough information for public health officials to recommend limiting the amount of fast food eaten by the average American. This article is fueled by the staggering numbers that the studies reported. Each study helps compile evidence towards the central claim, that eating this fatty fast food everyday will put you on the fast track to weight gain and eventually obesity. This is also the first instance where an author calls for the help of the government to help rid the nation of so much fast food. Rosenheck is seeing the broader picture and knows that if the fast food companies are allowed to continue to run the way they are, the nation as a whole will have more problems that it can remedy. Rosenheck writes, “sufficient evidence exists for public health recommendations to limit fast food consumption and facilitate healthier menu selection.” He knows the problem is too big for any one person or organization to fight, and that is why he calls for the aid of the government to help limit the amount of fast food on the streets. Rosenheck sees fast food almost as a drug. Just like an addict would go get drugs and use them and repeat, which eventually leads to health issues. A person gets fast food eats it and repeats, the health issues eventually set in as weight gain and dietary issues begin to take over. He also points out that these foods are addicting because they are so high in processed fats. Rosenheck explains how the body enjoys eating this food and how it makes you feel good for a moment, but as you begin to digest it you feel worse and worse due to the high fat and sugar content of the food. He ends his report by writing, “the scientific findings and corresponding public health implications of the association between fast food consumption and weight are critical.” The problem is growing more and more and as Rosenheck says the ramifications of not acting will soon be “critical.”

Another huge factor in the obesity epidemic, is the location of these fast food restaurants. The article, “Chen, Susan Elizabeth, Raymond J. Florax, and Samantha D. Snyder. "Obesity And Fast Food In Urban Markets: A New Approach Using Geo‐Referenced Micro Data." Health Economics 22.7 (2013): 835-856. PsycINFO. Web. 14 Feb. 2017” does a great job of showing how obesity rates in an area are directly related to the number of fast food restaurants in that area. The theory is that people in these areas will be much more likely to eat fast food on a more regular basis than elsewhere because it is so easily accessible. Each study presented in this article shows a direct correlation between the number of fast food restaurants and higher numbers of obesity in that area. The article can be summarized by the thesis, “decreasing access to fast food lowers body mass index by a statistically signiﬁcant, but economically small, amount.” This is significant in lowering the number of obese people in an area. This problem is harder to remedy unless the government intervenes because there are no laws saying how many fast food restaurants can be built. This gives the fast food companies the upper hand because they can simply flood the market with their restaurants and continue to serve the unhealthy food that they are today. This can already be seen by simply driving around a city and looking at the sheer number of fast food restaurants you see. These higher rates of obesity surrounding these areas will continue to grow because the fast food companies are still building more and more restaurants to service the ever-growing demand of the “average” American. 

This article goes hand in hand with another article I researched, “Bodor, Nicholas J. et al. “The Association Between Obesity And Urban Food Enviornments.” Journal Of Urban Health 87.5 (2010): 771-781. Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson). Web. 14 Feb. 2017.” This study focuses on the high obesity prevalence in the south and its relation to fast food and the neighborhood environment. Like the article I mentioned before, this article draws clear parallels between the number of fast food restaurants in an area and the number of obese people in that area. The data in this article shows how a growing number of fast food restaurants in the south is directly related to the increasing obesity rates in the area. The main point of this article comes in the conclusion were Bodor writes, “This study found supermarket access inversely associated with obesity. The converse was found for fast food restaurants and convenience stores: greater access was associated with a greater likelihood of being obese.” This study coupled with the previous articles finding shows that there is an undeniable correlation with the number of fast food restaurants in an area and the amount of obese people there. This can further be seen in the article, “Anderson, Beth et al. “Fast-Food Consumption and Obesity Among Michigan Adults.” Preventing Chronic Disease 8.4 (2011): A71. Print.” This study focuses on the fast food consumption of adults in Michigan which is an extremely focused group. This is the only small scale study that I focused on, but the findings were in accordance with what the other studies had shown. The same facts about obesity and correlation to the number of fast food restaurants was clearly evident even in this narrowly focused group. Evidence of this can be found in the conclusion which states, “The prevalence of fast-food consumption is high in Michigan across education, income, and racial groups and is strongly associated with obesity.” This was encouraging because if I found the contrary my thesis would only apply to large scale cities with large numbers of fast food restaurants. This study showed that no matter where there is a high concentration of fast food restaurants there will be a higher concentration of obese people as well. 

The only article that refuted my thesis was, “Reinberg, Steven. "Junk Food Not to Blame for America's Obesity Epidemic: Study."Consumer HealthDay. HealthDay, 05 Nov. 2015. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.” This article’s main point is that, “junk food, fast food and soda aren't the root cause of America's obesity epidemic.” This contradicts my thesis that fast food is directly related to the rising levels of obesity in America. This article rejects my original thesis that fast food is the sole culprit to blame for obesity, and instead argues that the real problem is the sheer number of calories that American’s are eating today. Lead researcher David Just says in the article, "These are foods are clearly bad for you and if you eat too much of them they will make you fat, but it doesn't appear to be the main driver that is making people overweight and obese.” This article is tactfully written in a way to make it seem like they are not blaming fast food and instead the American public as a whole. The article goes on to reference a study done between 2007-2008 which concluded that, "For 95 percent of the country, there is no relationship between how much fast food and junk food they're eating and their weight.” Just goes on to say that these foods are bad for you and will eventually take their toll, but they are not the reason for obesity. Later in the article Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City, writes, "One must be careful not to misinterpret the findings of this study to mean that eating fast food, candy and soft drinks does not affect the health of children and adults." She goes on to say that her patients who are overweight and obese often have high fast food and sugar diets. Even though the author and researchers will not say it, the continued consumption of these high calorie foods will eventually lead to weight gain then obesity. 

Overall, the evidence I have compiled shows that the rising number of obese people in the United States cannot be solely attributed to fast food, but instead to the increased average caloric intake of Americans, and the frequency of which they eat fast food. This problem is still growing today, and I fear that our attempts to fix it have been feeble. This is partially because the American public has more or less given up on itself and is settling for this processed readily accessible fast food. To change, the public needs to become more informed and people need to take action against the fast food corporations that are reaping great rewards as our country gets fatter and closer to obesity. The levels of obesity are already at an all-time high and they are only getting worse. Change will only take place if people are informed and given alternatives to these fast food restaurants. One of the reasons the epidemic is continuing to spread is because these restaurants are also continuing to spread. Unless there is drastic change in the American lifestyle the numbers of obese people will soon rise to unprecedented numbers. Once we have gone that far it will be almost impossible to come back as a nation. We need to act now before too many people become obese and we lose the battle completely.
