Pop culture is any idea, attitude, image and other phenomena preferred by any mainstream part of society. The mass media heavily relies on this kind of culture as a catalyst for selling books, newspapers, and magazines. With any issue of pop culture that makes headlines comes an enormous amount of income. We are driven so hard in America to make another dollar that we sometimes forget to take care of ourselves. Time starts ticking away and we find the need to do everything as quickly as possible, which includes refueling our bodies. This is where the fast food industry comes into play.
Although there has been a ‘recent’ spike in eating fast food, it has been getting consumed for much longer than anyone might think. In 1867, the fist hot dog stand was opened in Brooklyn, New York. It became an instant ‘delicacy’ and an American favorite was born. Then, July of 1912, a fast food restaurant was opened in New York City by Horn & Hardart. It offered a selection of pre-prepared foods displayed behind small glass windows and coin-operated slots. Drive-ins came the time of the First World War and the White Castle hamburger chain was probably the first burger bar that served high volumes of fast food for at low prices. Next to join the fast food business was the now infamous McDonald’s. In 1948, McDonald’s opened as a walk-in stand offering burgers, fries and drinks in paper wrappings. It was later bought by Ray Kroc went in 1961 and expanded into the number one fast food chain in the United Stated by domestic sales. Fast food chains soon started popping up all around the nation and a new ear of eating had taken off. Today, fast food has being an element of pop culture and makes up the majority of some Americans diets. It was estimated that around $110 billion was spent on fast food in 2000 and according to the National Restaurant Association, sales were up to $163.5 billion in 2005 (Fast Food Nation, 2005).
With so much fast food being devoured one might ask, where is it all going? Well, the sad truth to this question is that the answer lies in our pant sizes. During the past 40 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity. According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2009, only Colorado and the District of Columbia had a prevalence of obesity less than 20%. Thirty-three states had prevalence equal to or greater than 25%; nine of these states had a prevalence of obesity equal to or greater than 30%. Obesity strikes with vengeance and we are the country that was hit the hardest. We also happen to be the fast food capitol of the world. Coincidence? I think not.
According to Fast Food Nation, “people who ate fast food more than twice a week gained an additional 4-5 kg in weight compared to people who kept their fast food fix to once a week or less”. The reason for all the weight gain is simple: high fat, calorie and salt content. Food from fast food chains are also usually clogged with not only saturated fat but trans fat as well which can raise the chances of heart disease. The amount of salt that goes into fast food is also a major issue. Salt makes you bloat and can lead to high blood pressure, but as if that is not enough, salt is also addicting. So after you shovel in a hamburger and fries, you are left wanting more and because the price is so cheap you are able to do just that.
Why is it, then, that Americans eat so much fast food when there is a plethora of evidence to tell us that it is bad to eat this stuff in excess? Unfortunately, this does not have one simple concrete answer. For starters, fast food tastes delicious. Humans love the taste of fats, sugars and salt which, as previous discussed, are the main ingredients in any quality fast food meal. Second, fast food is, well, fast. It is convenient for people to just hit the drive through on their way home instead of having to cook a meal after a hard days work. People do not have to spend extra time thinking about what they want to prepare. Instead, they are able to go on with their everyday lives until they become hungry in which case in takes five minutes to drive down to the closest fast food chain and grab a quick meal. This brings us to the third point: convenience. You cannot drive two minutes in any populated area without driving past a fast food restaurant. There are more than 150,000 fast food restaurants in the United States so at any given place you can pretty much take your pick. The final and most important point is that fast food is cheap. At some restaurants a person can get an entire meal for less than $5. A family of four could feasibly be fed for under $25 which is too good to pass up for some households.
So are the fast food chains really to blame for America’s obesity epidemic, or have we become socialized into an endless wave of bad eating habits that have slowly become a social norm? For the sake of debate, let us take a look at both sides. For starters, “the portions served by fast food chains and other restaurants are far larger than the recommended portion size for most foods” (Murphy, 2000). This is because restaurants are able to purchase food in bunk, slashing costs for them so they are able to lower prices for their costumers and still offer large portion sizes. In America, we have become accustom to larger portion sizes. In fact, one study done by the University of Pennsylvania found that the “mean portion size across all Paris establishments was 277 grams, compared to a mean in Philadelphia of 346 grams” which is a 25 percent difference between the American portion and the portion in Paris. These large portioned meals: high in calories, fat, sugar and salt, are definitely a recipe for disaster if consumed on a regular basis, which they usually are due to how little it cost to purchase. In this sense, fast food restaurants should be held somewhat accountable for making it acceptable to be overweight in the United States. On the other hand, every single (sane) adult person has the ability to make decisions. We do this every single day and a good portion of the population has to do it for not only themselves but an entire family. Everyone has the ability to choose either hitting up the drive through or taking the extra thirty minutes to prepare a well-balanced meal. The problem, then, cannot be our ability to make smart decisions, but rather our learned culture that has made it a ‘good’ decision to eat fast food for every meal. It is a disease that has affected a good chunk of the population. Even if one family has not developed these bad habits, their children are bound to pick them up. This learned culture is apart of an ongoing socialization process that everyone goes through. With this in mind, I am definitely inclined to side with the fast food companies. Although I do believe the food they produce could be made in a healthier way, it is simply not their fault that we have allowed our society to believe devouring unhealthy foods and being over weight is normal.
The American public has let ourselves go. We are the eighth fattest nation in the world with 79% of the population accomplishing a status of being ‘overweight’. We have managed to take food, something that is supposed to be no more than fuel for our bodies, and turned it into an outlet for mood swings, being bored and social gatherings. It is now our job to refocus our society and set our goals toward at least getting off of the worlds top ten fattest countries list. Instead of eating we can use exercise as way to combat boredom and mood swings. We can start to assimilate a healthier lifestyle. Restaurants can serve smaller portions and increase the quality of the food they serve; the cost of food will rise, yes, but this will keep the over eaters at bay. We can also re-teach ourselves to focusing on activities besides eating as a passage out of being upset or bored. Learn to talk to a friend or invite them to exercise with you. Being physically active is a great way to fend off all of these symptoms that would normally cause us to binge. Retraining our bodies and minds is not something that will come easy. We have to override instincts that we have become accustom to through years of learned behavior. It’s a long road to teach an old dog new tricks but I know, from experience, that it can be done.
Resources
Doig, Polly Davis. "The 10 Fattest Countries - U-S-A! U-S-A!" Newser | Headline News Summaries, World News, Breaking News, and Local News. 27 Nov. 2010. Web. 09 May 2011. <http://www.newser.com/story/105911/the-10-fattest-countries.html>.
Murphy, Jenny. "The Super-sizing of America: Are Fast Food Chains to Blame for the Nation's Obesity?" Politics, Activism, Political Issues, Government, and Elections - SpeakOut.com. 15 June 2000. Web. 09 May 2011. <http://speakout.com/activism/issue_briefs/1333b-1.html>.
"Origins of Fast Food in the USA - Fast Food Nation." Fast Food, Our Health and the Alternatives at Fast Food Nation (UK). Web. 09 May 2011. <http://www.fastfoodnation.co.uk/origins-fast-food-usa.html>.
"Obesity and Overweight for Professionals: Data and Statistics: U.S. Obesity Trends | DNPAO | CDC." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Web. 09 May 2011. <http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/trends.html>.
University Of Pennsylvania. "Smaller Food Portions May Explain The 'French Paradox' Of Rich Foods And A Svelte Population." ScienceDaily, 25 Aug. 2003. Web. 9 May 2011.
