The Effects of Restrictions on Fast Food in America free essay sample

As a result, â€Å"Surgeon General David Satcher declared that the nations obesity epidemic had gotten so dire that it could overtake tobacco as the leading cause of preventable deaths and called on everyone from school administrations to food companies to get back to a skinnier America. † (Morrison, 2012). According to Morrison (2012), â€Å"the $200 billion fast-food industrys massive size ad budgets are hard to ignore especially considering kids taste for the stuff†. The sole purposes of fast food restaurants advertising are to influence the buying habits of targeted demographic groups in specific geographical locations. For example, fast food restaurants will target primarily African American and Hispanic children who traditionally live in the low income areas where these restaurants are located. Since these areas are not equipped with the proper knowledge to make healthier choices or the monies to buy healthier food options, fast food is their most affordable and convenient food choice. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Restrictions on Fast Food in America or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These advertisements do not identify what’s really inside these foods nor did they offer any healthy alternatives. Since fast foods have been comparable to that of cigarettes, can fast foods be just as addictive? The answer to that question is yes because it’s simply a matter of the fast food chains being negligent and misleading in posting their nutritional information. Especially since fast food is very addictive and obesity is considered a disease. According to Fortuna (2012), â€Å"As of 2010 70% of adult Americans were overweight or obese† (p. 56). It’s a known fact that children adopt their adult habits based on their earlier child habits. Therefore, a child’s poor dietary habits will follow them through their adulthood. As mentioned earlier, in 2001 child obesity was determined to be a major healthcare concern. The children during the 2001 year are now adults and are most likely included in the 70% of overweight or obese adults. Not until recent years, many of the major fast food chains have introduced healthy alternatives to their daily menus, but in actuality most of the alternatives that may seem healthier are not. For example the apples in a McDonalds â€Å"Happy Meal† sounds like a good alternative for children instead of the French fries, but if you read the nutrition guide they are actually just as bad or worst for children health wise due to the way they are prepared, packaged and preserved. Today, fast food restaurants are being blamed for being a major contributor to today’s over all poor eating habits and obesity problem. It’s the customer’s decision to buy and spend their hard earned money on whatever they choose to eat. However, there are other contributors such as not enough daily physical activity, the lack of proper nutritional information being readily available, healthier food choices are more expensive than most fast foods. Government intervention with the fast food industry will ultimately affect the economy. The restriction on fast foods will have consequences such as increased unemployment, increased fast food prices, and the possibility of shutting down fast food chains. The fast food industry is the second largest employer outside of the United States government. With that said, any major government regulation will cause a ripple effect throughout the food industry. â€Å"In the US, economists estimate the cost of obesity-related healthcare and lost productivity at between $147 billion and $190 billion a year† (New Scientist, 2012, p. 2). Based on these figures, should the government intervene with fast food industries and how they conduct business or should more nutritional information be publicly available for Americans to utilize? The Interagency Working Group was established during 2001 which consisted of the Federal Trade Commission, Food and Drug Administration, Agriculture Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These agencies were â€Å"instructed by Congress to prepare voluntary guidelines that would limit the marketing of certain foods and beverages to children† (Morrison, 2012). Of course these draft guidelines were met with great opposition from the industry advocates because this could be in violation of the First Amendment. Simply put, if the powers are not granted to the federal government by the Constitution or by a constitutional amendment, they dont have the power. The 10th Amendment states, â€Å"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people. There is nothing about diet, rent, health care, housing, or junk food in the Constitution, but the 10th Amendment give the States the right to regulate pretty much everything that not regulated by the federal government under the Constitution. The 9th Amendment also plays a part in this as well stating The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. Which essentially means that the Constitutions failure to specifically mention all the rights we have shouldnt be used to deprive individuals of those rights. The right to eat what you want is just one of those rights, just like the right to wear a hat or clap your hands together or whistle a tune. If the Constitution had to address every one of those rights by name, itd be a million pages long. So, instead of doing that, the 9th Amendment just says, yeah, we couldnt write down every right, but dont interpret that to mean that theyre not protected. In 2010, President Barack Obama signed the healthcare-reform legislation into law, which required restaurants with 20 or more locations to have and list the calorie count on menus. Also, state and municipal levels are taking proactive measures in promoting healthier lifestyles by limiting how restaurants market their products to children (Look Ahead, 2011). As a nation, America is becoming more health conscious and serious about the associated health risks of that being overweight and obese currently present. Let’s face it; it is more expensive for the average person to be overweight in America. At this point, the government is taking the proactive measures to educate Americans about living a healthier lifestyle. Fast food is food that can be prepared quickly and easily and is sold in restaurants and snack bars as a quick meal or to be taken out. Inexpensive food, such as hamburgers and fried chicken, prepared and served quickly. Asking someone what it means to them they would probably answer by suggesting a Big Mac, or two piece chicken with a biscuit. Fast food restaurants are being scrutinized because of the fat contents, which is said to be unhealthy and is causing obesity. It is also said that fast food restaurants is paying employee’s less wages and over working them by not allowing them to have breaks. If there becomes a law to restrict fast food restaurants the economy will be hit with more hardship. Some people believe that by offering healthy foods will encourage individuals to make better choices. Better choices can save lives and decrease health cost. Citizens of the United States believe that fast food is bad for your health. The mayor in the city of LA, California, believes that by banning fast food restaurants in low income area is no different than banning liquor and cigarettes. In 2012 a public interest law group at John Hopkins outlined the rationale: â€Å"Given the significance of obesity epidemic in the United States and the scientific evidence and legal basis supporting the zoning of fast food outlets, municipalities have an effective, yet untried, tool to address obesity in their communities. † â€Å"The over concentration of fast food restaurants in conjunction with the lack of grocery stores places these communities in a poor situation to locate a variety of food and fresh food. † This is known as, â€Å"food apartheid† (Saletan, 2008). Do we believe they should ban these restaurants, or should they just restrict them? Obviously, fast food restaurants are not healthy; but they help the economy by providing jobs to people around the United States and the World. Fast food restaurants generate billions of dollars per year, and they help the economy in different ways other than just providing jobs; but they do some of the worst things that something you can consume, can do to your body. Which one of these two out-weights the other is a debate that could go on forever. Do we want unhealthy people with jobs? Or do we want healthy people in the United States, but potentially jobless? Ideally we want both; we want healthy people with jobs, and we want the obesity rate to go down in the United States. In reality these questions are not a matter of one individual’s opinion; this is a matter of what the government wants for its country and what they prefer. There are ways to pick one side and counter the other, but it is hard and it will probably take a very long time for our country to decide. Whether our country decides to restrict fast foods by restricting the way they sell it—referring to TV and radio commercials—or whether they want to restricts what they sell. They could also ban them and prohibit people from consuming these products in the United States. These are all controversial matters that will not go down easy; they would have to take into consideration our civil rights and try to determine whether they can restrict us, as citizens, from deciding what we want to put in our bodies. The matter of the fact is that even if no restrictions or bans are put in place to try to fight obesity in this country, us, as individuals can make the decisions to not consume fast food; everyone knows fast food are not healthy, its proven. The same way that one can decide not to smoke or drink, one can also decide not to consume the types of food that can be just as detrimental to your health as some of the known street drugs. References Freeman, A. (2007). Fast Food: Oppression Through Poor Nutrition. California Law Review, 95(6), 2221-2259. Fortuna, J. L. (2012). The Obesity Epidemic and Food Addiction: Clinical Similarities to Drug Dependence. Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs, 44(1), 56-63. doi:10. 1080/02791072. 2012. 662092 LOOK AHEAD 2011. (2011). Advertising Age, 82(2), 4-21. ) MORRISON, M. (2012). Can kids food mascots survive the obesity war? (Cover story). Advertising Age, 83(17), 1-21. New Scientist. 11/24/2012, Vol. 216 Issue 2892, p28-29. 2p. Saletan, W. , July 31, 2008. Food Apartheid Banning fast food in poor neighborhoods. Slate. Retrieved from: http://www. slate. com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2008/07/food_apartheid. html