This whole "blaming fast food for obesity" thing really needs to stop.

[mik1]

Well I do agree with OP, but you have to realize McDonalds isn't completely innocent.

There are studies about how much they advertise to kiddy's, and its a lot. Mcdonalds usually has more chances to tell someones child their food will make them happy than the parent would even if they talked to their child about it twice a day.

And the play place, Ronald, etc. are used to make children associate McDonald's with a good time. I'm not saying that Micky D's is even 50% to blame I'm just saying their kind of contributing.


As for the rest of fast food.....
i have no comment to make.

 

[Shadowtek]

this argument it just as valid as the "violent video games make violent people" argument. NOT AT ALL. People pick their situations, situations don't pick their people.

 

[WanderingFool]

BUT IT'S IN MY GEEEEEEENES

*eats bacon sandwich*

This, actually.

Not that its actually true, but people want a reason and a effigy to blame, rather than face the fact its their own damn fault.

 

[Vankraken]

The problem with things like fast food and obesity is that the reason people eat like they do "chow down on 3 Big Macs all at once" is that they are addicted to food. Every action we take or thing we expose ourselves to can cause addiction (drugs, alcohol, smoking, food, TV, computers, sex, approval, etc). The thing that many people fall into is that they don't understand that food can be an addiction and when they try to go on a diet they start to have withdrawal and cave in thinking they have the power to self regulate.
One of the things about food is that its a necessity of life and you can't go "cold turkey" from food because you starve to death so people with food addiction walk a very thin line between relapse. Imagine being an alcoholic and having to only take 1 drink a day. In the long run it would be easier to cut it out completely as it forces up a barrier that's easier to prevent yourself from falling back into that habit.

As part of survival all animals are driven to eat food but very few animals (humans and house pets) have to do so little effort to acquire lots of food and the mechanics in our brain that drive us to eat hasn't caught up with the change in abundance of food (especially the unhealthy fatty foods).

In the end people who suffer from obesity need to get help to solve there problem and the failure to do that is there fault but i honestly can't blame the person who is trying and failing to change there diet when so much of the world doesn't understand the addictive properties of fatty foods (or any foods for that matter) and think exercise and veggies will cure there problem without getting to the root of there eating disorder and treating it like an actual addiction.

I can give testament to the difficulties of breaking addiction with something so simple as caffeine. This rather "harmless" drug has made my sleep cycles unbalanced and when i first tried to manage my caffeine intake i suffered greatly at the increased amount of headaches as my body was accustomed to the large amount of caffeine i was drinking. While i never had the unstoppable urge to drink more caffeine, the headaches i suffered made me want to drink more caffeine to get them to stop.

Edit: Typo

 

[Terror_666]

I seem to remember a case were an overweight man tried to sue a fat food chain for forcing him to eat only fattening foods, because he could not cook (or something along those kinds of lines). What I do remember clearly about this is what the judge said "You were not forced to eat there, the only people who are forced to eat at these kinds of places are the parents of 5 year olds."
Personally I agree with the judge, you always have a choice and it is your choice to eat there and eat there so often that you get fat.

 

[StBishop]

I think you already know this but, its both sides fault, I mean for god sakes McDonalds is still trying to convince people who don't look into it that they are healthy with there catch phrase "Its what you eat and what you do".

In Australia they still use "I'm lovin' it"

But yeah, there's not much I can say that's original in this topic in regards to agreing with the OP. What about devil's advocate?

"But they have a duty of care to their customers, if I sell a drunk man beer I'm liable, why doesn't the same apply to selling junk food to fatties?"

 

[Dogstile]

I think that the fault needs to be put on the fact that organic, healthy food is so expensive. If someone can't afford fresh vegetables, then it doesn't matter how much they want to eat healthy, they're stuck at mcDonalds.

I can could sausage, mash and beans for 6 quid. Thats enough to last me a day. I can eat that and not worry about it for 24 hours.

Are you telling me, that 6 quid is too expensive for a meal? That's one hours work, minimum wage here. (Or close enough, its an hour and a bit, but the difference is so damn small)

Hell, I get EMA (last year of that too) which is £30 a week, and I managed to feed myself, and my brother on occasion with that, and put aside a bit for fun (couple quid for the arcade).

Its all about where you shop.

 

[OutforEC]

Well I do agree with OP, but you have to realize McDonalds isn't completely innocent.

There are studies about how much they advertise to kiddy's, and its a lot. Mcdonalds usually has more chances to tell someones child their food will make them happy than the parent would even if they talked to their child about it twice a day.

And the play place, Ronald, etc. are used to make children associate McDonald's with a good time. I'm not saying that Micky D's is even 50% to blame I'm just saying their kind of contributing.


As for the rest of fast food.....
i have no comment to make.

Who cares if they advertise to kids? My kids don't have money to buy food or a license to drive to McDonalds, so it's up to me as a parent to determine what is in their best interests. The problem is that parents don't want to have to tell their kids "no" when they're whining from the backseat about a happy meal.

 

[MrMixelPixel]

I'm not sure anyone seriously blames fast food places for obesity anymore.

This pretty much sums it up. ^

Few people truly believe these companies actual make people fat. Even people who say that fast food companies make people fat, probably, know in the back of their heads that it is their own fault.

They just need someone to blame other than themselves.

 

[EdwardOrchard]

I do agree that it is a person's own fault for poor eating habits, but at the same time, just like how bars/pubs can be held liable for over-serving alcohol to drunks, there should be a bit of assumed responsibility on the part of the restaurant/store/fast food joint for over-serving food to fatties.

 

[ZeZZZZevy]

It's times like this that make me happy I have an amazing metabolism. The main appeal of fast food (usually) is the low cost/low labor, which make it more appealing than the alternatives.

Although, if I remember correctly, the government is trying to make organic food less expensive, thus letting it compete with unhealthy food. Whether or not this will actually happen, or when, is anybody's guess.

 

[Thaluikhain]

You can't blame people for what they do. It's always someone/something else's fault.

Besides, look how long it took for people to figure out smoking is bad for you. LOL

Not the same, the cigarette companies went to massive expense to discredit anyone saying that smoking was bad for you.

But, yes, people complain about the nanny state, but complain when they make choices for themselves and fuck up.

 

[ekkaman]

We should all do more to shame obese people.
And I am totally serious it is their fault.
No such thing as genes cause fat, big bones and even worse when they clam its from glands, it is because you shovel food in your mouth instead of eating.
On the weekend at a Macdees, this guy was so large he was sweating from the top of his bald head in about 20c temp btw, and he started to yell cause they took over one min to get his food. Just sad, I feel for his family they are the ones who will have to carry his coffin.

 

[Dfskelleton]

blaming a fast food place is the easy scape goat though and lawyers need money

Pretty much this. Why admit to your own mistakes and begin a path to rehabilitation when you can just blame someone else and sue them?

 

[imperialwar]

on a serious note Excerise can be addictive too, ots just alot easier for people to sit on their back ends and become addicted to TV and fast foods.

being overly generalised: but a good % of peope that are overwight consume twice as many calories as they should, mostly due to the availability of food.
As some have mentioned weight gain and weight loss is a simple equation: energy in vs energy out.

I might come back with some studies.

 

[sir.rutthed]

Shouldn't the blame for obesity be given to the people who chow down on 3 Big Macs all at once or feed their kids excessive amounts of greasy food a day? Fast food isn't in the very least deadly so long as you eat in moderation or exercise often enough. Why can't people ever hold themselves accountable for anything?

Obviously you're not American, or you'd know that "accountability" is a dirty word over here. Nobody is responsible for what they do, it's all everybody else's fault. That's how our society works these days, and this is just another aspect of it.

 

[gphjr14]

I agree, but it is the nature of humanity to blame someone else for your problems.
Also, WTF IS UP WITH THIS CAPTCHA?!?!?

Spoiler

Hey at least I can tell yours is Hebrew.

I don't know what thats suppose to be at the end.

On topic Fast food an ever growing sedentary lifestyle plus lack of nutritional education (how dare the govt try and tell us we're fat) is the cause of a lot of the obesity in the US.


Where there is excess there will be hedonism.

 

[Rayne870]

blame it on metabolism. I can't eat for less than $20 at a McDonald's and I am not obese or close to getting there.