Media credit to Jerica Fagan.

Unhealthy eating habits are extremely ubiquitous in America. In fact, one out of three people in the United States are obese.  Twenty-six percent of school children are overweight.  However, while many complain about these facts and blame fast-food corporations, I believe that this problem will not be stopped until people take full responsibility for what they choose to consume.

The new trend is to blame fast-food corporations for the increasingly growing problem of obesity in the U.S.  The problem of obesity shouldn’t be taken lightly.  Since 1980, the number of overweight children has more then doubled to 16 percent according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Obesity has also contributed to more health problems than meets the eye.  For instance, diabetes has dramatically increased from 5 to 30 percent between 1994 and 2007.  This increase in diabetes has truncated diabetics’ life spans by ten to fifteen years compared to those of 1994. 

Many also try to claim that because sugar is addictive, “Big Macs” are too.  However, this hypothesis is yet to be proven true.  Most of the reasons “we,” the average people, eat fast food on a daily basis is because it’s cheap and so pleasing to our taste buds.  I mean who wants to spend an hour cooking a healthy meal in their home, when they can easily walk or drive two minutes to the nearest fast food restaurant for an inexpensive meal?  However, I don’t believe fast-food corporations are to blame.  Consumers are fully aware that Big Macs, Whoppers and French fries won’t give you a slim figure.

The truth of the matter is that fast-food corporations would not exist if people did not provide the demand for them.  If you had the choice between going to a salad bar or a pizza parlor, which would you choose?  Most people would give in to their sweet tooth and choose the unhealthier of the two, the pizza parlor.  New York Times editorialist David Zinczenko argues that there are no alternatives available to the public, and therefore they are forced to eat fast food.  I find that a ridiculous accusation since one can easily prepare their own sack lunch at home.  For those who absolutely cannot prepare their own sack lunch, a Subway restaurant, or another healthy alternative, can easily be found in any food court. 

On a different note, we should not accuse fast food corporations of being culprits because even if their products are not healthy, they do not present them to be.  For instance, when McDonald’s advertises a Big Mac, they do not deceive the public into thinking it’s a healthy choice.  The Big Mac is advertised as a big tasty burger, not a healthy one.  

Sugar and fatty acids are not drugs, they are merely stimulants that appeal to our taste buds.  Thus, everyone has the power over what they consume.  Those who continue to blame others for their condition or problems, never solve them.  They need to stop the blame game and not give in to their temptations if they truly wish to be healthy.  If one refuses to stop indulging, they have no excuse to complain about their condition.  They are fully responsible for their own actions and by extension, their health status.   People who are unhealthy eaters and overweight are allowing their condition to persist by using fast-food corporations as their scapegoat.  Fast food corporations do not force people to buy their products—they are only serving what people are asking for.