Blog #5: Don't Eat This Book- Fast Food and the Supersizing of America

While reading the book, I realized that another source which influences the consumption of fast-food in the U.S, is the television advertising industry. It is an amazing fact that T.V. advertising accounts for $60 billion a year. The average American child between age two and eighteen spends about two and a half hours a day watching television. More than half of American children over eight years of age have a T.V. in their bedroom. Therefore, I learned that the fast food chains have the perfect opportunity to target the children through television advertising. Studies have shown also that children who watch four or more hours of T.V. a day are most likely to become obese. I believe that television advertising should be minimized during the afternoon hours when children have returned from school.

Blog #4: Don't Eat This Book- Fast Food and the Supersizing of America

I found it fascinating how the fast food chains in America are trying to target the minds of children, in order to promote sales of their products. Susan Linn, a psychologist and associate director of the Media Center at Baker Children's Hospital discusses how marketing to children has increased dramatically since the 1970's. She claims that children influence how their parents spend their hard- earned money. Linn feels that kids coax their parents into buying snacks and foods which they see on advertisements on the television. Advertisers have figured out that they can influence children into believing they need a toy from the Happy Meal at McDonalds.

Blog #3: Don't Eat This Book- Fast Food and the Supersizing of America

I learned that another contributor to the obesity crisis in the U.S. is the overconsumption of soft drinks. It has recently been discovered that the average American teenager drinks two to three 12-ounce soft drinks a day. This is equal to twenty to thirty teaspoons of sugar every day. Researchers like David Ludwig of Children's Hospital in Boston, feel that consuming soft drinks increases the risk of obesity by at least 50%. Besides the risk of getting type 2 diabetes, soft drinks containing sugar are also bad for the teeth and bones. It seems that the Phosphoric acid in soft drinks pulls the calcium out of bones and teeth, which can cause bone loss later in life.

Blog #2: Don't Eat This Book-Fast Food and the Supersizing of America

I discovered that a big contributor to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. is the rise of the fast food industry. Before 1970, fast food joints were rare. Unfortunately, fast food places are present everywhere we go now- in shopping malls, airports, hospitals, and even colleges. An interesting fact is that in 1970, Americans spent about $6.2 billion at fast food joints. Thirty-four years later, we have spent $124 billion in fast food restaurants. The fast food industry decided to increase the size of its portions, and began selling value meals. This was a tactic to increase sales, and it was successful.

Blog #1: Don't Eat This Book-Fast Food and the Supersizing of America

I was apalled to learn that the United States is the fattest nation on earth. At the present time 65% of Americans are overweight, and 30% of Americans are obese. Statistics show that during the 1990's, the average weight of Americans increased by 10 pounds. Because of obesity, the U.S. has created a market for extra large car seats, giant chairs, and super-heavy-duty bathroom scales. It is an interesting fact that obesity in children has risen quickly since the 1960's. The rate of obesity has doubled in children in the last 20 years. I found it intriguing that obesity rates decrease as the level of education increases. Perhaps this is due to the fact that lower income individuals do not have access to health education and information. The problem with obesity is that illnesses resulting from obesity will kill 400,000 Americans this year. This is because obesity can lead to many health problems like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, colon cancer, and diabetes. It seems that obesity has become an epidemic in the United States.