Obesity is the condition in which excess fat has accumulated in the body; usually considered to be 20 percent above the recommended weight for height and age. Obesity can cause many diseases, for example gallbladder, cardiovascular disease, and sleep apnoea just to name a few. In the America the death rate from these diseases is higher than anywhere else in the world and 63% of the entire American population are overweight. Also, the price of trying to treat this disease costs one billion pounds per year and is estimated, by 2050 to have risen considerably to 45 billion per year.
Are the fast food restaurants to blame or are the rising levels of obesity down to us? Firstly, McDonalds is everywhere. There are 23000 McDonalds restaurants in 109 countries serving food and drink to 38 million customers daily. In the UK alone, McDonald’s operates a staggering 900 restaurants. This shows that fast food is the easy, quick option which many people chose to take. Also, now McDonalds offer a ‘drive-thru’ service it is even easier because you don’t have to get out of your car, you can just drive straight through and get a full meal for a reasonable price.
When people are tired travelling home from work, they drive past several McDonald’s restaurants and buy something, meaning they will not need to take time to cook something at home. McDonald’s have caused such an impact in the modern world that even car manufacturers have re designed car models to accommodate for the new sized drinks, re designing cup holders to be able to hold the large McDonald’s drinks. Because the food is so easy to access it seems McDonalds and other fast food restaurants do pay a part in the rising levels of obesity. McDonalds can also be seen to be responsible because of their advertising.
Children like McDonalds due to the happy meals and what they offer. A happy meal usually contains burger, chips, a drink and a toy. The toy attracts children and shows why the happy meal option is so popular. The price is also extremely good value for a full meal, as it costs i?? 1. 99. It is affordable, quick and the children enjoy so it is easy to see why this meal is so well known and popular. Carrot sticks and grapes are also available which gives the healthy option as McDonalds’ have been at the centre of a campaign recently to show people what goes into the food.
Introducing these healthy options has displayed that they aren’t as bad as they are made out to be. However, if children have the choice between carrot sticks and chips not many at all will pick carrot sticks so it is still the same as before. After the criticism they received recently about the content of their food McDonalds’ started to sponsor sporting events like the Olympics which shows they are trying to promote a healthy lifestyle. McDonalds’ are slowly bringing in new healthy techniques to keep customers buying their meals and to carry on being one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world.