The research focused on menu composition, external advertising, in-store marketing and consumer behavior for McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Subway, KFC, Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Sonic, Domino’s, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts. The marketing seems to be working: a whopping 40% of parents reported that their child asked to go to McDonald’s at least once a week, and 15% of preschoolers’ parents said they fielded such a request every day. Most of the parents gave in: 84% reported bringing their 2-to-11-year-olds to a fast food restaurant within the previous week. Eating fast food has pretty much become routine for many families, the researchers found. One-third of children and teens reported consuming fast food at least once a week, and 16% to 17% of adolescents’ caloric intake came from fast food restaurants.
Since about 1990, the number of obese adults has increased substantially in the United States. As of 2009, at least 25 percent of the residents in each of 33 states were obese. Of these states, Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia were the least healthy, with 30 percent or more of their populations qualifying as obese. Washington, D.C., and the state of Colorado are the only two regions of the United States where obesity's prevalence is less than 20 percent of the population.
Parents and caregivers can help prevent childhood obesity by providing healthy meals and snacks, daily physical activity, and nutrition education. Healthy meals and snacks provide nutrition for growing bodies while modeling healthy eating behavior and attitudes. Increased physical activity reduces health risks and helps weight management. Nutrition education helps young children develop an awareness of good nutrition and healthy eating habits for a lifetime. The most important strategies for preventing obesity are healthy eating behaviors, regular physical activity, and reduced sedentary activity (such as watching television and videotapes, and playing video games). These preventative strategies are part of a healthy lifestyle that should be developed during early childhood. They can be accomplished by following the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The Dietary Guidelines provide general diet and lifestyle recommendations for healthy Americans and can promote health and reduce risk for chronic diseases.
David Zinczenko’s argument about fast-food corporations misleading consumers by not effectively writing warning labels on their products is compelling. Zinczenko states, “The lack of information about what, exactly, we’re consuming” (154). This is compelling because it shows that corporations are engaging in deceiving tactics by selling their products but not even writing accurately what types of ingredients they contain or how many calories people are consuming every time they eat the food. You have to remember that this food is processed so it would be smart to understand what you’re eating and if it’s even good for your health. He talks about the fast-food not having calorie charts like grocery items display them. This has changed recently; corporations must now inform the consumers of the caloric content that their product contains. It makes sense to do this but corporations found a way to circumvent the rules by not properly listing the ingredients. One of the most common tricks that corporations use is to distribute sugars among many ingredients so that sugars don‘t appear in the top three. For example, a manufacturer may use a combination of sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, brown sugar, dextrose and other sugar ingredients to make sure none of them are present in large enough quantities to attain a top position on the ingredients list.
I believe that the government should regulate more the fast food corporations, by doing so they will control and suppress the mischievous ways that the corporations have engaged in. Tougher Legislation by the federal government is necessary to stop the situation from getting worse. Something should be done by the federal government through its policies to solve the obesity problem. Consumers have a right to expect that the foods they purchase and consume will be safe and of high quality. The burden of solving the obesity problem must not only fall in the government and individuals, but in the community as well. The CDC recommends that communities make fresh fruit and vegetable stands available at workplaces instead of vending machines carrying high-fat, empty-calories snacks. Nutritionist Isobel R. Contento reports on the success of programs that connect schools with local farms, which supply fresh produce for the school menu or stock cafeteria salad bars. One study, notes Contento, saw a 200 percent increase in sales of carrots in a school cafeteria when prices were lowered 50 percent. In another study, raising the price of higher-fat cafeteria options boosted sales of more nutritious items.
Consumers are the most important player in the solution to the obesity epidemic because they make individualized choices about food and lifestyle. If the consumer can be influenced with comprehensible nutrition information and a variety of healthy food choices, perhaps individuals can begin to address weight gain on a personal level. In addition to cultural and psychological influences, four motivators have been identified that affect consumer decisions: taste, quality, convenience, and price. There exists a gap between consumer attitude and behavior that the food industry must consider. Moreover, consumers are confused with the conflicting messages regarding fat, carbohydrates, protein, and calories. Consumers need clarity and reliable nutrition information to make responsible dietary decisions.
In conclusion, it seems that we will have to reassess our entire lifestyle if we are to avoid the problems associated with obesity. Despite restrictive diets and tempting advertisements, most of us instinctively understand good common-sense eating. However, we have to combine this with more activity and with new insights into the importance of good health. If we do not take action soon, we may find ourselves paying a heavy price.
Works Cited
Perner, Lars, Ph.D. University of Southern California. “Consumer Behavior.” Food Marketing, Consumption, and Manufacturing. Los Angeles, CA. 10 Jul. 2008. Web. 26 Apr.2012 < http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/food_marketing.html >
This article talks about the general marketing approaches and techniques applied in the marketing field of many kinds of products but in particular fast food. It treats topics such as test marketing, segmentation, positioning, branding, targeting, consumer research, and market entry strategy that corporations use to lure in consumers.
Nwazota, Kristina. PBS “Obesity edging smoking as No. 1 preventable killer of Americans.” Public Broadcasting Service, McNeil-Lehrer Productions, 15 March. 2004. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. < http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june04/obesity_3-15.html>
In this article, the focus point is the problem of obesity and smoking tobacco in the U.S. it states that obesity is surpassing cigarette smoking as the No. 1 preventable killer. It also explains efforts made by the government to combat obesity.
Harris, Jennifer L. Ph.D., M.B.A., Schwartz, Marlene B. Ph.D., Brownell, Kelly D. Ph.D. Yale Rudd Center “Fast Food FACTS.” Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. <http://www.fastfoodmarketing.org/media/FastFoodFACTS_Report.pdf>
The Food Advertising to Children and Teens Score - was developed by health researchers at Yale University. It contains thorough analysis and studies about the fast food restaurants, menu items, fast food nutrition scores, food marketing techniques, and the science behind the facts.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, January 2010. Web. 28 Apr. 2012 < http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44659>
It provides helpful tips to prevent obesity. It also focuses not only on personal behaviors but biological traits as well. The article mentions the characteristics of the social and physical environments that offer or limit opportunities for positive health outcomes.
Texas Heart Institute “Obesity and Overweight” St. Luke's Episcopal Heart Information Center, Smoking and Your Heart, Diabetes, Nutrition and Major Risk Factors 6 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Apr. 2012. <http://www.texasheart.org/hic/topics/hsmart/riskfact.cfm>
It is a very interesting article that gives tons of information about diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol nutrition. It also provides helpful tips to maintain a healthy lifestyle by providing educational information related to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
Unknown Author. “The Obesity Conspiracy.” Rawrealtalk. Raw Real Talk. N.d.31 March 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://www.rawrealtalk.com/Library/Obesity-theory.hmtl>
This source was helpful to me by giving some facts on obesity in the United States. I chose this source after reading it because I agreed with much of what the author said. It provided me with a main idea to create an argument. It also provided me with a huge amount of data that I screened and links that I used to accurately create my point.