McDonalds has clearly contributed to the rise in worldwide obesity. This fact has been brought to public consciousness through news stories directly on this topic and due to lawsuits filed against McDonalds for this reason. McDonalds has contributed to obesity the world over. The question is how.
What Makes McDonalds Different?
There are many restaurants out there serving food that isn’t what nutritionists would consider healthy so why is McDonalds so different? Is it the gargantuan size of this corporation that makes it easier to target? Is the nutritional content of the food that much worse than so many other restaurants? Or is it a combination of factors?
Around The World
McDonalds is everywhere. It has in excess of 32,000 local restaurants and is in more than 100 countries. This is an important fact to note because anything McDonalds is doing it is doing it around the world. But now that you know this restaurant chain is everywhere, what exactly is it doing to contribute to worldwide obesity?
Ease Of Access
The fact that these restaurants are everywhere makes them easy to get to. People like convenience in all its forms so these omnipresent restaurants get some of their appeal from this fact. Their carefully chosen locations, not just in locales with heavy traffic but also near schools and other such institutions, make them hard to avoid.
Cost
Add to this easy access the fact that the food is cheap. If you want to stretch a dollar then head to McDonalds. They have a menu just for you.
Food Content
The majority of the foods at McDonalds are high calorie foods with little nutritional value. They are not devoid of nutritional value altogether but they are poor choices when compared to natural food choices. Most of the foods McDonalds offers are high in fat and sugar. The other factors mentioned so far make the food appealing and easy to get. The fact that this is the type of food being offered means that obesity is the foreseeable end result.
Portion Sizes
Portion sizes are also geared toward creating obese individuals. As people become accustomed to large portion sizes then they begin desiring these portion sizes. It is also easier to eat too much of calorie dense fast food than it is to overeat on fruits and vegetables. It takes more calories to become physically full when eating most McDonalds foods, once again contributing to obesity.
McDonalds Healthy Choices
McDonalds has begun providing its customers with healthier choices. There are more salads and fruit and such on the menu now. Even some of these new items have come under scrutiny but they deserve to be acknowledged, even if they are only a small part of the McDonalds menu.
What About Consumer Choice?
Some people want to put the full blame for obesity on the consumer and people do make their own choices. But when McDonalds is everywhere, offers lots of food for little money, and uses marketing campaigns to promote its unhealthy foods then it cannot be without responsibility in the matter. Fighting McDonalds becomes fighting the norm. The individual must make healthy choices. In any case, McDonalds has contributed to the rise in worldwide obesity and doesn’t appear to be stopping anytime soon.
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