Summary/Response Essay
Blame Unhealthy Restaurants
In America, it is not uncommon for families to eat fast-food many times each week. Americans rely on fast-food when they do not feel like cooking a meal at home, or they are just too busy to make a meal. We ignore the impact that the fast-food has on our health and focus on how convenient it is to stop by McDonald’s or Taco Bell for a quick meal. David Zinczenko talks about the effects fast-food chains have on the health of Americans in his article “Don’t Blame the Eater.” Zinczenko explains fast-food chains are to blame for the increase in obesity-related diabetes, Type-2 diabetes, in American children because the restaurants are deceiving their consumers. Zinczenko accurately explains the availability, effects, and truths of fast-food.
In the article, Zinczenko expresses his feelings regarding the rising health problems related to obesity caused by fast-food restaurants. According to Zinczenko, teens who are left on their own for dinner choose to go to fast food restaurants more frequently. Zinczenko admits, “Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut” (Zinczenko 391). He believes that teens choose to go to these fast-food chains for dinner because there are not many places to get a fast, healthy meal. Zinczenko also points out that fast-food restaurants have made that percent of obesity-related diabetes rise in America. Zinczenko has noticed that fast-food chains list calories for one menu item separately, therefore they are deceiving their consumers. As more children are affected by the deceiving fast-food chains, Zinczenko believes that more angry parents will speak out against these restaurants.
Zinczenko shares that when he was a teenager, he would have to eat meals by himself. He would eat at fast-food restaurants for multiple meals a day because it was the most affordable option. According to Zinczenko, “Then as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal” (Zinczenko 391). I agree that fast-food restaurants are the only affordable options for teens to get a ready meal because in my experience, I eat fast-food when my parents are not able to make dinner. I also choose to eat fast-food because it is readily available for whenever I am hungry, and I do not have to make the food myself. Although it is easy for us teens to just go get some fast-food, we must watch our intake to prevent bad health.
Talking from personal experiences, Zinczenko explains that teens will become obese if they do not watch their health. Zinczenko himself writes, “But most of the teenagers who live, as I once did, on a fast-food diet won’t turn their lives around: They’ve crossed under the golden arches to a likely fate of lifetime obesity” (Zinczenko 392). I agree with Zinczenko’s belief that the teens that eat fast-food daily are on the tract to lifetime obesity. The teens may not realize at the time how harmful the food that they are consuming really is. They also do not realize how many calories each menu item may contain.
Many fast-food chains do not provide calorie information out in plain sight at the restaurants. In Zinczenko’s views, “Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard to understand” (Zinczenko 393). Zinczenko is right when he states that the calorie information is not clear. If I went to McDonald’s and ordered a meal that included a salad, the information sheet would separately list the salad itself and the dressing. They would also serve you more than one serving of salad and dressing. Therefore, the consumer would get tricked into thinking that the whole meal would be what the salad is for a single serving.
In conclusion, David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” effectively explains the availability, effects, and truths of fast-food. With as many Americans that eat away from home and choose to eat fast-foods, the obesity rate and health complications were sure to rise. The causes and effects that fast-food chains have on American children’s health, which Zinczenko described in his article, is well supported by the reality that we live in today. We see the effects of eating too much fast-food on a daily basis, and we need to educate Americans on how to eat healthier.
Works Cited
Zinczenko, David. "Don’t Blame the Eater." They Say I Say With Readings. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Ed. Russel Durst. 2E ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 179-189. Print
In America, it is not uncommon for families to eat fast-food many times each week. Americans rely on fast-food when they do not feel like cooking a meal at home, or they are just too busy to make a meal. We ignore the impact that the fast-food has on our health and focus on how convenient it is to stop by McDonald’s or Taco Bell for a quick meal. David Zinczenko talks about the effects fast-food chains have on the health of Americans in his article “Don’t Blame the Eater.” Zinczenko explains fast-food chains are to blame for the increase in obesity-related diabetes, Type-2 diabetes, in American children because the restaurants are deceiving their consumers. Zinczenko accurately explains the availability, effects, and truths of fast-food.
In the article, Zinczenko expresses his feelings regarding the rising health problems related to obesity caused by fast-food restaurants. According to Zinczenko, teens who are left on their own for dinner choose to go to fast food restaurants more frequently. Zinczenko admits, “Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut” (Zinczenko 391). He believes that teens choose to go to these fast-food chains for dinner because there are not many places to get a fast, healthy meal. Zinczenko also points out that fast-food restaurants have made that percent of obesity-related diabetes rise in America. Zinczenko has noticed that fast-food chains list calories for one menu item separately, therefore they are deceiving their consumers. As more children are affected by the deceiving fast-food chains, Zinczenko believes that more angry parents will speak out against these restaurants.
Zinczenko shares that when he was a teenager, he would have to eat meals by himself. He would eat at fast-food restaurants for multiple meals a day because it was the most affordable option. According to Zinczenko, “Then as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal” (Zinczenko 391). I agree that fast-food restaurants are the only affordable options for teens to get a ready meal because in my experience, I eat fast-food when my parents are not able to make dinner. I also choose to eat fast-food because it is readily available for whenever I am hungry, and I do not have to make the food myself. Although it is easy for us teens to just go get some fast-food, we must watch our intake to prevent bad health.
Talking from personal experiences, Zinczenko explains that teens will become obese if they do not watch their health. Zinczenko himself writes, “But most of the teenagers who live, as I once did, on a fast-food diet won’t turn their lives around: They’ve crossed under the golden arches to a likely fate of lifetime obesity” (Zinczenko 392). I agree with Zinczenko’s belief that the teens that eat fast-food daily are on the tract to lifetime obesity. The teens may not realize at the time how harmful the food that they are consuming really is. They also do not realize how many calories each menu item may contain.
Many fast-food chains do not provide calorie information out in plain sight at the restaurants. In Zinczenko’s views, “Some fast-food purveyors will provide calorie information on request, but even that can be hard to understand” (Zinczenko 393). Zinczenko is right when he states that the calorie information is not clear. If I went to McDonald’s and ordered a meal that included a salad, the information sheet would separately list the salad itself and the dressing. They would also serve you more than one serving of salad and dressing. Therefore, the consumer would get tricked into thinking that the whole meal would be what the salad is for a single serving.
In conclusion, David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” effectively explains the availability, effects, and truths of fast-food. With as many Americans that eat away from home and choose to eat fast-foods, the obesity rate and health complications were sure to rise. The causes and effects that fast-food chains have on American children’s health, which Zinczenko described in his article, is well supported by the reality that we live in today. We see the effects of eating too much fast-food on a daily basis, and we need to educate Americans on how to eat healthier.
Works Cited
Zinczenko, David. "Don’t Blame the Eater." They Say I Say With Readings. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Ed. Russel Durst. 2E ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 179-189. Print