Is Fast Food the New Tobacco?

Fast Food vs Tobacco? When you see this topic, you may think, are we comparing fast food to tobacco or vice versa? Are we trying to see which one is better for you? Should we eat fast food instead of smoking or smoke instead of eating fast food? Should we do both? I thought the same thing. This topic is about the advertisement and marketing of fast food, and if it's the new "it" item as tobacco once was. Now, whether it is or not, since fast food is connected in some way to obesity, is that a personal or governmental issue?

What do I think? I think that what you choose to eat is a personal choice and the government should have no say in what you eat, but at the same time people should not be penalized for their health issues. 

    Fast food companies, such as McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Chick-fil-a, and many others may do a lot of different marketing strategies to attract customers, but how else are they supposed to run their business? To keep their businesses running, they need to do whatever is possible to maintain success. That is also including the fact that they don't provide calorie charts, but even if they did, how many people would look at it anyways? Also, include the fact that even the things that do have calorie charts are somewhat tricking you as well.

They get you by saying their product is 75 calories, but then there's a million servings or no nutrient benefit from it as well. Then, if they do tell us the warnings, it's in the smallest font, and most do not strain their eyes to read it. Unfortunately, the general public has to be the scapegoat, but fast-food restaurants need all the traffic. They run the same as any other business/restaurant would. You can't really blame them for that. Another point is that fast food is literally FAST FOOD, nothing more than that. It is food made to be given to you in a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds. It is literally known for being extremely convenient and affordable, but nothing made that quick can actually be good for you. People should not expect a healthy gourmet meal. If there's a circumstance where you cannot afford anything else, then that's understandable because they had no other option. To those who simply that don't feel like cooking or driving to their local grocery store, that's a choice they made for a short-term benefit, not long-term. 

    Now, fast food may not be the healthiest option out there to eat and a contributor to obesity, it isn't the only contributor. The other contributors to obesity can be genetics, stress/anxiety, environment, aging, or simply just because people carry their weight differently. Due to that, the government can't just simply take away all the unhealthy foods. It really won't do anything, but make people fight. People will still find a way to get it anyways. Revoking something from someone will only make them want it more. Ways to go about it is to teach them how to manage it, and if they choose not to listen, that's on them. In What You Eat is Your Business, he says that they should not manipulate the food options and they should encourage people to be responsible of their own health (p.396). You can't take away things and expect it to erase all problems. Just because a student can't get a can of soda at school, doesn't mean they won't drink a two liter at home. Another argument would be that just because the government throws a bunch of money at "anti-obesity campaigns" doesn't really help but it just makes matters worse. They should not have so much voice on our bodies. If being plastered all around that we should all just lose weight, that's going to affect a lot of body images, confidence, and cause eating disorders for so many people. The government should just promote being healthy and safe ways to achieve that. 

    On the other hand, just because people have health issues or suffer from obesity, doesn't mean that they should be penalized for it. Sometimes people cannot control their circumstances. Would you like to be punished for something you cannot control? One of the ways the author from What You Eat is Your Business thinks obese people should be penalized for is to pay for their own health visits or things they take to maintain their health problems, instead of making people like him pay (p.398). Like I've stated before, some people have no other choice. Some are poor, so to agree with making them pay more because of their health problems won't make anything better. It'll just leave their health to decline even more because in financial need, they're going to choose eating or feeding their family over going to a doctor's visit. People who suffer from these problems do not need to be penalized, but just be led on the right path and to choose for themselves.