Lindsay 1

Scott Lindsay

Professor Robert Arnold

1102-063

May 11 2011

Final Paper

Dear Author,

There is a problem rising in America dealing with the weight of the people.

You said “Does fast food cause obesity? In short... yes. While it is certainly not the only

cause, in conjunction with other factors, fast food restaurants are a big part of the obesity

problem. “We need to come to an agreement and I have some resources that might be able

to change your mind a bit and see how there is other things besides fast foods are possibly

even bigger cause. We need to work together to get people to understand that obesity is a

real thing and that the people themselves can change this endangering infection.

McDonalds themselves is aware that their food is high in calories and even one sandwich

has half of the recommended dose of calories in it. They are trying to add healthy items onto

their menus and cut back on the calories in their already famous burgers. McDonald’s double

quarter pounder with cheese has 740 calories. That is more than 1/3 the daily recommended

calorie intake. The triple milkshakes have over half the daily recommended calories, as does

there deluxe breakfast meal with biscuit and syrup included.( McDonald's USA Nutrition Facts

for Popular Menu Items) Americans have learned how to mass produce food and make it last
 Lindsay 2

longer and taste better but somewhere along the way the food has been lost and replaced by

ingredients that are really long to pronounce.

Fast foods have enough fats and calories in one meal to satisfy the whole day and not to

mention there are no nutrients in these meals. McDonald’s meals have been tested and they take

longer to decay then normal unprocessed foods. (Obesity in America) Now I know they are

adding salads and parfaits to the menu to try and make up for this outrageous amount of calories

and most of the salad calorie count is between 100-400, which for a salad is still kind of high and

that is not even including the 100 calorie dressings(McDonald's USA Nutrition Facts for Popular

Menu Items). At least McDonalds is trying to make healthy food even though the prices are

really high for them and it is cheaper to get a burger.

Even if you want to say it is McDonald’s fault I would agree with you. I myself love

McDonalds and I am not obese. If people would learn to not eat it as much as they do then

maybe those people would not be obese. Science has proven that people have started eating more

because of fast foods’ portion sizes. Since the portions are bigger and Americans are eating

more, the calorie intake is too much for our body to normally handle. People cannot burn off all

that they take in.( Obesity in America) We need to get it out to people that home cooked meals

are actually very healthy for you compared to fast food places such as McDonalds. I can

understand that some people do not have the time, they have a hectic work schedule and fast

food is the only way to get their nutrients. Well if we can talk to some companies and get them to

lower the prices of their healthy food items then maybe these busy workers can get healthy food

instead of the high calorie items.

 Lindsay 3

The last thing I can think of that we can try to do to get obesity down is simply try to get

people to exercise daily. Americans are the laziest people on the planet and studies have proven

it. Americans drive everywhere no one rarely walks anymore, people spend an average of 2.26

hours a day watching television, and kids and teenagers spend even more time than that playing

video games.( Table 8. Time spent in primary activities (1) for the civilian population 18 years

and over by employment status, presence and age of youngest household child, and sex, 2009

annual averages) People sit for more than half the day either at home, work, or travelling. If we

could get these people to get active and exercise then maybe the obesity rate would fall and

Americans would not be known as the fattest country. According to the Center for Disease

Control and Prevention adult obesity has increased by 60% in the past twenty years, where as

children obesity has tripled over the past thirty years. Obesity related deaths have become the

second biggest reason in America with a staggering 300,000 per year. There have been studies

declaring immigrants such as Indians and Mexicans of being more obese than their counterparts

back in their homeland.( Obesity in America)

As you can tell we can come to an agreement about Americans becoming more obese

over the years and they know this yet they do nothing. There might be slight change but no one is

drastically trying to get Americans healthy. I know you say McDonalds does have a lot to do

with the obesity but can you still side with that statement after what I have said and stated? You

should realize now that Americas own way of life is there probem for obesity. Even with fast

food places all over and taking over school systems, Americans still buy it and eat unhealthy

amounts of. I will tell you that there are some cases in which an obese person has heard the news

of him dying soon and he started to avoid high sodium, unsaturated, processed foods. He started

exercising and being active and making healthy choices in life and he was able to survive and
 Lindsay 4

make it through the obese phase. He lived and continues to practice healthy living. Now please

come to reason and understand that we can make a difference with just a few letters and talking

to the right people. McDonalds should lower their healthy food prices and start using natural

unprocessed foods. Author, I would like to hear your response about how you feel on this topic

as soon as you can. I have given my insights in hoping to persuade you.

Thank you for your time and I look forward to your response,

Scott Lindsay
 Lindsay 5

“McDonald's USA Nutrition Facts for Popular Menu Items” McDonalds. Web. 10 May 2011.

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionfacts.pdf

“Table 8. Time spent in primary activities (1) for the civilian population 18 years and over by

employment status, presence and age of youngest household child, and sex, 2009 annual

averages“ Bureau of Labor Statistics. Web. 10 May 2011.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t08.htm

“Obesity in America“ Down to Earth. Web. 10 May 2011.

http://www.downtoearth.org/health/nutrition/obesity-america

“Does fast food cause obesity?” Web. 11 May 2011.

http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/fast-food-cause-obesity.html