Do You Blame Fast Food For The Obesity Epidemic?

A student asked me, "Are fast food companies to blame for the obesity epidemic in America?" The simple answer would have to be "no" because the cause of obesity is much more complex.

Obesity is a problem of balance -- eating more than our body uses. Seems simple, yet it is incredibly complex. There's a balance between blaming the person or blaming something else. Yes, we have personal choice. And yes, our behaviour is profoundly shaped by our culture and environment. Factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic includes changes to our food environment as well as our general level of physical activity. Think about how things were different in our parent's childhood. Families ate their meals together. Eating at a restaurant was a rare occasion even for the prosperous. Importantly, we tended to eat three meals a day with one snack, not continually graze. The food portions were much smaller. In the past, we may have actually eaten more fat, but on balance we ate fewer calories, and were more physically active.

McDonald's has been, and continues to be, a powerful leader in creating change to our food culture. On the positive, McDonald's has made considerable strides to respond to the public challenge presented by "Supersize Me" and "Food Inc." When McDonald's negotiated with the National Heart Foundation of Australia to create "Heart Tick" approved meals, they had to remove trans fats from the fry vats. Because McDonald's leverages their food production on a world-wide basis, changes in the Australian McDonald's menu resulted in trans fats being removed world-wide. (Thanks Mate!)

There continues to be much room for improvement, yet you'll find most fast food outlets have one or more healthy choices... this is because of consumer demand. Instead of blaming the fast food industry for the obesity epidemic, we can accept that we have the power to influence those big corporations through the choices we make. Ask for and read the nutrition facts provided in the fast food restaurants... and the restaurant will respond by making this information more available. When you choose the lower fat lower calorie items those individual sales add up, they track it, and will respond by providing more healthy choices. Restaurants are in business. To stay in business they must listen to their customers...you! We demand convenience, so they give it to us. If we demand healthy food that is also convenient, they will respond.

Message for Today: We vote with our food dollars. What are you going to vote for? I choose health!