...“Don’t Blame the Eater” is an article that is written by David Zinczenk that discusses something that has become a major problem in the United States here lately, obesity. I found that Zinczenko attempts to argue against the practices of fast-food companies, and he also argues that the number of fast food restaurants that offer affordable, yet very unhealthy meals, is directly related to the growing obesity rate in our country. Zinczenko states in paragraph five, “Today, according to the National Institutes of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country.” I believe that he does not blame the eater or the parents for allowing them to become so unhealthy, but instead he blames the fast food companies. In the beginning of paragraph seven he ask, “Shouldn’t we know better than to eat two meals a day in fast-food restaurants?” Zinczenko continues by answering the question with, “But where, exactly, are consumers—particularly teenagers— supposed to find alternatives? Drive down any thoroughfare in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants.” So basically, Zinczenko believes fast-food packages should provide calorie information, and also warning labels. Although he uses facts and personal experiences to support his arguments, I find his arguments persuasive, but I disagree with him. Zincenko does an excellent job at giving objections to his arguments, even though he...
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...Are We to Blame For Obesity? Fast food is becoming a major issue world-wide causing problems and disease such as obesity, asthma and diabetes. Fast food has become an addiction to almost the entire nation but who is to blame? In the articles, “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko and “What You Eat Is Your Business” by Radley Balko two different viewpoints are expressed on fast food and what it does to the individual as well as the economy. In the articles both authors show their awareness of the problem at hand but point the finger at two very different groups of people using factual and statistical evidence as well as personal opinions. Although both arguments are very valid, David Zinkzenko’s essay provides the reader with a lot more than opinion. The title in every essay brings it to life. A spunky title will keep your audience yearning to read what the writer has to say, while a boring title will readers doped up on energy drinks to get through what the writer has to say. David Zinczenko’s title, “Don’t Blame the Eater” catches the reader’s eyes. The title as a whole has the audience asking questions about the “eater”, and who blames them? However, the title of the second article, “What You Eat Is Your Business”, by Radley Blanko comes off as arrogant and insensitive to the reader. An example of a less arrogant title would be, “All You Can Eat”, this title would be more pleasing to the reader allowing them to imagine an all you can eat buffet. As a reader, I take immediate...
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...Braun 1 Chloe Braun Professor Fine ENC 1101 22 September 2015 "Dont Blame the Eater" by David Zinczenko In this essay David explains why people shouldn't blame the eater, but instead the environment they grew up in. In the introduction of this essay he explains his background. He grew up in a typical home in the 1980's, his parents were split up so they were on a budget. Growing up as a kid for him, lunch and dinner meant Taco Bell, McDonalds, Pizza Hut or Kentucky Fried Chicken. He goes on to say "by age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 frame." (pg. 463) As time went on David eventually turned his life around, went to college, and joined the Navy, where he learned how to eat proper foods and manage his diet. This was when he realized that most teeangers today who live as he did won't turn their lives around. "Today according to National Institues of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country." That is a large percentage of children that have diabetes, considering in "1994 diabetes was generally caused by a genetic disorder and only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity related or Type 2 diabetes." (pg. 463) America went on to donate "$2.6 billion in health care costs in 1969." This action showed that America did realize what obesity was doing to their country. Little did they know it would keep getting worse. Todays...
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...Pro Summary In the short article, Don't Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko demonstrates the self-responsibility of eating fast food. David Zinczenko started by when his life was turned upside down when his parents split up. His father started a new life and mother working long hours to make monthly payments so, eating fast food was his only option. He ate most of his lunches and dinners from McDonald's, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken because they were the provided he with the most affordable meals. Thus, he had weighed approximately 212 pounds however, he took some self-responsibilities when he went to college, and enlisted himself as a Navy reserved. Furthermore, he began to take his health seriously by managing his diet....
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...proteins in the diet to provide energy for work (Allen, 924-932). A majority of the male population were working hard labour jobs. Then came the industrial revolution where machines replaced human labour at work. Thus, more food was processed and canned for consumption after many days. Later, a research done reported that 65% of the population in America was employed in the active labour force. Consequently, less time was available for a family member to prepare quality food since an individual spent averagely 30 mins to prepare a family meal (Allen, 924-932). Invention of machines and other easily available food options promoted eating processed foods to meet the stringent working hours. Thus, as David says it in his essay “Don’t blame the eater” eating habits changed for worse. In fact in his essay he states ‘then as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal. By age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 frame’, David insinuates that food processing firms have a strong influence to lifestyle diseases like obesity in America today (Zinczenko, 195). David mentions having a problem with weight as a result of of eating from fats food restaurants twice a day. Like many other American citizens, fast food choice is the better option considering their preferable cost. However, as David puts it in his...
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...Robin Turner 0165959 ENG 101 – 12 October 11, 2012 Who’s to Blame? It has become common today that obesity has become a serious problem. In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko argues that fast food companies contribute to obesity. Zinczenko chastises these fast food companies. He sympathizes with the teenagers that put in a lawsuit against the fast food industry because he was a latchkey kid himself due to his parents being divorced and his mother working long hours to foot the bills. Zinczenko gained an enormous amount of weight by the time he was 15 years of age. He turned his life around by joining the Navy Reserves, changing his diet and eventually getting involved with a health magazine. I’m of two minds about Zinzcenko’s claim that Obesity and Diabetes are health problems due to the lack of personal responsibility. On one hand, I agree that everyone is accountable for what goes in and out their mouths, except for babies. Also, life is about choices, either one chooses to pick the good choice or go with the bad choice. It’s all up to that person to make the decision. On the other hand, I’m not sure if personal responsibility can outweigh these top notch fast food restaurants. What is a teenager to do if their parents are working extended hours and is never at home to cook a healthy meal? Is it really logical that teens would pull something out the freezer and make them a homemade meal when McDonalds is on the nearest corner and Taco Bell is not far...
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...responsible in their eating habits. Face it, blaming fast food places for being fat has to be hands down the most idiotic statement anyone can make. No one form McDonald's or any other chain will drag you inside and actually force you to eat their food. They also don't force you to overeat either. It just doesn't happen! Even tobacco companies sell their products with known health hazards, yet they have the right to sell and people make the choice to smoke them on a daily basis. The article, "Don't Blame the Eater" by David Zinczenko is a tale of pure denial and blame. Zinczenco comes out and blames the fact that his parents splitting up, it was an excuse for him to over-indulge and become obese at the age of 15. Instead of blaming fast food, the parents should be blamed for being lazy asses and not keeping an eye on what their kid was eating regardless of the circumstances. Even young David should have realized at age 15 that he was getting fat and sluggish. Furthermore, for Zinczenko to state that there are lack of alternatives is a cop-out. I can guarantee that there is some kind of healthy alternative like subway or even a local supermarket to find some lower calorie snacks. In "Don’t Blame the Eater", written by David Zinczenko, he describes how he sympathize with the plight of those who gained their obesity through the consumption of fast food. Zinchenko goes on to describe how as a young man in the 80's, he was victim to a lack of home cooked meals due...
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...country with the smallest amount of practical nutritional knowledge. We are living in a land plagued with obesity. Zinczenko offers a solution to a growing problem by advising the fast-food industry to revel the nutritional value of their products to the nation. Rather than keeping the cover over our eyes. There are numerous opinions linked to the cause of obesity, making it nearly impossible to place the blame on just one thing, which professionals seem to be trying to do! Some are making claims that the advertisers are to blame by trying to influence children from what seems like infancy to buy their products. Others are bringing up the point that nutritional information should be provided so we can make an intellectual decision. Another is saying that it is entirely the large corporations fault for making it easier to be lazy. With such stipulations the finger gets pointed in every direction without results, only a handful of people are actually taking charge of what will ultimately reduce the rise of this obesity epidemic. David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” shows how children are launching a lawsuit against the fast-food industry, for making them fat. His perspective puts the fault for the growing rate of obesity on the fast-food industry. This informs us that fast food companies should protect themselves by providing the nutritional information people need to make informed choices about their “health hazardous” products;...
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...The fast food business is a thriving metropolis in America. According to David Zinczenko’s essay, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, fast food vendors can be found on every block. Zinczenko explains that fast food is the only viable option for the youth of today. He recalls how as a latchkey child, he had no healthy options since fast food was staring him right in the face, causing him to become obese at a young age. Contrary to his beliefs, healthy choices existed when David was a child and still exist today. Inexpensive alternative food sources are not so hard to find. In fact, many fast food restaurants offer somewhat healthy alternatives, such as Subway. If a person chooses to eat at McDonald’s or another fast food place, have a salad, forgo the dressing, and have water instead of a supersized coke. There are plenty of nutritious substitutions out there. Local food markets and grocery stores are not invisible. The same amount of money spent on a burger and fries can be used to buy veggies and fruit, a much healthier choice. Grocery stores sell items that are pre-made and pre-packaged such as salads, wraps, and sandwiches which list the nutritional data right on the package. Fast foods are a matter of convenience for the consumer. Why spend time cooking when you can get your meal in a bag? Unfortunately, this is the mentally of the youth of today. Zinczenko fails to recognize that no one forces a person to enter that fast food establishment. It is purely a matter of choice. Just...
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...Who’s to blame for obesity in America? Is the fast food company who provides the food or us who eat that food? According to Don’t Blame the Eater by David Zinczenko, he says that the fast food companies are to blame. However, I beg to differ; we are responsible for the obesity in America. The fast food companies doesn’t come to your door and ask you to eat their food, instead it’s the other way around. The reason why there is obesity in America is because of the choices that people make and the money that they have. Also the lack of understanding of nutritional values goes hand to hand with the choice that people make. Lots of people eat at unhealthy fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Taco Bell is because they have cheap food. But that don’t mean that fast food is always the best choice. There are fast food restaurant which are little more expensive, but lot healthier, like Chipotle and Subway. The problem with fast food restaurants like Chipotle is that there aren’t that many around like McDonalds. In his essay David Zinczenko wrote that “restaurants like McDonalds don’t have nutritional fast on its food because it isn’t covered under Food and Drug Administration laws, so most people don’t know what they are eating and what kind of nutrients are in it”. But I believe that it is the consumers’ job to find out what they are putting in the body. Also restaurants like McDonalds and Taco Bell have become symbol of American fast food. If you ask anybody to name one fast food...
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...Citizens of the United States of America are normally unhealthy eaters, especially compared to other countries around the world. This is mainly caused by several fast food companies we have in this country compared to other countries around the world. In our society, people travel to establishments such as McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, etc. for dinner or lunch and think nothing of it. While in other places around the world these fast food chains are viewed as a treat that one gets every so often. Why in the United States is fast food consumption viewed as much more acceptable than other places? In David Zinczenko's Don't Blame the Eater he claims that the reason our society is like, this is because kids in America have few other alternatives, not only this, but the parents of these children, let them eat like this because of the convenience, in today's modern society the world moves quickly and for parents it is just easier to drive down the road to...
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...Renee Shell Ms. Johnston English 50 20 May 2014 Parent Responsibility Daniel Weintraub, author of “The battle against fast food begins in the home,” argues that parents are to blame for their obese children due to over consumption of fast food and lack of exercise. Parents are responsible for teaching and instilling to their children healthy lifestyle basics. Two key basics are activity and proper nutrition regarding the child obesity problems seen today. Children do not introduce themselves to fast food, their parents frequently provide it for them. A common child rearing fallacy is when the young child refuses to eat a balanced and healthy diet, the parent reacts by providing some form of fast food or processed food in order to get the child to eat. The lifelong addiction to fast food and unhealthy eating for many children begins there. Fast or processed food provides far more calories in fats and sugars than a balanced healthy diet does. These excess calories cannot be completely exhausted in the form of energy. The remaining calories convert to body fat and result long term into obesity. Contributing to the progression of obesity is due to the parent’s failure to promote an active lifestyle in addition to the reason for...
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...quick to place responsibility on fast food restaurants for obesity rates increasing. Some people have even stated that fast food is addicting like tobacco and that the government should step in and regulate what restaurants can serve. Who purchases these meals? Is the fast food industry really to blame, when we as parents purchase these unhealthy meals for our children? Fast food is not the sole reason behind obesity, but it does contribute to it. Some will agree that obesity can be caused by a number of different factors such as minimal nutritional education, limited exercise, and lack of school nutrition support programs. Some will say that fast food is a convenience or is inexpensive. In the article, “Don’t Blame the Eater”, David Zinczenko states “My parents were split up, my dad off trying to rebuild his life, my mom working long hours to make monthly bills. Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or Pizza Hut. Then as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal” (391-392). Is it because the food is a convenience or was it the low price of having a quick meal? Who is to blame in this situation? Zinczenko blamed fast food companies and having a single mother as the reason he was overweight. Once he became an adult joined a fitness magazine, incorporated exercise, and made more conscious choices in his daily meals, Zinczenko became a healthier weight. Although I do not...
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...America people turn to fast food for a quick meal. As the craze of fast food spread across the country people are starting to feel the negative effects of the quick meals and are blaming fast food for their health problems. But is it really the fast food companies' fault or the customers who consume their food? In modern day society the quickest meal someone in a rush can get is either some fruit or food from a fast food restaurant. Due to the fact that they want a cheap meal that will fill them up, they will go with the fast food restaurant. In a video titled "The Dollar Menu," a family shows that going with the smart choice of fruit instead of fast food will be more expensive than a burger from the dollar menu. The family blames their busy schedule for the unhealthy choices of fast food. The dad from the family in the video has diabetes. Everyone in the family is now immensely concerned that the youngest daughter might be stricken with the debilitating disease next. Swanson 2 Fast food restaurants are the prime suspect today in the obesity epidemic. The human body needs a minimum...
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...In "Don't Blame The Eater", David Zinczenko talks about the relation between the growing number of cases of obesity and Type 2, diabetes, and fast food companies. He provides statistical information on how much of these childhood related cases have been increased. In addition to this, he also provides numbers like 2.6 billion and 100 billion depicting the amount of money spent for health care in 1969 and today. So, he argues that if this continues, then there will be more children suffering from obesity and diabetes in the near future. Zinczenko himself had to survive on fast food which was the only affordable meal available when he was a teenager. But he was able to change his diet once he went to the college. He claims that not everyone will...
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