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Are Fast Food Restaurants to Blame for Obesity? Essay Example

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Are Fast Food Restaurants to Blame for Obesity? Essay Example
“If ever there were a newspaper headline custom-made for Jay Leno’s monologue, this was it. Kids’ taking on McDonald’s this week, suing the company for making them fat. Isn’t that like middle-aged men suing Porsche for making them get speeding tickets? Whatever happened to personal responsibility?” David makes an excellent point as he opens his article, but then contradicts himself by telling us that he believes McDonalds is to blame for obesity in America. It is my belief that his entire article can be invalidated in just two words: personal responsibility. Each individual is responsible for the decisions that they make regarding their health or any aspect of their life for that matter. If we blame fast food restaurants for making us obese, where does the blame stop? It is even more critical for parents to recognize the need for personal responsibility, because they are not only responsible for their health, but they are responsible for teaching their children how to eat right and take care of themselves as they grow up. Some might argue that if fast food chains changed their portion size or labeled their products with nutritional information, that consumers would make better choices. If society is allowed to blame obesity on a fast food restaurant, then it will start a downward spiral with no end in sight. Are casinos to blame for gambling addictions? Are tobacco companies to blame for cancer? With this mindset, one can do anything they want and never accept responsibility for any of it. Personal responsibility must be reinforced if we are going to accomplish anything. The only one to blame for the decision to eat a cheeseburger, gamble away your income, or light up a cigarette is the person that makes the decision. We are seeing more and more frivolous lawsuits making their way through the courts and judges are awarding plaintiffs on even the most ridiculous suits. Yes, fast food restaurants are bad for our health, but so are cigarettes and alcohol.
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