Nope, McDonald's Isn't Making Us Fat

You can only blame yourself for eating unhealthy and not exercising. If you are over weight without a health problem or not pregnant then you yourself are to blame. You can't blame fastfood.

of @ Jan 17, 2009 08:32:56 AM

Nothing to See Here, Move Along

First, MikeT, did you even read the article...obviously not!

Second, add this to the long list of banned studies because it does not parrot what the government and/or ideological thugs want to be true.

I for one am praying for the day when the MikeTs and governments of the world recognized the futility of controlling other people's behavior, and start minding their own business.

George P. Burdell of GA @ Jan 16, 2009 17:42:32 PM

Um..."no evidence of a causal link between restaurants and obesity" is NOT the equivalent of "no evidence of a causal link between McDonald's and obesity".

Fast Food Nation is not a criticism of restaurants in general. Rather, it points out the hazards of eating the sort of greasy, high-fat, nutritionally compromised fare that characterizes most of the menu items at McDonald's. It's a response to the claims by McDonald's to the contrary.

You can extol the virtues of "personal responsibility" all you want, and I agree to the extent that adults should make their own decisions, even when it's to their detriment. Don't tax restaurants. But the argument is more nuanced than that. If fast food has addictive qualities, which I think Fast Food Nation makes a decent argument for, then what do you say to the fact that millions of advertising dollars are aimed directly at hooking kids on their product as young as possible?

Anyway, taxing "restaurants" is a terrible solution to an ill-defined problem. Crack down on misleading advertising, especially when aimed at kids, and make nutritional information easily accessible to customers. And government should stop being beholden to industry lobbyists. Obesity has health implications and cost implications for the medical system. Launch public awareness campaigns which unabashedly differentiate between healthy and unhealthy food products, provide incentives for people to eat fresh fruit and vegetables. So much could be done to improve the health of the nation if the will was there.

JH @ Jan 16, 2009 15:22:40 PM

You are missing the Point

I think that you are looking for a black and white answer..next you will tell me using this logic that cigarettes do not cause cancer because there are so many other things that are in our water and food that may have an impact.

Fast food is high in calories and is not nutritious and a large amount of the population finds it easy, affordable and convenient. It may be the single biggest reason why people are not starving in some cases. That does not make it healthy...

so why are we spending so much time on studies... I WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO FIND THAT THIS WAS FUNDED BY THE FAST FOOD CHAINS THROUGH SOME PROXY.

Sanjay Bhatnagar of TX @ Jan 16, 2009 13:37:23 PM

absolute poppycock

What makes america fat is the fact that low quality food full of empty calories and trans fats is so cheap and quick, while high quality food full of nutrients, amino acids, unsaturated fats and high fiber content is so expensive and takes so long to prepare. If we focused funding on lowering the price of decent food we could effectively stimulate that part of the economy, driving prices down further while creating thousands of new green farming jobs and increasing the overall health of the average american. It's not a matter of choice, it's a matter of convenience and cost.

Chaz Forgiste of TX @ Jan 16, 2009 13:04:40 PM

No Mike, making McDonald's illegal is not the answer. Canned news and misleading the public about the obvious fact that eating more fatty foods is not healthy should be illegal. This blog entry misinterprets the study with a capitalist pro-McDonald's bias. I wonder how much get got paid for this blog entry.

Hamburgler of RI @ Jan 16, 2009 11:59:57 AM

McDonalds

The Government is not responsible for YOUR children,YOU are. McDonalds doesn't send out a large hook and snag your car bumper as you drive by and haul you into the drive-thru. You and YOU alone are responsible for that action. The government should not be dictating what the public ingests. What YOU put in YOUR mouth is YOUR responsibility.

booklady2228 of PA @ Jan 16, 2009 11:23:22 AM

Junk food and junk science

Dr. Andrew Weil pointed out that if you wanted to scientifically design food that would be the worst possible in terms of health and nutrition it would be America's Fast Food where McDonalds reigns supreme. This study focused only on obesity which is just one of many negative factors associated with poor nutrition. Perhaps the study should have also looked at blood cholesterol, blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.

Go into a McDonalds sometime and take a look at the customers.

john koroloff of WA @ Jan 16, 2009 11:14:43 AM