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Elijah Chavez
Professor Maya Alapin
English 220-023
6 November 2015
Writing Lab #5: Chapter 8, Connecting the Parts
Transition words and phrases express and highlight meanings, messages and feelings. Transition
words connect and link thoughts and ideas. They emphasize important facts, evidence,
and statistics. The purpose of transition words is to improve writing, clarity and
communication.
The Detrimental Side of Fast Food
When is enough, enough? Burgers and fries have always been the perfect match
for Americans when filling an eager and empty stomach. Beginning in the early 19th
century, fast food restaurants have revolutionized the way we eat worldwide. Being able
to pick up a meal quickly and affordably has made eating out very appealing to the
everyday person. But
as good as this may
sound, fast food
restaurants have taken
a toll on consumers
health with
Burgers, Fries, and Smoothies

outrageous rising rates

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in obesity as seen through the last decades since the foundation of this big business. This
growth in obesity destroys confidence, leads to serious health problems, and has been
linked to more than 60 chronic diseases. According to the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than two-thirds of
U.S. adults and nearly one-third of children struggle with overweight and obesity. In the
past 30 years alone, childhood obesity has more than doubled and adolescent obesity has
quadrupled. The dangerous result of eating fast food is a growing crisis and epidemic that
needs to be changed.
Fast foods contains extremely high amounts of Trans fats, calories, salt, and
sugar which significantly lowers our immune system. Fast foods are low in antioxidants,
and have very little of the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals we need to have a healthy
life. Excessive consumption of fast foods directly leads to addiction, obesity, diabetes,
depression, and cancer. Fast food is mass produced, processed, and filled with unnatural
compounds of artificial ingredients, preservatives, additives, and chemicals. This makes it
almost impossible for human bodies to function normally when consuming fast food. The
truth is fast food is a detriment to the human body and causes immediate damages to the
body. Fast food severely shortens life and reduces the quality of life.
One of the most notable companies of all fast food restaurants in the world is Mc
Donalds. According to McDonalds official website they proudly state McDonalds is,
the world's leading foodservice retailers in more than 100 countries, with more than
36,000 restaurants serving approximately 69 million people every day. A hot sandwich
prepared and served at a fast pace and with consistent quality throughout their different
locations made Mc Donalds very successful in controlling the fast food market. But with

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the start of this new type of food industry sparked many questions about how these
sandwiches are made and how this food really affects the body. The truth is that obesity is
growing faster than at any time in history. According to a scientific report titled, Fast
Food Nation: One Small Bite For Man, One Giant Problem for Mankind, by Edward
Helmore and John Arlidge, Many doctors blame rising consumption of the kind of preprocessed, pre-cooked fatty foods that the big chains serve with relish. In the award
winning movie documentary, Super Size Me, released in 2004 a man named Morgan
Spurlock directed, investigated, and researched what would happen to the human body if
someone ate 3 meals a day strictly from the fast food restaurant McDonalds for 30 days.
The only guidelines for him was to eat every item on the menu at least once and no
ordering of Supersize meals unless offered. The main purpose of the documentary,
Super Size Me, was to highlight and show the advantages/disadvantages of eating fast
food and to keep a detailed record of how his body reacts and changes by reporting to
professional doctors. Morgan Spurlock states, I picked McDonald's because they're
iconic. They are iconic of every food to me of this entire fast food culture - the fast-food
lifestyle that we all lead of overeating and not exercising." In the movie documentary,
Super Size Me, Morgan Spurlock concludes by saying, in only thirty days of eating
nothing but McDonald's I gained twenty-four and a half pounds, my liver turned to fat
and my cholesterol shot up sixty-five points. My body fat percentage went from eleven to
eighteen percent, still below the national average of twenty-two percent for men and
thirty percent for women. I nearly doubled my risk of coronary heart disease, making
myself twice as likely to have heart failure. I felt depressed and exhausted most of the
time, my mood swung on a dime and my sex life was nonexistent. I craved this food

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more and more when I ate it, and got massive headaches when I didn't. This preprocessed food is not only one of the main causes of enormous weight gain amongst fast
food

Ronald and the Gang

patrons but it targets both adults as well as children. For instance, Mc Donalds have
found ways to get kids attention through the use of commercials, toys, playgrounds and
different types of misleading persuasive techniques. For example, the friendly and
welcoming clown, named Ronald Mc Donald, attracts kids to play and eat at his
restaurant. This type of modeling could make kids feel that its always okay to eat fast
food when thats not always the case.
Without anything being done to help prevent this growing rise in obesity, future
generations could be susceptible. A new study conducted in 2009-2010 published in the
American Journal of Preventive Medicine predicts that if obesity rates stay consistent,
42 percent of Americans will be obese in 2030. With Mc Donalds and other fast food
companies motivated to produce their products cheaper, theyre able to increase their
business and make higher profits. This doesnt necessarily mean that food companies are
always going to pick consumers heath over profit. In the movie documentary, Super Size
Me, Morgan Spurlock states, They're a business, no matter what they say. And by selling

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you unhealthy food, they make millions. And no company wants to stop doing that. If this
ever-growing paradigm is going to shift, it's up to you. Thats why its essential that
consumers understand what exactly they eat and the risks that they hold. For instance, in
the award winning documentary, Food Inc. Industrial Food System, there was a boy
named Kevin who died not more than a week after eating at a fast food restaurant called,
Jack in the Box. The doctors told Kevins mother that he had been diagnosed with a
disease called, E-Coli, because of contamination of the food at this food company. This
serious case is just one of many and should not be overlooked. Anybody ordering a
hamburger at these major fast food restaurants shouldnt have to worry about getting food
poisoning or even dying because of the contamination of their food supply. Huge fast
food companies that are part of todays economy should take those issues very seriously
and have regular inspections of their food being distributed to people. Real food truly is
organic, wholesome and nourishing. Real food is a gift from earth. The essence of food is
one of the most powerful natural forms of sacred medicine to the human body. Food
naturally heals, grows, and nourishes our bodies, spirits, and minds.
Food contamination and obesity are some of the biggest problems the world faces
today. This is not something the world can change overnight, however, using different
methods to help lower obesity rates and stop the spreading of diseases like E-Coli is
something worth working on. Making sure that the fast food people eat is not infected by
means of regulation and to end targeting against children in fast food commercials would
be two steps closer to a cleaner and healthier society. Healthy eating habits and regular
physical activity is the key to achieving and maintaining a healthy balanced life. We must
consciously realize the importance of our physical well-being because it affects our daily

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lives. We are what we eat. We have to be strategic, motivated, and educated to be healthy
because it can make the difference between life and death.

Works Cited
Brown, David. "Study Predicts 42 Percent of Americans Will Be Obese in 2030."
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 07 May 2012. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.
<https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/study-predicts-42-percent-ofamericans-will-be-obese-in-2030/2012/05/07/gIQAeaDL9T_story.html>.
Food, Inc. Industrial Food System. Dir. Robert Kenner. 2008. Documentary.
Helmore, Edward, and John Arlidge. "Fast Food Nation: One Small Bite for Man,
One Giant Problem for Mankind." Fast Food Nation: One Small Bite for Man, One
Giant Problem for Mankind. Observer [New York], 11 Feb. 2001. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.commondreams.org/scriptfiles/views01/0211-03.htm>.
"Our Story." McDonalds. McDonalds, Web. 06 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en/our_story.html>.

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"Overweight & Obesity." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, 19 June 2015. Web. 06 Nov. 2015.
<http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/>.
"Ronald and the Gang." McDonalds. McDonalds, Web. 06 Nov. 2015.
<https://mcdonalds.com.ph/content/page/ronald_gang>.
Super Size Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. 2004.
Documentary.
"Wood Pulp In Your Burgers, Fries, And Smoothies?" Exposing The Truth. M
Caulfield, 09 July 2014. Web. 06 Nov. 2015. <http://www.exposingtruth.com/tasty-woodpulp-burger/>.