Source 4

Jon Swaine addresses the issue that maybe fast food is not to blame for obesity in the United States in his article “Fast Food Restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American Obesity.” Swaine talks about a study conducted by people at the University of California and Northwestern University who say that “the casual like between the consumption of restaurant foods and obesity is minimal at best” (Swaine). The study found that living closer to restaurants had no effect on the likely-hood of someone becoming obese. The study also concluded that people that consume a large amount of calories at restaurants tend to consume a large amount of calories at home also. The authors of this study believe that putting a tax on restaurant food will not make a difference in the obesity rate because if the people do not over eat at the restaurants, they will over eat at home.

            Looking through Google, I found “The Telegraph”, a United Kingdom based newspaper. The newspaper however, has articles about different events going on all over the world. One of the articles in the world section was called “Fast Food Restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American Obesity.” I decided to read the article even though it went against my argument that fast food is to blame for the rising obesity in the United States. It was published in October 2010 in New York, and discussed why putting a tax on restaurant food would not help with the obesity crisis. A study was conducted and it showed that people who consume a large amount of calories at a restaurant are likely to consume large amounts of calories at home, and people that eat small amounts of calories at restaurants are more likely to eat small amounts of calories at home. Also some statistics about obesity was put in to strengthen the argument. The government estimates that about 1/3 of the population of the United States is obese, and around $150-$175 billion is spent in medical costs a year related to obesity The researchers then said that by the government putting a tax on restaurant foods, the obesity would not decline because if a person does not consume a large amount of calories at a restaurant, they will just consume a large amount of calories at home. After reading the article however, I want to know what people were observed. I know people who are on a diet and watch what they eat, but when they go to restaurants, they consume large amounts of food that is high in calories.

Swaine, Jon. "Fast Food Restaurants ‘not to blame’ for American Obesity." The Telegraph
                        24 Oct 2010. Print.