The Social and Economic Impacts of Fast Food

1
The Social and Economic Impacts of Fast Food

• By Jeanette Graham

2
What is Fast Food and Where Did it Come From?

• Inexpensive, non-nutritious, quickly prepared
  food
• Introduced in America on July 7, 1912 Automat,
  NYC
• First restaurant was White Castle
• Most successful walk up was McDonalds
• They based the restaurant on the principles of
  high speed, large volume, and low price (Ritzer
  2004 p. 38).

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Social Impacts

• First regarded as a treat
• Social gatherings birthday parties,
  celebrations, etc
• Discovery Zone, Chuckie Cheese, playpens in
  McDonalds and Burger King
• The Consumption of fast food by children
  increased dramatically from 1970 to the
  mid-1990sits estimated that children now get 10
  percent of their total energy intake from fast
  foods, compared to 2 percent in the late 1970s
  (Robinson 2004 para.1).

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Social Impacts

• Nutrition

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Social Impacts

• Health problems Obesity, hypertension, asthma,
  malnutrition, high cholesterol
• the odds of becoming obese over a 15-year period
  increased by 86 among young white
  adultsvisiting fast-food restaurants more than
  twice per week (Bowman 2004, para. 20).
• Start eating as a child, continue to adulthood
• More than 100 million adults are considered
  overweight, and 44 million considered obese

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Economic Impacts

• Large profits
• new, convenience, appealing to children
• Employment
• The large number of people employed in fast-food
  restaurants accounts for over 40 percent of the
  approximately 6 million people employed in
  restaurants of all types. Fast-food restaurants
  rely heavily on teenage employees- almost 70
  percent of their employees are 20 years of age or
  younger (Ritzer, 2006, p. 171).

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Economic Impacts

• New markets
• Diet pills and weight loss supplements
• Extra strong products
• Heavier flights have created heftier fuel
  costsSo many of us are obese that weve created
  a market for a whole industry supplying us with
  extra-large and reinforced car seats, giant
  chairs, super-heavy bathroom scales(Spurlock,
  2005, p. 10)

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Fast Food

• Positive influence for economics
• Jobs, profit, new markets
• Negative influence for health
• Disease, obesity, nutrition
• Ok in moderation
• Will continue to have the same affects if no
  changes are made

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References

• Bowman, S., Gortmaker, S., Ebbeling, C., Pereira,
  M., Ludwig, D. (2004). Effects of
• Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake
  and Diet Quality Among Children in a National
  Household Survey. Journal of The American
  Academy of Pediatrics, 113 112-118. Retrieved on
  November 10, 2006 from Entrez PubMed on the
  world wide web http//pediatrics.aappublications
  .org/cgi/content/full/113/1/112
• French, S., Harnack, L., Jeffery, R. (2002). Fast
  food restaurant use among women in the
• Pound of Prevention study dietary, behavioral
  and demographic correlates. International journal
  of obesity and related metabolic disorders, 10,
  1353-9. Abstract retrieved on November 2, 2006
  from Entrez PubMed on the World Wide Web
  http//www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?ito
  olabstractplusdbpubmedcmdRetrievedoptabstr
  actpluslist_uids11093299
• (2004-2005). Nutrition Facts for your McMeal.
  Welcome to McDonalds.
• Retrieved on November 5, 2006
  http//app.mcdonalds.com/bagamcmeal?processflash
• Ritzer, G. (2004). The McDonaldization of
  society. Thousand Oaks Pine Forge Press
• Ritzer, G. (2006). McDonaldization. The reader.
  Thousand Oaks Pine Forge Press
• Robinson, V. (2004). Fast food and obesity- is
  there a connection? Health and Healthcare
• in Schools 4, 12. Retrieved November, 3, 2006.
  from Health in Schools on the world wide web
  http//www.healthinschools.org/ejournal/2004/feb4
  .htm
• Spurlock, M. (2005). Dont eat this book. New
  York G. P. Putnams Sons.
• Wexler, B. (2004). Weight in America. Obesity,
  eating disorders, and other health
• risks. New York Thomas Gale.