Research Paper on Obesity

Influence of Fast and Processed Foods on the Obesity Epidemic

Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States, and other countries as well. Since obesity is when a person has a large amount of excess body fat, they need to achieve a healthy weight by losing the excess body fat. To maintain the control weight, “the number of calories people consume must not exceed the number they expend,” (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention Oct.18.2010). This is saying, do not consume more calories than one is going to burn off; it makes weight control sound simple and easy. In our society, it is not easy because we are surrounded by processed and fast foods that are unhealthy in many aspects, including their content and size. Obesity is caused by the influenced and manipulated choices one makes by the extreme availability of processed and fast foods. The high sugar content in processed foods can lead to a food addiction, which will lead to weight gain. The additive of MSG in processed foods can destine someone for the risk of obesity if MSG is over consumed. In fast foods, there is lack of nutrition causing there to be a high content of fat and salt, which is difficult to expend as many calories that are taken in, which is results in a gain of weight. Large portion sizes are often encouraged at home and in restaurants that exceed the healthy amount of calories that need to be taken in for someone to maintain a healthy body weight.

Processed foods are high in sugars, which can create a hormonal imbalance and alteration that can give the body addictions to food. The term food addiction “implies there is a biochemical condition in the body that creates a physiological craving for specific foods,” according to the Food Summit. Someone may have a food addiction when they meet certain criteria or signs of a food addiction. Tolerance, which is applied in this case to mean that one needs an increased amount of food, and receives the same, desired effect. Withdrawal, another criterion for a sign of a food addiction, is when the substance is stopped being taken in, and the person in response has physiological symptoms that lead them to develop a food addiction. Other signs of food addictions include unintentional overuse, and attempts of decreasing the consumption and receiving an unsuccessful result. How is the food addiction triggered? Well, it is thought that the cause is from a diet rich in sugar, which is found too frequently in processed foods. Dr. Serge Ahmed, a French researcher, concluded that the body can become addicted to foods due to the “super stimulation of our brain receptors by sugar-rich diets, such as those now widely available in modern societies, generate a supernormal reward signal in the brain, with the potential to override self-control mechanisms and thus lead to addiction” (The Food Addiction Summit Oct18.2010). This shows that sugar-rich diets can cause the human brain to disregard self-control mechanisms, which, in turn, leads to the food addiction because the brain does not know how to control the addiction. To prove that sugar is the cause of the food addiction, an experiment was conducted on the correlation between rats and sugar consumption. When the rats were fed more sugar, they had “demonstrated a behavioral pattern on increased intake” (Food Addiction Summit Oct. 20. 2010), which is a sign of a food addiction. With conjunction of the rats’ “subsequent signs of withdrawal” (Food Addiction Summit Oct 20. 2010), this proves the rats became addicted to the sugar. As Dr. Ahmed said, there is vast availability of sugar in the modern society. This sugar is found in the processed foods that the modern society has made readily available. This justifies that the body can become addicted to food; because of the high content of sugar in processed foods, and extreme availability of it, obesity is partly caused by the food addictions that are caused by the processed foods.

MSG in processed foods, essentially, destines someone for the risk of obesity if they are over consumed. Monosodium glutamate, or MSG, is an excitotoxin, which overexcites and kills neurons. This can lead to cell damage or death. MSG is harmful to people because there is a natural version and also a processed version. Since part of MSG is composed of an amino acid, this means it is a protein because proteins are made up of amino acids. Being a protein, shape is key; this means that when the shape is changed, the protein’s function is changed. Naturally, MSG is shaped one way, but in its processed form, it is the mirror image of the natural version of MSG, making the processed form an isomer of MSG. This may sound like the same chemical, but it is not. To explain how they are mirror images, these isomers can be analogized to your right and left hands; they are the same body part yet they are opposites of each other. Since the MSG isomers are slightly different shapes in their natural and processed compositions, their function is slightly different as well. In the processed form of MSG, its effect on the body is different than the natural version, specifically, on the pancreas. When too much MSG is consumed, the pancreas overproduces insulin. The insulin will then rush to store any available sugar into fat. Typically, MSG is in foods with fat and sugar, so this creates an even worse affect on the body, causing weight gain. The access fat that the MSG causes the pancreas to produce causes “blood sugar levels to drop and the person become hungry, tired, and ready to eat again,” (Msgtruth.org Oct. 18.2010). Since the consumer feels ready to eat again, they usually eat more, causing an increase in weight. Monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer that is commonly found in KFC’s, McDonald’s, and Burger King’s food, which is also high in fat. Also it is in processed food such as Doritos and Cheetos. For example, Chick-Fil-A’s “The Chicken has MSG in it. MSG is the second ingredient in the seasonings after salt” (msgthruth.org Oct 26.2010). This shows that there is a very high content of MSG in Chick-Fil-A’s processed, fast food chicken sandwich, leading to a high intake of MSG and a chain reaction of other steps that leads to weight gain, and eventually obesity. The processed version of MSG causes the pancreas to affect other parts of the body, which greatly enhances the chances of weight gain leading to obesity.

The lack of nutrition in fast foods leads to an inclination in the risk of obesity because, typically, when eating this type of food, calorie intake is greater than what the body burns, resulting in weight gain. Many fast food companies provide the nutritional facts on their food, but that does not make their food healthier or stop most of their costumers from consuming it. The food they provide is composed of “highly refined products…that have had most of their nutritional content stripped away” (organicconsumers.org 10.26) causing the consumers at fast foods chains to eat extremely unhealthy food that they believe is healthy for them. Jamie Oliver, a well-known accredited nutrition expert, is spreading the message about unhealthy fast foods. He supports the deceiving food labels and is spreading the message that “is about trying to get the public angry, as they should be, about the terrible labeling of products”. Oliver’s professional opinion and accredited knowledge show that the public is deceived by what the fast food companies promote. The majority of fast food consumers are unable to expend the number of calories they take in because of the high salt and high fat content present in the fast food that are eaten. For example, a double whooper with cheese, a medium fry, and an apple pie at Burger King has more saturated fat than the American Heart Association recommends we consume in two days. This, obviously, exceeds the amount of fat the typical person can expend in a day. Many Americans, specifically “most adults, consume 3500mg of sodium per say, with more than 75% of dietary sodium coming from packages and restaurant foods,” (theheart.org 12.26). This staggering fact proves that there is a substantially high amount of sodium present in fast foods, which is extremely unhealthy for everyone, whether small or large. Research shows that “the more often a person eats out, the more body fat he or she has,” (win.niddk.nih.gov) which is the first step towards obesity. The poor labeling along with the effects of extremely high salt and fat content in fast foods are factors that help to prove that fast food is one of the causes of the obesity epidemic in America.

The consumption of larger portion sizes than what is needed to reach a healthy equilibrium of calorie intake and expending is a prominent factor in attaining obesity. Restaurants are a prime example that displays portion sizes larger than what is healthy. Some people resort to fast food restaurants when they do not want to cook, do not have enough time to cook, or for a multitude of other reasons. These reasons cause people to eat at “fast food joints because… all that mattered was that it was fast and cheap,” (organicconsumers.org 10.26) which proves that individuals do not consider the portion size they consume; they just consume it because it is cheap and quick. This proves that “the phenomenon of unknowingly eating larger amounts when presented with a large portion” (cdc.gov Oct.18.2010) is supported to show that weight is gained when larger portions are eaten. BL Rolls, EL Morris, and LS Roe, scientists researching obesity conducted a study that “tested how adults responded to meals on different days with four different portion sizes of macaroni and cheese,” (cdc.gov Oct.18.2010). This test gave results that reflect what happens when people are confronted with different portion sizes. The study’s result found that “the bigger the portion, the more participants ate,” (cdc.gov Oct.18.2010). These results show that when people have a larger portion in front of them, they will, typically, eat the entire portion. The effect portion size has on obesity is also reflected in a study conducted by Pudel and Oetting. This study consisted of the participants eating soup, but “on the fourth day, researchers secretly substituted trick bowls that slowly refilled from a hidden reservoir under the table,” (cdc.gov Oct. 26.2010). By this study, researchers were able to give the participants larger portions without them realizing they were consuming more food. The results of this study concluded that people consumed more food when they were prevented with a larger portion size; therefore, they ate more food than what was needed, resulting in an intake of more food than what it is healthy to be eating on a regular basis. These studies conducted by various scientists show that portion sizes affect all Americans, whether in restaurants or at home. When a consistent intake of larger portions is consumed, and the calories that are taken in are not expended, then a weight gain is the result, which is a prime factor of obesity.

The high sugar content of processed foods can lead to and then create food addictions in the body. A vast amount of MSG, along with fat-filled foods, will create a huge risk for obesity when they are over consumed. Fast foods have too many calories than what the body typically expends in a day; therefore, leading to weight gain and then obesity. A prominent factor in contributions towards attaining obesity also includes larger portion size consumption than what the healthy amount is needed for an equal amount of calorie intake to output. Processed foods, MSG content fast foods, and large portions are all contributing factors towards obesity. These factors influence and manipulate the choices one makes because these types of processed and fast foods are available in the multitude. Obesity is a major problem in America and other countries across the world. As Jamie Oliver has said, “If everyone in the world that wants to cook the food from fresh, but they can’t buy the food from fresh, that’s a problem”. By this he means, the large amount of processed and fast foods in our society are deceiving us to believe that some foods are healthy when, in actuality, they are not fresh, salubrious food products. As this epidemic is growing, with obesity on the rise, the unhealthy choices people are influenced by need to be cut out of their diets to promote a healthy, nutritious life-style.