Summary and Analysis
In other words, isn’t this like blaming drivers who speed for speeding? Yet he posits it is not truly the children’s fault that they are obese. He thereby, effectively distinguishes between behaviors for which someone is clearly at fault and those for which others should take the responsibility.
Once again, he provides a counterargument that underlies the ultimate point he will make in his essay. He brings up the easy access and affordability of fast food asking what do we have in our society to substitute for it. The author asks, “where, exactly, are consumers—particularly teenagers—supposed to find alternatives?” Fast food is quick and cheap and for teenagers who find themselves on their own or with peers not adults, this means that, given how many restaurants are available that even those teens without transportation they will likely be able to travel to fast food establishment and while teens typically do not have much money, there are cheap option available that they can purchase. Unfortunately, the least expensive choices are also the generally the highest in fat and calories. Fast food is also reliable in that it rarely varies so teens know what they will be getting when they order
My parents were split upmy mom working long hours to make the monthly bills. Lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza HutBy age 15, I had packed 212 pounds of torpid teenage tallow on my once lanky 5-foot-10 frame.
He then backs up this personal story with facts and statistics such as the rise in rates of childhood diabetes related to obesity. He states:
Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder -- only about 5 percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2, diabetes. Today, according to the National Institutes of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes in this country.
I agree in part with the author’s point in that fast food restaurants should take more responsibility for the effects of what they sell by not marketing to children and providing less misleading information on their websites. However, I don’t believe it is acceptable to blame others 100% when our own behavior contributes to a problem. Children and adolescence have at least some idea that fast food is unhealthy and contributes to obesity as well as understand the dangers of being obese. Parents must also take responsibility for their children’s eating behavior and health.
Works Cited
Zinczenko, David. “Don’t Blame the Eater.” They Say I Say. W.W. Norton and Company, 2012. 391-393.
