Fast Food: A Heavy Burden on the Health Care System

Fast-food is one of the most common products in America. In an article by S. Locks on statista.com they

say that the fast food industry generates around 239 billion a year, in the United States alone. In almost

any major city fast-food is almost impossible to go more than a few blocks before seeing a McDonalds,

K.F.C, Wendy’s, Popeyes, or any other fast-food restaurants. Even in some hospitals fast food is still

prevalent. Fast-food is cheap, quick, and plentiful, making it an obvious choice for someone on the go, or

on a budget. But the overabundance of cheap, unhealthy food in society has led to a variety of health

problem which overloads the healthcare system.

Healthcare is a resource that many Americans rely on to protect them, and cure them, when they

are hurt. Healthcare supports millions, but it is not cheap. And unfortunately, with most American’s

health being how it is, it probably will not get any cheaper, anytime soon. As stated by an article on

cms.gov healthcare spending in the United States is close to 3.9 trillion dollars a year. One of the reasons

health care is so expensive is due to the American diet.

Fast food is a poison that runs through every vein of America, like a cheap drug, and is as

addictive as one to. But even with this being common knowledge according to two articles by Cheryl D.

Fryar on cdc.gov 36% of both children and adult consume fast food on a daily basis. There are many

reason why this happens. For some Americans it is the cheapest food that they think they can afford, for

the time being. For other Americans they might not have enough time to cook a healthy meal. And for a

lot of Americans it is just a matter of the fast food tasting good. But all good things come at a price, and

obesity along with the strain on the health care system are apart of the toll that fast-food takes on the

country. While one dollar is often the up-front price most have to pay, for a burger.

100 pennies, 20 nickels, 10 dimes, four quarts, or one dollar is something that almost every

working American has somewhere, and every fast-food restaurant knows it. According to Alicia Kelso on

qsrweb.com the first value menu was created in 1989 by Wendy’s. And now a one dollar/Value menu
exists on close to every major fast-food chain’s menu. There are a lot of reasons for the dollar menu’s

continued existence. One reason is that people usual believe that they are getting a deal. Another reason is

that people often buy more than one, because it is just one dollar. After all, why buy just a one dollar

burger when someone can get fries and a drink for just two more dollars. Even the design of most fast-

food restaurant’s menus are designed to drive the costumer to buy as much as possible.

Most fast-food menus tend to use either red, yellow, or both as the dominant colors. Everyone

has probably had that moment when they are sitting in line looking at the fast-food menu, they see some

new item. They look at the new item in big bold red letters, and on an impulse, they buy it. In graphic

design red is considered an aggressive warm color. Often restaurants will promote any new items they

have with the color red. In an article by Chris Urie on business insider they stat that because of how

human brains are hardwired, the color red drives impulse decisions and hunger. Red literally drives

someone to buy more on an impulse. The color yellow is on the opposite end of the spectrum, in terms of

it’s affects on the mind. In the same article by Chris Urie. they say that yellow is a warm comforting

color, often associated with happiness. On most restaurant menus the red and yellow balance each other

out. The red is an aggressive color that drives impulse decisions and hunger, while the yellow is a

comforting color that soothes people’s nerves and make them happier. Graphic design is a powerful tool

that is crucial to almost any business. In the right hands graphic design can be used to help millions of

people and in the wrong hands can lead to some unfortunate results.

Obesity is the unfortunate result of too much bad food and bad exercise mixing. It is one of the

most common problems in America. According to Cheryl D. Fryar on CDC.gov around 73% of

Americans are either obese or are overweight. One of the biggest causes of this is obviously the diet, or

lack thereof that most Americans have, in combination with fast-food being so abundant in America.

There is also an economic impact. According to the cdc obesity related medical problem cost the United

States around 147 billion dollars a year. This is due to all of the health problems that are brought about by

obesity. But some would argue that fast food and obesity is not the real burden to health care.
 It is no secret that America is considered one of the worst countries to receive healthcare in.

Some people would also say that America charges far too much for healthcare and treatment. In a news

article by N'dea Yancey-Bragg with USA Today in 2018 there was a woman in Massachusetts trapped

under a subway that begged for bystanders not to call the ambulance, because it would cost too much.

According to mass.gov the chargeable fees for an ambulance in Massachusetts is $252.61 for an

emergency visit, $513.11, for any specialty care, and $3.51 per mile traveled. The healthcare system in

America is awful and is weighted so that the hospitals always come out on top. The American healthcare

industry is charging far too much for a necessity that some countries offer for free.

The American healthcare system is far from perfect or even fair at times. But even with all of it’s

flaws Americans can help mitigate them, by eating better. This is easier said than done, of course. A

healthy lifestyle is not easy. Especially when every single bell and whistle in the fast-food industry is

designed to convince has many people as possible to buy as much as possible. But if society does not

change it’s habits than the price that they will have to pay will be much greater, than one dollar. A healthy

lifestyle can start with small steps like buying fresh food, eating less, cooking more. A healthier lifestyle

and eating better, means less trips to the hospital, and less of a burden on the already flawed system. No

matter who someone is, everyone can probably agree that one’s bodily health is important, even if every

restaurant in America would say otherwise, for an easy dollar.

 Work Cited

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Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 Oct. 2018,

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