McDonalds, you know you love it

[Jess]

It's not McDonalds fault that people get fat.

I'm not really a fan of McDonalds, because I don't like a lot of salt on my food and they have the saltiest fries evereverever.

I prefer Burger King.

[Mirage]

Burger King's fries are awful, and in fast food, the fries are half (or more) of the meal. :x

McDonald's fries taste just as terrible. For the longest time, I *thought* McD fries tasted better, because I seemed to remember that since the last time I had been to McD, which at the time was several years ago. But then when I ate at McD more recently, I discovered that they taste just as bad, if not worse.

Regardless, I go to burger places for good burgers, not fries. I usually get the least possible amount of fries with my burgers, and sometimes I skip both fries and soda, and get a much bigger burger instead.

[Peegee]

People have tried to sue McD's for making them fat. They failed. And rightfully so. As Milf stated in his essay at some point, there are no documented cases of a fast food company forcing people to eat. You cannot win a case saying they are guilty of antitrust laws (laugh out loud) nor that they have monopolized the food industry. Ergo they don't force you to eat, and therefore it is the fault of the consumer every time they eat at McDonald's.

That said, I will disagree with Rubah in that I think we should put some blame on the obese. At the same time I have to recognize that some people are genetically predisposed to be obese, apparently. I am not sure of the extent of the truth value of this claim though, as it has been some time and I haven't followed up on it. I will thus argue that if it can be shown that it is at times physically impossible for certain individuals to lose weight, then no fault at all can be rightfully assigned (it would be akin to faulting a person for being white or male). However if it can be shown that in all cases, or in specific cases that the person's actions led to obesity, then, would be it okay to fault the person? Rye says no on the basis that we each have freedom to our own bodies. Heath argues that we can on the basis that obese individuals are a preventable burden on our economy and health care system. I tend to side with Heath, though I feel strongly about Rye's sentiments of our liberty to ourselves (the reason I side with Heath is that I think that we can be reckless in our pursuit of goals and affect others, and being needlessly obese is one of these ways).

I have incessant pressure to lose between 1/16-1/8th of my mass. It is not a good feeling to have considering I was once upon a time not 'overweight'. I assure you both males and females are made to feel as if they should conform to the physique that (allegedly) only a small percentage of the population has, and it is due to genetics primarily (I can never, ever get a visible 8 pack).

At this point I will stop babbling because I'm about to tangent off to another topic (specifically advertising and marketing)

[Madame Adequate]

I don't see how obesity can affect you in any way unless you have socialized healthcare. I have no responsiblity to be look healthy any more than I have a responsibility to have short hair. If you DO have socialized healthcare then, as I said, the problem is not that people are irresponsible but that you have socialized healthcare, because it justifies controlling people.

My stance, in short, is that when I read something like "Obese people only have themselves to blame" I balk. Blame? Blame for what? It's a characteristic. Leave them alone. Let them be obese. Yes, it is for the most part their doing, but to me, looking down on fat people because it's their own doing is like looking down on people with dyed hair because it's their own doing. It makes absolutely no difference in any way. We would never get away with vilifying any ethnic or cultural group like this. We'd be lynched if we spoke about women as we speak about fat people.

You (general you) have created a debate and controversy over absolutely nothing. It is a personal issue, to be discussed by the obese person and their doctor.

[Seraphic]

I don't really think the arguement is about just pointing the finger at people who are obese,but rather people who are obese and then blaming others for their condition.
Using your hair dyeing comparison,people choose to dye their hair,but they dont blame people because their hair is dyed,they did it themselves.
I think its okay to be obese as long as the person understands the health risks involved,but its really not okay to blame someone else,such as a fast food train like McDonalds, as if they brought this upon you in some secretive spiteful way.

[Loony BoB]

All I have to say is something regarding those debating the fries: For the most part, every individual McDonalds / Burger King restaurant is different with how much salt it adds, how often the fries are left to be cold, how crisp the coating is, etc. etc. The only real thing that stays the same is the structure, I suppose - BK make thicker friends, McDonalds make them thinner.

It's the same for the burgers, actually. The burgers I've had in NZ and the burgers I've had in the UK are surprisingly different - particularly McChickens!

As for obesity - I find it ugly, personally, and that's about it. If a person wants to look more attractive to the average girl/guy in the world, they can do what they like to get fit. Sometimes it will involve a diet. Whatever. I don't care so much about such things, really.

[Trumpet Thief]

Hey it's people's choice to go to McDonalds or not. I go there like once every 2 months and I love it, but I know loading up on that stuff won't really do any good. I don't believe in blaming them for becoming obese if you go there all the time though.

[LanceOfTime]

Those damn fat people and their epidemic. The other day I coughed up french fry grease because of their disgusting fatty fumes coming out of their fat folds, polluting me. Focusing on a cure for AIDs or cancer? Waste of time, because it's a much more productive pursuit to persecute all of those fat people before their fat kills us all. I heard it's air-borne now. Don't leave the house without shoving some celery down your throat.

Srs bizniz beams on: Does someone else being fat personally effect you? Does it hurt you? Can you catch the fat? No. The world needs to honestly cry more about obesity and let people live how them want. And as for the "epidemic"... where is it? In my school, we have 2 kids who are obese. TWO kids. The vast majority of my school, and town at that, is thin, as in size 5 and under thin. As in I feel obese being a size 8-9 in comparison. Show me the "epidemic." Until then, I'll show you propaganda aimed to make even children who are slightly overweight feel worthless.

well rye....you dont live in the good ole south do ya?....thats where the obesity is worst........seems like 40% of kids in my school are obese

Those damn fat people and their epidemic. The other day I coughed up french fry grease because of their disgusting fatty fumes coming out of their fat folds, polluting me. Focusing on a cure for AIDs or cancer? Waste of time, because it's a much more productive pursuit to persecute all of those fat people before their fat kills us all. I heard it's air-borne now. Don't leave the house without shoving some celery down your throat.

Srs bizniz beams on: Does someone else being fat personally effect you? Does it hurt you? Can you catch the fat? No. The world needs to honestly cry more about obesity and let people live how them want. And as for the "epidemic"... where is it? In my school, we have 2 kids who are obese. TWO kids. The vast majority of my school, and town at that, is thin, as in size 5 and under thin. As in I feel obese being a size 8-9 in comparison. Show me the "epidemic." Until then, I'll show you propaganda aimed to make even children who are slightly overweight feel worthless.

well rye....you dont live in the good ole south do ya?....thats where the obesity is worst........seems like 40% of kids in my school are obese

and to all who say its the fat peoples fault...yes you're completely right....but apparently they have no sense and need protection(like a child), that protection is the removal of fast food....it may not fix the problem, but it would lower some percentages...

[Roto13]

but apparently they have no sense and need protection(like a child), that protection is the removal of fast food...

Wouldn't parents who don't feed thier kids fast food for every meal make a hell of a lot more sense than getting rid of all of the fast food in the world?

[Araciel]

My stance, in short, is that when I read something like "Obese people only have themselves to blame" I balk. Blame? Blame for what? It's a characteristic. Leave them alone. Let them be obese. Yes, it is for the most part their doing, but to me, looking down on fat people because it's their own doing is like looking down on people with dyed hair because it's their own doing. It makes absolutely no difference in any way. We would never get away with vilifying any ethnic or cultural group like this. We'd be lynched if we spoke about women as we speak about fat people.

The only problem is THEY sometimes blame people, which is what the whole 'suing mcdonald's' thing is about. I agree, if they don't have a problem looking into the mirror then I say be fat. If it's something they can't control, well there is help for them as well. But when they turn to society and cry out that it's someone else's doing...I don't know...It's hard for me to understand since I hit the genetic jackpot.

[LanceOfTime]

but apparently they have no sense and need protection(like a child), that protection is the removal of fast food...

Wouldn't parents who don't feed thier kids fast food for every meal make a hell of a lot more sense than getting rid of all of the fast food in the world?

not necissarily just children.....i meant any obese person....they need help....as a child does

[demondude]

Britain and obesity have become friends now or something the amount of fat people in my school is large to say the least.
Most fat people don't see their obesity as a problem though, one of the kids thinks diets are funny and pointless but I'm the one laughing when he struggles to catch up in the copious amounts of cross countries the school does.

[Peegee]

My stance, in short, is that when I read something like "Obese people only have themselves to blame" I balk. Blame? Blame for what? It's a characteristic. Leave them alone. Let them be obese. Yes, it is for the most part their doing, but to me, looking down on fat people because it's their own doing is like looking down on people with dyed hair because it's their own doing. It makes absolutely no difference in any way. We would never get away with vilifying any ethnic or cultural group like this. We'd be lynched if we spoke about women as we speak about fat people.

The only problem is THEY sometimes blame people, which is what the whole 'suing mcdonald's' thing is about. I agree, if they don't have a problem looking into the mirror then I say be fat. If it's something they can't control, well there is help for them as well. But when they turn to society and cry out that it's someone else's doing...I don't know...It's hard for me to understand since I hit the genetic jackpot.

Good start. I agree with Milf's stance as usual in principle but disagree on how universally applicable it is. I try not to judge people but I have a standard (however subjective and arbitrary) that I use when judging equally subjective and arbitrary values like say, attractiveness. I'm not saying that being obese automatically makes you unattractive but I'd be hard pressed to agree with the statement 'you should have absolutely no standards of beauty lest you deny a group of individuals the status of beautiful in your eye'. In short, if I want to find a person who is obese unattractive, that's my right as an free agent (I don't automatically do this, it is an example).

However, other people, and arguably a great majority of people have villified obesity, whether out of being 'brainwashed' by media's tendency to show aethestically pleasing actors who are not obese on camera, or because it is just a cultural phenomenon in this country to value being healthy. Incidentally because of the idea that USA is supposedly very obese I am not sure at all what to think. I don't have any reputable studies on hand and my personal experience is not sufficient for a statistically relevant sample.

So if we have the standard that obesity is 'bad', people who are obese will feel 'bad' if they subscribe to it, and they do, because society has made it a social norm to do this. (*Now again, I agree that judging people on the basis of how obese they are is a pretty silly thing to do, but that's just my subjective view on the matter. If enough people who the alternate subjective view that judging based on, I dunno, mass to height ratio is something meaningful, I can't really say much about it other than that I disagree. ) This has the fun side effect of creating a value system that regardless of one's decision to endorse, is still there.

There was another EoEo thread arguing that regardless of social conformity, the value of social conformity is still there. Some people care enough about it to conform to be 'good' and some people don't. As James said, if you don't care, it doesn't matter. However people who do care, want to change, want to conform to the expectations, and I argued above that it might actually not be a fair expectation if it can be argued it is impossible to achieve.

[Heath]

Well actually, I could argue that obese people do hurt me because hospital resources and tax money is spent treating them and that the increased burden on the NHS does hurt me if I ever need treatment.

It never ceases to amaze me how this is seen as a problem with anything other than the NHS.

Socialized healthcare justifies controlling people's lives. A warning to Americans.

Also: My epic poast was tl;dr. In short: it's not the fault of fast food companies.

I'm not excusing the lack of the resources in the NHS, I was simply stating that given the current state of the NHS, it's more pragmatic to look at it that way. It's certainly not a viewpoint I agree with, but I think it's a valid point all the same. And trust me, I think the NHS is one of the most valuable institutions that the UK has. I read your essay, for what it's worth, but didn't find much to respond to.

[NeoCracker]

What is wrong with people?

OF course you will get sick if you eat nothing but McDonalds for a month.
The vast majority of their food are Deep fried, soaked in Grease.

Eating very greasy foods, contrary to popular belief, is not healthy for you. They teach it to you in freaking Elementry school. If you seem to think otherwise, you are horribly wrong.

People know McDonalds is deep fried food. But they still eat there because they like it. Their desire for deep fried food overwhelms thier desire to stay healthy. That's all their is to it. Take away McDonalds and these people still have plenty of other unhealthy options to choose from.