Why fast food companies aren't the main responsables for the obesity epidemic?

It is a fact that food is one of life's pleasures. Food is a necessity. Nevertheless, like everything in life, it is bad in excess. Especially unhealthy food, which most of the time ends up being the most delicious. Fast food is the most popular all over the world, because of its taste, and of course, price. Fast food is the easiest, fastest, most delicious, and cheapest food in the food industry. People love fast food and that’s the reason why the fast-food industry is one of the most tradable industries. Fast food companies have grown and increased during the last years, and their incomes keep increasing, just as obesity. Is not a coincidence that obesity has dangerously increased at the same time as the fast food industry outbreak. Stats point out that fast food companies and their marketing strategies are responsible for the obesity epidemic since they manipulate customers in order to increase their profits. Although fast food companies and their marketing strategies influence people's bad decisions about their health, people themselves are the only ones responsible for their health.

Fast food companies do not have all the fault for the obesity epidemic outbreak. People are overweight not because of fast food companies, but because of their unhealthy habits and lifestyle. It is ridiculous to put all the blame on fast food companies for people’s health. Although social media and publicity dangerously manipulate people, in the end, people are the ones who decide to be influenced and are the only ones responsible for their decisions. Advertising campaigns do not force anyone to do anything, they only give you reasons to convince yourself to consume their products, but it is not like they force you by putting a gun in your head and giving you no option but to consume their products. "A study from the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab concluded that being overweight is not caused by consumption of junk and fast food alone, but because of the excessive consumption of it and the lack of physical activity. People are the only ones responsible for their own health. The problem is that it is always easier to blame others than accept that we are the only ones responsible for our health and lifestyle. We decide how to live, what to do, what to eat, where to buy, be whatever we want to be, and live however we want to." (Welch)

On the other hand, it is a fact that marketing strategies do influence a lot in people's lifestyles and decisions by promoting unhealthy lifestyles and habits so they could benefit and make people keep consuming their products. As fast-food restaurants increased in the cities, obesity increased significantly among the population. "According to a study by EIRIS, since the early 1970s, the same time as fast food companies outbreak, the share of children aged 6 to 19 classified as overweight has more than tripled, from 5 percent to 17 percent, while the share of adults classified as overweight or obese rose from half to two-thirds of the population." (Duggan)

As fast-food companies establish themselves in the cities, inevitably they need to make themselves known by making commercials and publicity to attract customers and increase their incomes. The marketing strategies consist of commercials, toys, billboards, posters, “irresistible” promotions, and strategic settlements of their locals. The last one is a crucial one since they locate a lot of locals almost every 100 meters all over the countries. In the Us, fast food companies are located almost in every corner of the city. Proximity to fast food significantly increases the risk of obesity since proximity to fast food locals reduces the costs of the food, and principally travel costs. Easier access to fast food tempts consumers who lack self-control. Just think about how many times people tend to leave late from their homes to go to work or any other place without eating and “suddenly” they find a fast food local on their way. Inevitable they can't help thinking that is cheap, delicious, and most importantly fast, it is not healthy but desperate times require desperate measures; and that’s how people start tricking themselves by assuring “just this time”, when deep inside they know that they wouldn’t be able to resist themselves if they pass through there again. It is a terribly ingenious marketing strategy.

Actually, It is a fact that McDonald's is one of the most successful fast food companies in the world because of their marketing strategies and definitely not because of their food. They use a “glocal” business methodology, which consists of the union of another 2 completely different popular business methods, globalization, and localization. They join those successful methods and create a better one. While globalization is the tendency of the world to “standardize" and make different regions of the world increasingly similar to each other; the localization ardently defends the customs, traditions, histories, and particular situations of each community. That's why glocalization (Globalization + Localization) is the perfect combination since this is based on global and local strategies, which for sure they are completely opposite because globalization is a strategy that allows the client to feel more "comfortable" or "identified" with the product and it's based on the idea of personalizing the products with the franchise that is carried, and localization is based on conserving certain details of the locality or community of the people but at the same time leaving the bases of the product that are more general. So, glocalization is both! McDonald's is where it is because of its business and marketing strategies.

Another marketing strategy that works very well in the fast food industry is publicity. Fast food companies achieve or secure their position in the market and somehow also their profits by creating a toxic environment that consists in convincing people to believe that isn't that bad to be overweight, so that beauty stereotype doesn't work as an obstacle for business profits. They approach their marketing resources to create an image of them as a “happy environment,” for example, they sell themselves as “the perfect family reunion place.” So indeed, marketing strategies do influence a lot in people's lifestyles and decisions by promoting unhealthy lifestyles and habits, so they could benefit and make people keep consuming their products. Nevertheless, companies should be responsible and act ethically by stopping promoting that lifestyle, and sooner or later those unhealthy lifestyles will no longer be the problem of the people themselves, but also of the companies since if all their consumers get sick and in the worst of cases they die, then who will buy their food? At some point, this will have a big impact on the community. It will become a serious social problem, like an epidemic, in which there will be a chain reaction where all will be affected, including fast food companies. Unfortunately, that moment has come. Perhaps that's the only way to finally get rid of fast food companies and for people to start adopting a healthy lifestyle and stop consuming fast food. Because at the end of the day, we are just making rich others while we are paying for a slow and painful death, just as smoking. Unhealthy habits lead to the development of a dangerous illness or even worse, death.

On the other hand, if we take the fast-food company's side, we can say that from their perspective they are just doing their job. Their goal is to sell to get profits since they live on it. We all know that we need to work to eat, so we need to sell to eat and live, and a good marketing strategy is a key to success for every company, regarding their product or their services. That’s how the economy and the world works. However, that is not a valid excuse since that is a selfish and irresponsible perspective. As a company, they have the obligation to act ethically by exposing the truth and informing the consumer about their products and services. Companies should be responsible and act ethically by stopping promoting that lifestyle because sooner or later those unhealthy lifestyles will no longer be the problem of the people themselves, but also of the companies since if all their consumers get sick and in the worst of cases they die, then who will buy their food?

Fast food promotes unhealthy food at the same time they create a dangerous lifestyle that becomes a disease. The only way to stop that circle is to stop consuming their food or products. The only way to stop this social problem, because now it is considered a social problem, is education. Educate kids, and people of all ages about the importance of having a healthy lifestyle and start adopting healthy habits. We should promote the fact that healthy life can be as fun, delicious, and a good business investment as an unhealthy lifestyle it seems to be nowadays; plus you get in shape and look good. Also, the government and society have to start thinking sustainable, that's the future! We should replace every unhealthy habit and food with the healthiest ones.

---

Welch, Ashley. “Is Junk Food to Blame for the Obesity Epidemic?” CBS News, 5 Nov. 2015, www.cbsnews.com/news/junk-food-obesity-epidemic

Duggan, Mark. “Do Fast Food Restaurants Contribute to Obesity?” NBER, NBER, Mar. 2009, www.nber.org/bah/2009no1/do-fast-food-restaurants-contribute-obesity.