Fast Food Argumentative Essay

Fast Food Argumentative Essay

Gregory Moore                      
Professor Meyers
English Comp 101
12 November 2008                
Fast Food: America’s Cancer
Like a cancer slowly working its way deep into the body’s systems, fast food has gradually embedded itself into the heart of our society.   It does nothing but damage its host.   Fast food is affecting our health, our finances, and the development of our children. Like cancer, the damage is usually unrecognizable until it has significantly progressed.   Thus, the earlier people recognize the damage fast food is doing to our society, the easier it will be to reverse its harm.   This essay provides the information necessary to examine how fast food is hurting our society.
The most obvious health risk associated with eating fast food is obesity.   It also affects the diseases that result from obesity: Type 2 diabetes (where one becomes resistant to the insulin one is producing), cardiovascular disease (inclusive of heart attacks and strokes) and certain types of cancer (Pereria 36-42).   Obviously obesity is a significant problem for the individuals concerned, as Type 2 diabetes alone shortens life expectancy by approximately five years.   Does this hurt society?   In short, yes.   This is due to the fact that one could argue that the useful life of a person in society is defined by his/her ability to work and contribute, and this usefulness has ended once he/she reaches retirement. Furthermore, as there are over 400,000 obesity-related illnesses per year ("Super Size Me"), almost any nutritionist would agree that fast food is a major contributor to this leading cause of death within the United States.   However, society’s overall contribution is much more than this figure.   It is imparting the acquired knowledge of an older generation, and keeping living memory alive, as well as, history.   If the United States cannot learn from its mistakes, then how can it make any headway in the natural progress of its populace?  
Obesity also...