They Say/I Say Response 1

            Fast food restaurants are convenient and easy to grab food on the go, and are also suitable for teenagers who are not provided proper nutrition by their parents. In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko, he explains that there are no inexpensive and convenient alternatives to fast-food restaurant’s that are healthy and nutritious. This fact though is incorrect and there are some healthy and inexpensive alternatives to the greasy fast-food restaurants. Many people use fast-food restaurants because they are in a hurry, well if you plan ahead of time like that morning or the night before you avoid going to McDonalds or Burger King for lunch. All you have to do is pack apples or a granola bar in a brown paper bag, both cheap items from the grocery story, and now you have a prepared healthy lunch. Another cheap alternative is going to Wawa or subway, which offer yogurts or sandwiches that are much lower in fat then fast-food.

            The issue of being over weight is often argued whether it’s a genuine medical problem or a problem of cultural stereotypes. I feel it is both. Obesity in some circumstances is a medical problem.  About 40 to 80% of obesity is genetic due to the thrifty gene or the diabetic gene. Also physical damage to the body is a key factor in obesity problems, but cultural stereotypes are also problematic. Today the lifestyle choices that people make affect the obesity population in the U.S. Where people eat unhealthily and then do not exercise or work out. People own cars and do not want to walk throughout the day, or have jobs were they sit at a desk. Also there is so much advertising for fast-food restaurants that people are drawn to that convenient, inexpensive lifestyle.

            These two summaries are very similar but at the same time very different. They both talk about the issue obesity and how its affects people in our society. They also discuss how fast food restaurants are convenient and inexpensive. The first article focuses more on some alternative to fast food and the second article focuses more on the causes for obesity.