Is the fast food industry liable for the harm they cause? - Personal Trainer Community - Forum

All poll answers are anonymous unless you choose to add a comment.

[Christina]

I am actually undecided on this topic. I know that people aren't being forced to eat these types of foods, but at the same time I think that the fast food industry is preying on consumers' ignorance. Does the average American know that fast food is bad for them? Absolutely. Do they know just HOW bad it is? I don't know...

I also think that fast food companies are irresponsible in their ad campaigns by targeting children. (Yes, parents need to do a better job of parenting. No question. But is it fair that they go after little kids? I don't think so.)

Just my opinion. Thoughts?

Christina

[muscletrainerdh-NSCA CPT]

I'm going to go "Undecided" as well. UNLESS it is proven that the fast food giants have been adding addictive substances to their food which indeed creates an elevated level of dependency and forms the bad habit.

It's too easy in today's society to point the finger at someone else rather than taking responsibility for your own actions.

Not that I am siding with fast food, but I think if most people owned up to the bad food/health decisions they make on a daily basis we wouldn't have such a problem. It must be the "Dr. Phil" in me! LOL

-Dave

[Christina]

I once had this discussion with several other people in the fitness industry and nearly everyone without a doubt said that the consumer is responsible for their own decisions. I definitely agree with them. But I also don't think that an AVERAGE person of AVERAGE intelligence understands just how harmful some of this junk food is. You shouldn't have to research the food you buy. On a moral level I would think that people wouldn't want to harm other people just to get rich. (Of course, we see it happening every single day.)

On a different note, is it just me, or does anyone else think that it's wrong that these companies target children in their ad campaigns?

Christina

[jt]

There is certainly responsibility on both sides of this equation. While I do believe that the industry should be more responsible in their marketing to our youth and provide much improved nutritional information, they are also controlled somewhat by the consumption habits of their customers. This is where the responsibility lands squarely on the consumer. While I would not expect the average person to understand every nutritional guideline, there has been ample mainstream news concerning obesity and links to fast food to allow for making more informed choices on what they eat. A final thought...while adults certainly have the right to make choices concerning their health, it is truly unfortunate that parents rely so heavily on fast/fast casual food for their children's daily intake...this is not the responsibility of the industry, as they are merely handling the supply side of the demand.