Is the food industry responsible for obesity problems in America?

Answer 1

No. People not being able to control themselves around food are responsible. The food industry is not holding a gun to their heads and making them eat. It's time people took some personal responsibility.

Answer 2

To some extent. The Food Industry's main concern is profit, not your health. The more that you eat, the more $$ they make. Have you noticed that when obese people are interviewed on TV regarding excessive weight, they avoid asking them, "How much do you eat". The "Main" cause of obesity is overeating but the food industry has no problem with it. They love and, silently support it. Those "100 Calorie Packs" are not there as an aid to weight loss, they have higher profit margins than the regular packed same item.

Answer 3

Most of the people who answered no are probably addicted to fast food produced by the junk food industry. They would not want to see it disappear anytime soon or in their life times. True, people would still become obese without the junk food industry, but not at the astounding rates that exist today. The junk food industry has become a major exporter of disease reversing the average lifespan in countries like China and Okinawa that formerly practiced vegetarianism and were free from diet related diseases. See http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060905/D8JUCTMG0.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study

Answer 4

No, the food industry isn't responsible for obesity any more than the cigarette industry is responsible for heart disease and lung cancer. Nobody makes us flock to McDonald's en masse on a daily basis. Each and every one of us is responsible for our own health, if you make the choice to eat fast food 5 times a week, there will be consequences, we all know that, and when they happen, there is nobody to blame but yourself.

Answer 5

No, everything needing to be right now. There are so many unnatural preservatives in food now. Another reason is hormones are injected into our meats and used to raise bigger vegetables and fruits out of season. Hybrids to make produce last longer and look more appealing. Nothing is natural anymore! So because we have no time and Science has advanced to the place where it can 'help' with modern conveniences the result is non-nutritious, fat producing, fat preserving food!

Think about it, it has to be hard for our bodies to break down and use something with a shelf-life longer than ours.

Answer 6

No, Industries do not spoon feed the obese, industries aren’t to blame.

We don’t cause them to be overweight, but we, as taxpayers spent nearly $40 billion in 2003 for the treatment of the conditions attributable to obesity.

Answer 7

I watched a show on Discovery the other night about this 750 lb. man. They had to weigh him using a whale sling from the Baltimore Aquarium. Even when he ended up in a nursing home (which he had to be transported to in a double-wide ambulance) he brought bags and bags of snack foods and sodas.

Should we blame the food industry for THAT?

Answer 8

I say it's 50/50, only because although they are not forcing people to eat it, but they are making it easily accessible to people more so than healthier food choices. Take for example McDonalds, the largest, most popular fast food joint out there. Where are they primarily located??? In lower class neighborhoods more so than middle and upper class. I see just as many fast food joints in poverty stricken areas as there are liquor stores. And not to mention, most of these areas do not offer health food alternatives, or even a place to work out at. Minorities, especially Blacks, are at higher risk for diabetes and heart disease than any other group. And yes, there is a choice to cook at home versus eating out, but some families (i.e. single parent homes, or even both parents working long hours) don’t have the time to cook healthy for their kids so eating out is a fast quick alternative.

Answer 9

No, each person is responsible for themselves. The food industry isn't forcing food in your mouth, you are. If you know eating fattening stuff will make you fat, don't eat it. You put the fork in your mouth, not the food industry.

Answer 10

they didn't force feed it to any one. I for one hate the fact that High Fructose Corn Syrup is in everthing. They sure don't seam to care what they are putting in our food they opt for the cheap way out. If using a fat w/tran fatty acids in it is cheaper, then they use it. This can go both ways.