McDonald’s Impacts Student Health
According to history.com, the iconic drive-thru chain McDonald’s was first opened in San Bernardino, California on May 15th, 1940, by Richard and Maurice McDonald. The McDonald’s moved to California with hopes of becoming movie producers, but when that dream fell short, they thought opening a restaurant would be a good way to stay out of debt–at least until they could make it in Hollywood.
The chain originally specialized in southern-style barbeque foods. Hamburgers were last added to the menu. After World War II, drive-in competition in San Bernardino increased. McDonald’s discovered something surprising about their barbecue restaurant—80 percent of their sales came from hamburgers. They shut down the restaurant for three months and re opened to a long line of eager fans.
The menu was simplified to nine items—hamburgers, cheeseburgers, three soft drink flavors (in one 12-ounce size), milk, coffee, potato chips and pie. “Our whole concept was based on speed, lower prices and volume,” Richard McDonald said on mcdonalds.com. During the 1950’s, Ray Kroc bought out the brothers and franchised McDonald’s around the world.
Diya Ramanathan, a senior at Arrowhead said, “I think McDonald’s is disgusting. I’ve seen and heard so many gross things about it that make me never want to eat there. There isn’t many choices for me to eat though because I’m vegetarian, so their burgers and chicken nuggets won’t ever be in my diet.”
According to McDonald’s.com, the closest location to Arrowhead Union High School is located at 621 Ryan St. in Pewaukee.
Mia Rocco, a senior at Arrowhead said, “I love McDonald’s so much. I know it’s not the best for you, but the fries and bacon burgers are so good and I get them all the time. It doesn’t help that there’s a McDonald’s chain like every five miles you drive.”
According to imdb.com, “Supersize Me” is a movie based on how eating McDonald’s impacts the health of someone’s body. In the film, Morgan Spurlock ate only McDonald’s for thirty days, three meals a day. He ended up gaining about 25 pounds in one month and was left with serious cardiovascular issues.
ABC News recently reported a story relating teens to mcDonalds, “Fifteen-year-old Gregory Rhymes used to eat a burger, fries, and a shake at McDonald’s every day. Sometimes several times a day. He now weighs 400 pounds, has diabetes, and blames McDonald’s. And so does his mother. “I had no idea that he was destroying himself,” his mother said. “I had no idea.” His lawyer believes he has a serious case. “They have a marketing strategy,” said Samuel Hirsch, their attorney. “They know how to ensnare a child who’s already 9 years old. And then he’s 11, sometimes he’ll visit McDonald’s on his own with his own pocket money.”
The Palo Alto Medical Foundation says that fast food chains target the adolescent market in their advertising. They said kids need to be aware of the issues that come along with eating poorly. They also explained that the issue is not always the food itself, but the portions being served.
Familydoctor.org reported that kids and teens are eating more than they should and parents neglect to stop it because they assume it’s associated with growing.
