Obesity is one of the United State’s biggest problems, and it’s no surprise that rates are higher than they’ve ever been, as of 2016. Many would debate over the cause of this staggering epidemic: is it because of school lunches, fast food chains, or just plain laziness? A study published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics found that from 2011-2012, 34% of  adolescence (ages 12-19) consumed fast food on any given day. Because of this, many people find it reasonable to hold fast food chains accountable for the growing obesity rates of them and their family. Becoming conscious of this fact, fast food chains such as McDonald’s have altered recipes to make them “healthier”. The greatest example of this came in 2011 during great alteration to the traditional Happy Meal at McDonald’s, where the portion of french fries were decreased and a fruit option was added to the menu.

As appalling as this may be, the FDA has very little responsibility over the specific healthiness of the food we buy from fast food companies. When researching the FDA’s role in all this, it was found that they really only need to make sure that we are consuming food that is clean of bacteria and other diseases. In the area of obesity and nutrition, the FDA has established rules that every food restaurant must clearly display all nutritional information on its products. The company must tell customers the total calorie count, calories from fat, sodium levels, etc. It’s basically up to us as the consumer to make sure we are comfortable with the food that is being sold to us.

On the other hand, many regulations have been put in place for meals that are distributed by schools, by the USDA. It is mandated that all school lunches in the US must include the availability of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free/low fat milk. Schools must also offer a daily meat/ meat alternative for breakfast.

The seemingly intense crack down on childhood/ adult obesity in America was not done in vain. F rom 1999- 2014, the adult and child obesity rate as began to steady off, staying within a small range. The changes are not over either: fast food stores such as Burger King and McDonald’s will soon be making big changes to their menus to accommodate those not willing to spend all of their “daily calories” in one place.