Obesity is a medical disorder in which body fat has gathered to such an extent that it may have a negative effect on the overall health condition of a person (Haslam & James, 2005). People are supposed to be obese when their Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement is greater than 30 Kg / m2 (Haslam & James, 2005).
Obesity is a major problem of United States which affects approximately 34% of adults; one of every five children (4 years old) in America is obese (Obesity in America). Only one percent of obese people are obese due to glandular problems. Unbalanced and unhealthy diet is the major cause of obesity. According to Marion Nestle, Chair of New York University’s Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health, “the increased calories in American diets come from eating more food in general, but especially more of foods high in fat (meat, dairy, fried foods, grain dishes with added fat), sugar (soft drinks, juice drinks, desserts), and salt (snack foods)” (Nestle, 2002; p. 10). Thus most of the people are obese because they have high intake of food and less exercise.
Fast food and obesity
It has often been blamed by many that fast food is one of the major causes of increasing obesity in United States (Kinsey, 1994; Buthrie, Lin & Frazao, 2002). Different studies have shown that there is a positive correlation between the fast food and the body weight (Jeffery & French, 1998). Similarly, nutrition analysis of different fast food items has also proved that they are high in energy density and thus causes high energy intake (Paeratakul et. al., 2003).
However, there is no concrete data available to prove that fast foods are directly responsible for obesity. Most of the research conducted to identify a link between obesity and fast food emphasized more on aggregate level analysis instead of individual analysis. Due to their focus on aggregate level analysis, studies have found that there are more fast food outlets in areas (usually low income group) which...