Social Phenomenon Research Paper

Americans are facing skyrocketing health care costs today. I cannot help but think disease in some way relates to health. People have long established the link between good nutrition and healthy individuals. Examples of poor health and malnourishment continue to show up in poor countries. Although the United States maintains certain recommendations for basic nutrition, I think Americans still consume too much of the nutritionally empty foods and health care ends up dealing with the resulting illnesses like diabetes, heart problems, and cancers. Fast food offers the flavors many people desire but also the time saved in food preparation, and sometimes it is even more economical. Fast food restaurants are making changes to their menus to offer more fruits and vegetables; I think the average customer still chooses French fries over fruit cups. By identifying the issue of eating habits, solutions may appear.

According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control,) Americans have increased their average body weight by 25 to 28 pounds, over the last 40 years. This research will try to identify if the increase in body weight correlates with fast food consumption. Fast food today mostly referrers to restaurants offering burgers, pizza, hotdogs, and sodas; however many foods in the grocery store qualify too. Many families rely on grocery store convenient foods in conjunction with fast food restaurants to feed their family. Convenience foods generally contain more sugars, fats, and less nutritional value then fresh foods. This study will take a look at peoples typical eating behaviors throughout the course of a week and try to identify if there is a correlation with the types of food (fresh versus processed) and the frequency of consumption.

I will use the scientific method for this research. I will couple a Survey/Questionnaire with secondary data sources from the CDC, AMA (American Diabetes Association,) and WHO (World Health Organization). The survey will

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