Have you seen the film, "Super Size Me" (2004) by Morgan Spurlock? He documented his experiment eating nothing but McDonald's fast food 3X/day for 30 days, while exploring the question whether they should be held responsible for their contribution to this country's obesity epidemic. Fortunately, his vegan girlfriend, now his wife, was able to "nurse" him back to health afterwards.
It's admirable that some in the franchise food industry have made attempts to provide healthful menu choices, and even smaller portions. However, the one truly responsible for what goes into her body is the consumer herself. This is why sites like empowher are key to providing education and encouragement to those who seek it.
There are a number of studies examining the relationship between affluent societies and obesity, the States not alone in this phenomenon. It's encouraging that obesity is getting attention as a global issue, demonstrating that we're not alone. Perhaps our offshore franchises - McDonald's, Pizza Hut, KFC, Starbucks, etc. - will also take the lead in the slimming of our global community. One can hope.
For more information:
NY Times: World Briefing|Asia: China: Affluence Brings Obesity
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...
PLOS Medicine: "Rethinking the Diseases of Affluence"
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlser...
BMJ: Report highlights obesity levels in Eastern Europe as affluence increases
Report highlights obesity levels in Eastern Europe as affluence increases
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/3...