Fast Food Blamed for Obesity

Following a worldwide trend toward eating healthier food, fast food is now criticized as a major cause of obesity, despite being enjoyed by thousands of people in chain restaurants everywhere. Some civic groups have even staged anti-fast food campaigns, collecting parody works satirizing fast-food franchises that earn profits from selling unhealthy food.

There are 438 fast food restaurants in Seoul alone, meaning there is a fast food store for every 1.3 square kilometers of the city, according to a civic group Citizens’ Movement for Environmental Justice. Many are also located in areas popular with young people and students.

A report conducted in 2003 by the Korea Consumer Protection Board showed 2.6 percent of the nation’s children have fast food at least once a day.

Other research by the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted in 2001 also indicated 135,000 people in the nation consumed hamburgers or fried chicken everyday. When pizza is included, the figure rose to 200,000, or some 0.4 percent of the total population.

“Fast food, with its excessive animal protein, fat, refined sugar, salt and chemical spices, threatens people’s health, especially children’s. Once children become accustomed to such rich foods, their eating habits are not easily changed, even when they grow up,” Shin Kwon Hwa-jung, director of the environmental movement group, told The Korea Times.

In addition, many point out that fast food damages the environment due to the mass breeding of animals for meat and the use of disposable wrappings and containers.

“So we are opposing fast food in order to secure the health and environmental rights of the next generation,” Shin Kwon said.

Many foreign civic groups have also been staging anti-fast food campaigns around the world. An “Anti-McDonald’s Day,” which began in Britain 20 years ago on Oct. 16, is now held every year in many countries.

The environmental group also asserted famous fast food franchises lure children to their products with free toy gifts and advertisements that associate fast food with something special and enjoyable. In Sweden, fast food advertisements are banned on television during primetime when the number of children watching is highest.

The domestic group invited the public to participate in a contest to make parody works drawing attention to the harmful effects of fast food from Oct. 16 to Nov. 9 in an effort to raise public awareness about the realities of “junk” food.

Some 80 works were collected, with most satirizing well-known advertisements and the logos of fast food franchises such as McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Lotteria and Popeye’s.

Meanwhile, one of the group’s activists, Yoon Kwang-yong, engaged in a fast-food diet for a Korean version of “Super Size Me.” From Oct. 16 he consumed only fast food.

However, he stopped the experiment yesterday after 24 days due to a doctor’s warning that he might run the risk of developing heart-related diseases if he continued.

According to the group, the number of calories Yoon ingested per day was smaller than that in the U.S. production and he walked more than his American counterpart. However, Yoon’s health had definitely worsened.

While his weight increased by only two kilograms, his body fat increased by more than five kilograms. Medical checks also indicated that his liver was in an abnormal condition.

“We have recorded Yoon’s daily life for the last four weeks. We’ll make a documentary to show the effect on his body and the problems of fast food,” Shin Kwon said.