McDonalds to double presence in China; chronic disease follows the Western diet around the globe

Monday, April 26, 2004 by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger Editor of NaturalNews.com (See all articles...) Tags: soft drinks, soft drink companies, fast food restaurants

https://www.naturalnews.com/000965.html

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Question: why on Earth is a restaurant chain that sells arguably unhealthy foods sponsoring events that should be all about health and physical fitness? Similarly, I've always thought it strange that soft drink companies sponsored sporting events. Sports and soft drinks are near opposites: one promotes activity and health, the other promotes diabetes and disease. Seeing McDonalds sponsor the Olympics is somewhat bizarre.

I believe McDonalds is at least partially responsible for America's obesity epidemic as well as accelerating rates of other chronic diseases. The products sold by McDonalds are high in saturated fat, high in processed carbohydrates, high in sodium, high in refined sugars (high fructose corn syrup in the soft drinks), and high in trans fatty acids (french fries). These food characteristics are unquestionably linked to diabetes, heart disease, obesity and even cancer. While McDonalds obviously isn't forcing anyone to eat their foods, they are in fact heavily promoting these foods and drinks without bothering to warn consumers of the subsequent health risks.

Now, McDonalds wants to expand in China, and there's little doubt that as the Western diet continues to invade Chinese culture, China will see rising rates of the very same diseases now considered epidemic in the United States. The rapid expansion of McDonalds restaurants and soft drink companies into the global marketplace is one reason why I describe the United States as the world's largest exporter of disease. Every country or region that starts consuming American foods experiences chronic disease within a generation.

These opinions are not popular with the McDonalds corporation, no doubt, but they are based in nutritional science.