Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
Region IV-A CALABARZON
Division of Antipolo City
St. Clare Science High School

The Effects of McDonald’s Foods

to the Health of Human Being
(An Experimental Research)

A research for the fulfillment of all the requirements in

TECHNICAL WRITING

A Project By:
Michael Bernard Bryan Doron
Diana Leah Mendoza
Camille Coronado
Jean Adriel Ferino Zapata

Submitted To:
Ms. Eden G. Liquido
TECHNICAL WRITING
 I. Introduction

A. Background of the Study

Since we were children, McDonalds was there already. People of all

walks of life, old and young, go and eat there. They have so much fun
eating burgers, spaghettis, french fries, fried chickens, sundaes, etc.
After attending to a church mass, meeting a friend, friends chat,
celebrating a special occasion, Mc Donald will always be a special
place. Children enjoy to eat and play at the restaurant’s small but
colourful playground. It was designed to attract more children and
costumers.

We, students from St. Clare Science High School conducted a study of
how those food from McDonald were prepared. We are conscious
about the ingredients that are used for the food that make them tasty
and yummy. McDonalds fast-food chain offers healthy foods but,
generally are they healthy? Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, french-fries,
potato chips, soft drinks, milk, coffee and different varieties of ice
creams are some of them.

We want to guide people that are already addicted to those kinds of

food.
We want to know the possible effects of eating Mc-foods excessively
and how to prevent health problems like cancer.A lot of people are
suffering from obesity, heart problems, kidney stones, cancers, liver
problems etc. because of unhealthy diet and improper lifestyle.

Always eating at McDonalds ready to serve foods could possibly result

to health problems.We want to help people to become more watchful
or attentive about the food they eat.

Life is short, at an early age more people die, so let us change our
lifestyle.
Instead of eating fast-foods, eat healthy foods such as vegetables,
fruits etc. Let us promote healthy lifestyle to live a better life.
B. Statement of the Problem

-This research shows the possible effects if a person excessively eat

these foods. This research also aims to answer the questions of a lot of
people that are conscious about their health. It can also inform us
about the results that may happen if we take those unhealthy foods.
The research also gives tips and suggestions in maintaining a healthy
diet and getting rid of these diseases that came from eating unhealthy
foods.

C. Significance of the Study

-This research aims to inform people about the possible harmful

effects that McDonald’s French fries and burgers in the human body as
well as the methods on how they produce their good looking products
and services. This research also states the relation of diseases such as
kidney failure, heart diseases, lung failure and the rapid change in the
body’s condition to the products that are stated above. In other
words, this will act as a guide for people that are adherent in eating
at McDonald’s fast food chain.

D. Scope of Delimitation of the Study

-To be more accurate and more precise we will conduct an experiment
with two respondents by eating McDonalds food for one week,
particularly they will eat burgers & french-fries and they will have
some soft drinks. We will measure their waistlines and their weights
first; also, we’ll consult a doctor before and after we do our
experiment.
 II. Conceptual Framework

Mc Diet

Health Problems
Such as:
Obesity, Heart Problems, Kidney
Addiction
Stones etc.

III. Hypothesis

Following a McDiet can increase number of people who are

suffering at different kinds of health problems especially obesity
and heart problems.
IV. Review of Related Literature
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the world's largest
chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving nearly 47 million
customers daily.[4] At one time it was the largest global restaurant
chain, but it has since been surpassed by multi-brand operator Yum!
(KFC, Taco Bell and others) and sandwich chain Subway.

In addition to its signature restaurant chain, McDonald’s Corporation

held a minority interest in Pret A Manger until 2008, and owned the
Chipotle Mexican Grill until 2006 and the restaurant chain Boston
Market until 2007.[5] The company has also expanded the McDonald's
menu in recent decades to include alternative meal options, such as
salads and snack wraps, in order to capitalize on growing consumer
interest in health and wellness.

Each McDonald's restaurant is operated by a franchisee, an affiliate, or

the corporation itself. The corporations' revenues come from the rent,
royalties and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales in company-
operated restaurants. McDonald's revenues grew 27% over the three
years ending in 2007 to $22.8 billion, and 9% growth in operating
income to $3.9 billion.[6]

McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken

products, french fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and
desserts. In response to obesity trends in western nations and in the
face of criticism over the healthiness of its products, the company has
modified its menu to include such healthier alternatives as salads,
wraps and fruit.

Controversies
As a prominent example of the rapid globalization of American fast
food industry, McDonald's is often the target of criticism for its menu,
its expansion, and its business practices.

The McLibel Trial, also known as McDonald's Restaurants v Morris &

Steel, is an example of this criticism. In 1990, activists from a small
group known as London Greenpeace (no connection to the
international pressure group Greenpeace) distributed leaflets entitled
What's wrong with McDonald's?, criticizing its environmental, health,
and labor record. The corporation wrote to the group demanding they
desist and apologize, and, when two of the activists refused to back
down, sued them for libel in one of the longest cases in British civil law.

A documentary film of the McLibel Trial has been shown in several

countries.

The term "McJob" was added to Merriam-Webster's Collegiate

Dictionary in 2003,[over the objections of McDonald's. In an open
letter to Merriam-Webster, Jim Cantalupo, former CEO of McDonald's,
denounced the definition as a "slap in the face" to all restaurant
employees, and stated that "a more appropriate definition of a 'McJob'
might be 'teaches responsibility.'" Merriam-Webster responded that
"we stand by the accuracy and appropriateness of our definition."

In 1999, French anti-globalisation activist José Bové vandalized a half-

built McDonald's to protest against the introduction of fast food in the
region.

In 2001, Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation included criticism of

the business practices of McDonald's. Among the critiques were
allegations that McDonald's (along with other companies within the
fast food industry) uses its political influence to increase its profits at
the expense of people's health and the social conditions of its workers.
The book also brought into question McDonald's advertisement
techniques in which it targets children. While the book did mention
other fast-food chains, it focused primarily on McDonald's.

In 2002, vegetarian groups, largely Hindu, successfully sued McDonald's

for misrepresenting their French fries as vegetarian.

Morgan Spurlock's 2004 documentary film Super Size Me said that

McDonald's food was contributing to the epidemic of obesity in
society, and that the company was failing to provide nutritional
information about its food for its customers. Six weeks after the film
premiered, McDonald's announced that it was eliminating the super
size option, and was creating the adult happy meal.

Anthony Bourdain on his show, No Reservations, has criticized

McDonald's among other fast-food restaurants for its culinary
blandness.
The soya that is fed to McDonald’s chickens is supplied by agricultural
giant Cargill and comes directly from Brazil. Greenpeace alleges that
not only is soya destroying the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, but soya
farmers are guilty of further crimes including slavery and the invasion
of indigenous peoples’ lands. The allegation is that McDonald's, as a
client of Cargill's, is complicit in these activities.

Arguments in defense of McDonald's

In response to public pressure, McDonald's has sought to include more
healthy choices in its menu and has introduced a new slogan to its
recruitment posters: "Not bad for a McJob".[29] (The word McJob, first
attested in the mid-1980s[30] and later popularized by Canadian
novelist Douglas Coupland in his book Generation X, has become a
buzz word for low-paid, unskilled work with few prospects or benefits
and little security.) McDonald's disputes the idea that its restaurant
jobs have no prospects, noting that its CEO, Jim Skinner, started
working at the company as a regular restaurant employee, and that 20
of its top 50 managers began work as regular crew members.] In 2007,
the company launched an advertising campaign with the slogan "Would
you like a career with that?" on Irish television, outlining that their
jobs have many prospects.

In a bid to tap into growing consumer interest in the provenance of

food, the fast-food chain recently switched its supplier of both coffee
beans and milk. UK chief executive Steve Easterbrook said: "British
consumers are increasingly interested in the quality, sourcing and
ethics of the food and drink they buy". McDonald's coffee is now
brewed from beans taken from stocks that have been certified by the
Rainforest Alliance, a conservation group. Similarly, milk supplies used
for its hot drinks and milkshakes have been switched to organic
sources which could account for 5% of the UK's organic milk output.

McDonald's announced on May 22, 2008 that, in the U.S. and Canada, it
will be introducing cooking oil for its french fries that contains no
trans fats. The company will use canola-based oil with corn and soy
oils by year's end for its baked items, pies and cookies.

McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel

McDonald's Restaurants v Morris & Steel (or the McLibel case) was
an English lawsuit filed by McDonald's Corporation against
environmental activists Helen Steel and David Morris (often referred to
as "The McLibel Two") over a pamphlet critical of the company. The
original case lasted ten years, making it the longest-running court
action in English history.

A feature-length documentary film, McLibel, was made about the case

by Franny Armstrong.

Although McDonald's won two hearings of the case in English court, the
partial nature of the victory, the David-vs-Goliath nature of the case,
and the drawn-out litigation embarrassed the company. McDonald's
announced that it did not plan to collect the £40,000 that it was
awarded by the courts. Since then, the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR) has ruled that the trial violated Articles 6 (right to a fair
trial) and Article 10 (right to freedom of expression) of the Convention
on Human Rights and awarded a judgment of £57,000 against the UK
government. (McDonald's itself was not a defendant in this appeal.) On
February 15, 2005, the pair's 20-year battle with McDonald's came to
an end with this judgment.

Trans fats cause more problems for McDonalds...

Trans fats are formed when liquid vegetable oils go through a
chemical process called hydrogenation. Common in a range of food
products — biscuits, chips, doughnuts, crackers — the hydrogenated
vegetable fat is used by food processors because it is solid at room
temperature and has a longer shelf life.

The Harvard School of Public Health think that 30,000 or more

premature heart disease deaths are caused each year by trans fats
from partially hydrogenated oils in food supplies.

In September 2002, McDonald's issued a statement announcing a

significant reduction of trans fats in its fried menu items — french
fries, chicken McNuggets, Filet-O-Fish, Hash Browns and crispy chicken
sandwiches — with the introduction of improved cooking oil in all of its
13,000 restaurants.

The change was supposed to be completed by February 2003.

However, McDonald’s encountered operational issues and the oil was
not changed.
An anti-trans fat group claims that McDonald's deliberately allowed
the public to be misled.

"Based on a document that we have received, McDonald's has spent a

grand total of $457.50 to get the word out to the public that it has not
changed the oil. Meanwhile, it has been reaping millions of dollars in
additional profits from customers who believe that they are getting
the new healthier oil."

Legal action has forced McDonald’s to give effective notice to the

public that the oil was not changed. In fact, McDonald’s is required to
spend up to $1.5 million on publishing notices to ensure that the
public knows the status of its trans fat initiative. If the cost of
publishing the notices is less than $1.5 million, the difference will be
donated to the American Heart Association. McDonald’s will also
donate $7 million to the American Heart Association.

In Europe and the US, food makers are under growing pressure from
consumer groups to cut the trans fat content in food products.

Last year Denmark became the first country in the world to ban trans
fats from food products over fears these hydrogenated fats could
contribute to heart disease.

While the European Union has yet to reach a position on the labelling
of trans fats, changes are likely as consumer bodies keep up the
pressure for tougher labelling and call on the industry to use
alternatives.

In the US, incoming rules mean that by 2006 food manufacturers will
have to label the trans fat content.

Bruce Holub, a professor of nutritional sciences at Canada's University

of Guelph, thinks that ingesting a daily gram of trans fat over several
years is enough to significantly boost your risk of heart disease.
Professor Holub points out that as few as two crackers can contain an
entire gram of TFA.

Kraft foods said earlier this year that it had launched a trans fat free
version of its iconic Oreo biscuit. The move follows a court case
against Kraft’s owner Nabisco – which attracted massive media
attention in the US - whereby the firm was asked to remove the
biscuits from sale because of the harm trans fats could cause to
children.

The case was later withdrawn because the lawyer who filed the suit
said the publicity surrounding the case accomplished what he set out
to do - create awareness about the dangers of trans fats.

However not all scientists agree about the potential dangers of trans
fats. Dr. Rudolph Riemersma from Edinburgh, UK, points out that some
studies have found a link between trans fats and heart disease while
others have not.

He is particularly critical of 'prospective' studies, which he says do not

prove that a particular food is to blame and that there may be other
common reasons which account for the poor health of study subjects.

Riemersma also points out that banning trans fats may force
manufacturers to process fats in other ways that may be even more
harmful. Professor Antii Aro from Helsinki, did not find a clear link
between trans fats and heart disease in his study. While he believes
that trans fats are harmful, he thinks that saturated fats are a much
greater concern.

Professor Daan Kromhout from the Netherlands points out that there is
no reason to have trans fats in the diet. He also draws attention to
major flaws in studies that found no adverse health effects related to
trans fats, and concludes that taking all the evidence into account,
the link between trans fats and cardiac deaths is one of the most
consistent in nutritional epidemiology.

A 2002 report from a National Academy of Sciences panel attempted

to set a safe intake level for trans-fatty acids. The report confirmed
previous findings about the relationship of trans-fatty acids and the
risk of heart disease, and concluded with this recommendation: "The
only safe intake of trans-fat is zero."
V. Definitions

1. Obesity- a medical condition in which excess body fats has

accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on
health, leading to reduced life expectancy. Body mass index
(BMI) which compares weight and height, used to define a
person as overweight (pre-obese) when their BMI is between
25kg/m2 and 30kg/m and obese when its greater than 30kg/m2
2. Depression- refers to a state of low mood and aversion to
activity. This is one of the causes of addiction relating in eating
McDonald’s food. This is also described as a disease or
dysfunction.
3. Lethargy- fatigue or exhaustion. It varies within the person and
is classified as a physical or mental. This is one of the effects of
over eating McDonald’s food.
4. Headache- symptom of a number of different conditions in the
head. Some of the causes are benign while others are medical
emergencies. This is also one of the effects.
5. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) - This compound is used as food
additive and commonly marketed as a flavor enhancer. Because
of overusing MSG, this can cause to MSG symptom complex
which can worsen asthmatic syndromes. This is also present on
McDonald’s and other fast food chains line of foods.
6. Artificial Additives- additive to food intended to improve flavor
or appearance or shelf life. These are also used when the
original product is not available.
7. Preservatives- are natural or synthetic chemical that are added
to products such as foods to prevent decomposition by microbial
growth or by undesirable chemical changes. One example is
using salt or NaCl.
8. Generally Recognized As Safe(GRAS)- an American Food and Drug
Administration(FDA) designation that substances or chemicals
added to food are considered as safe by safe.
9. Calorie- a pre-SI metric unit of energy and classified as a unit of
heat. This is used as a unit of food energy. This is usually used in
 calculating the amount of energy that is eaten and classifies
people obese or not.
10.Genetically Modified Foods (GM) - foods derived from
Genetically Modified Organisms. Genetic engineering is used to
provide or reproduce food instead of breeding or farming. GM
foods also perceived safety issues, ecological concerns and
economic concerns.

VI. Bibliography

o “Mcdonald’s Corporation”, www.wikipedia.org

o “Trans Fat Can Cause More Problems for Mcdonald’s”,
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/news/trans.htm