What does culture mean to a person? When one is presented with this they might answer with “beliefs or ways of life.” Culture is an important aspect of life to any geographical location. Those that answer the question understand that culture varies from nation to nation but does culture have the ability to actually destroy another culture? Citizens of any nations are always constantly trying to indulge in other cultures. Americans are spending thousands of dollars every year flying to a vast number of countries to spend time in other countries and citizens in other countries are flying to the United States, which this is no problem, this is experiencing culture at free will. The problem nowadays is that alien cultures are being pushed into other cultures. There soon will be no need to travel since one dominant culture will be taking over everywhere in the world. This is the exact opposite of what is okay. American fast food culture is a prime example of a pushy culture. The  fast food chain culture of America are destroying cultures worldwide.

Culture has a unique characteristic about it, in that is is different from area to area of the world. Every geographical location on this planet has a certain kind of food that they eat, drink, and their way of life. Most countries, before Fast Food companies took over, ate natural things and lived over all healthy lives. The people of all areas had such rich diets that did not include any processed foods but contain colorful vegetables and grains. Then fast food culture grabbed hold of the public.A recent survey, from rt.com, showed that Mexico, in 2013, had surpassed the United States with an obesity rate of 32.8 percent and has maintained the record for obesity rate since then. Culture used to allow regions to cook healthy, colorful foods and  Mexico was a prime example. They had such a colorful diet, containing taste-bud-punching foods such as fresh salsa or cabrito(baby goat), then the fast food chains were built and now has a 31.8% of obesity. Fast Food chains have started to negatively influence the food that the world is consuming.

Not only is culture the type of food one consumes, but it is their way of life, like their daily routines and exercises. The average person should be getting at least 60 minutes of activity a day, but now with the introduction of fast food in these nations, their way of life is being affected. With the rise of obesity rates in other nations such as China and India, health is on the incline and health care costs are on the incline also. A study shows that diabetes is on the rise and that in 2030, China is projected to grow from 90 million to 130 million. India is projected to have their number, 61 million, jump to 101 million. If we were to get rid of the fast food chains and influence people to get back into their old way of life then these problems would decrease over time. Not only now with  the increase of people being diagnosed with diabetes, it means that the demand for the medication will only sky rocket. In the United States it costs anywhere from $8-$200 for the daily dosage of medication to live with diabetes. Those that do not have health insurance are the ones that are going to have to have the burden of the cost on themselves. In other nations, such as Mexico, it costs the user 50% of the total cost.

Culture is what makes up many aspects of a persons life, and now that fast food has been introduced it is trying to change the definition of culture. America needs to realize that the fast food chain culture, that they created, is now bringing  damage to other nations. Their fast food chains are only bringing dangerous health problems to other nations and their culture. They are being an overbearing with their fast food chains and need to understand that their “culture” is not natural and the damage will be done and nothing can be done in order to remove it.

Works Cited

“‘Globesity’: US Junk Food Industry Tips Global Scales.” RT English. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.

Pan, An, Vasanti Malik, and Frank B. Hu. “Exporting Diabetes to Asia: The Impact of Western-Style Fast Food.” Circulation. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2015.