College is an interesting place to observe social norms and there are a lot of them surrounding food choices. Before I came to college I would cook a lot of homemade meals that were extremely healthy, but took some time. After entering college I realized I didn’t have neither enough time or enough money to support eating like this for every meal. A lot of the time when I am busy at school or at work it is easiest for me to just go eat a quick bowl of ramen noodles or maybe join my friends at a fast food place like McDonalds or Burger King. This is just the norm for my friends and many other students I know to just grab something quick, cheap, and easy. This food definitely isn’t as healthy as a homemade meal with natural ingredients would be, but it is much easier and fits right into many students schedule making it the go to thing for food.

Obesity is a growing problem especially in the United States. One of the major causes of obesity in America is the widespread fast food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, and many many more. The food that is made at these restaurants is supposed to be made as cheaply and quickly as possible which causes a lot of problems. To make this food cheaply and fast they are willing to sacrifice how healthy the food is. If people are constantly eating these cheap fast foods then obviously obesity is going to grow right alongside the growing fast food chains. I think the norm should be the very opposite of this. I think people should be encouraged more and more to cook healthy homemade food with local ingredients.