Joan+of+Arcs


 * The Joan of Arcs: ** Lead Us to a Healthy Victory


 * Big Idea:** Obesity and fast food in America

What are the underlying reasons for people purchasing unhealthy fast food?
 * Essential Question:**

How are we going to solve the lack of accessibility to healthier food options in urban areas?
 * Challenge:**

How does the consumption of fast food affect people later in life? What percentage of high schoolers consume fast food once or more than once a week? How many Americans purchase fast food daily? Has fast food consumption increased over the past few decades? Would people still purchase fast food if the restaurants were more than 25 minutes away from their location?
 * Guiding Question:**

We will conduct a survey asking the following questions:
 * Guiding Activities**
 * 1.) Do you eat fast food once or more than once a week?
 * 2.) Do you get fast food because of the
 * convenience?
 * price?
 * taste?
 * 3.) Would you continue to eat the fast food if you knew the calories?

Contact McDonald's and Subway, find out calories in their most popular food items, and compare. What are alternative food choices to put in school?

Convenience || Question Price || Question Taste || Question
 * Survey**
 * Question
 * 1 || Question
 * 2
 * 2
 * 2
 * 3 ||
 * 19 || 54 || 26 || 31 || 55 ||

Why do you eat what you eat? Is it because of the convenience, cost, or taste? Fast food is less time consuming than cooking your own meals or going to another restaurant; it’s easily accessible and also portable. But is fast food the most nutritious food choice? According to our survey and other sources, people don’t seem concerned with the calorie count in fast food. What they care about is the taste and the convenience. The Joan of Arcs chose this topic because we think fast food is a health risk that affects several people in our country, especially those who don’t have a lot of money or excess time. There are many underlying reasons for obesity in America. The United States has fallen victim of a stigma that states the citizens are ‘lazy’ and ‘fat.’ But what is not considered are the potential reasons for //why// people are losing control of their weight. While there are many flourishing and fortunate areas of America, there are also places that are poverty-stricken. Is everyone purchasing fast food because the taste is too hard to ignore? Or is it because of the convenience, accessibility or even price? There are countless families who simply don’t have the money to afford healthier food options, and are forced to choose an alternative of cheap fast food. In order to feed their families within a reasonable budget, some parents are forced to turn to fast food in order to maintain their lives. Although fast food is a satisfying food choice temporarily, in the long run, the greasy and fatty foods served at these restaurants have dangerous affects on the body. Fast food restaurants are a huge reason for the incline in obesity in America. Everyone wants to change the world, but the way to make the most impact is by being active in your own community. We took this into consideration when considering what our action plans should be. There is already a salad bar in Pascack Valley High School, which is a significant change to the offered food items. In addition, we would like to see other healthier food choices available during lunch (grilled chicken instead of fried chicken, etc.). We will also encourage people to choose healthier food options, like Subway.
 * Action/Solution**