250948 Through the Golden Arches: The Global Health Impact of McDonald's

Monday, October 31, 2011: 1:10 PM

Nicholas Freudenberg, DrPH , City University of New York, Hunter College, New York, NY
     
Through its business practices such as product mix, retail practices, marketing and pricing, McDonald's has a significant impact on population health, both in the United States and elsewhere. In addition, through its political practices such as campaign contributions, lobbying, public relations and philanthropy, the company strives to create an environment in which it can operate without government interference. In this session, the business and political practices of McDonald's that affect health are described and analyzed with the goal of uncovering the pathways by which corporate decisions affect health. The session concludes by describing some of the ways that public health professionals, advocates and governments have acted to reduce the health harming practices of McDonald's and other fast food companies.

Learning Areas:
Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the business and political practices of McDonald's that influence health 2. Analyze the pathways by which business decisions affect health 3. Describe some of the strategies that advocates have used to reduce the health-damaging business and political practices of McDonald's and other fast food companies.

Keywords: Food and Nutrition, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have studied the health-related practices of many businesses including McDonalds.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes

Name of Organization Clinical/Research Area Type of relationship
Corporate Accountability International research on business practices Consultant

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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