For decades the fast food industry has provided Americans with tasty, comforting food, quickly and at low cost. It was only recently, when the health craze first hit America in the late 1980s, that companies developed a new approach to marketing healthy food products to satisfy their customers' desires (Nielsen). Popular fast food chains, such as McDonalds and Subway, have started advertising “healthier” food items on their menus to continue attracting the general public. While fast food restaurants give the impression of offering healthy food, nutritional studies show that healthy alternatives are not as nutritious as advertised and can lead to possible underestimation of calories and overconsumption (Chandon 85). To maintain significant market share in the industry, fast food companies must appeal to people of all ages and advertise alternative menu options, even if the nutritional content doesn't support the message. The advertising of fast food as “healthy” as nutritious often results in consumers underestimating calories and overeating. The reality is that fast food companies convince their customers to buy the healthy products they advertise, but they don't provide enough nutritional information to allow them to make healthy decisions. In "The Indictments Against Advertising" by Courtland L. Bovee and William F. Arens, both authors of contemporary business and advertising textbooks, briefly discusses the effect of advertising on the consumer and shows the implications of business, in this case l the fast-food industry, in persuading people to “want what they don't need” (Bovee 358). The advertising technique of persuasion leads to false impressions about a product, much like advertising claims of selling a healthy food f...... middle of paper ......ee , Courtland L. and Arens, William F. “The Case Against Advertising” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, tenth edition by Laurence Behrens University of California, Santa Barbara and Leonard J. Rosen. New York, San Francisco, Boston, London, 2008. Pearson Longman pp. 685-691. Chandon, Pierre and Wansink, Brian. “Does food marketing have to make us fat? A Review and Solutions” Nutrition Reviews, 70.10 (2012): 571-593 Academic Search Complete Web October 31, 2014.Critser, Greg. “Too much of a good thing.” Editorial. Los Angeles Times July 22, 2001.Supersize Me. Dir. Morgan Spurlock. Perf. Morgan Spurlock. Roadside Attractions, Samuel Goldwyn Films, Showtime Independent Films, 2004. DVDNielsen, S.J. & Popkin, B.M. (2003). Patterns and trends in food portion sizes, 1977-1998. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289 (4), 450­453.