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Fast food and childhood obesity
Cause and effects of fast food for kids
How fast food affects our health
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Abuse from Fast Food Children today are suffering from both verbal and physical abuse, but a form of child abuse that is being overlooked is feeding children fast food on a regular basis. The leading cause of obesity in America is bad nutrition, and part of the cause of bad nutrition is the fast food industry. People do not realize how bad fast food actually is for the body, it creates bad habits for children by allowing them to think putting poison in their body is okay. Continually feeding fast food to children is abuse because of the sugar intake, weight gain and mental problems the fast food brings. McDonalds is one of the world’s largest fast food chains, feeding many people for low prices. What people don’t understand is what is actually …show more content…
stat 8-201). If you look up the definition of disfigurement, it says, “the action of spoiling the appearance of something or someone” (Merriam-Webster, n.d). When talking about child abuse and fast food, the question becomes, does fast food cause disfigurement and is obesity considered disfigurement? Yes, child obesity does cause disfigurement along with many other issues such as hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and substantial morbidity. At Harvard university they have done studies of fast food and have come to the conclusion that, “fast food is known for its large portions, low prices, high palatability, and high sugar content, and there’s evidence from studies in teens and adults that frequent fast-food consumption contributes to overeating and weight gain”(Duffey, 2007). People gain weight from fast food, and not only do they gain weight they develop bad habits. Parents that regularly consume fast food are responsible for teaching their children that consuming unhealthy meals regularly is acceptable behavior which in end leads physical problems such as obesity and the emotional problems that are caused by
“For someone not to know that a big mac is unhealthy is ignorance, and ignorance is not the responsibility of the fast food industry,” (Daniel Speiser). The amount of fast food joints has largely increased which has become a problem for many people throughout the United States. Several people place the blame for the rising obesity among children on the rising fast food industries due to its convenience, price, advertising, and somewhat un-nutritional content. Some people even take it as far as court to place blame on the fast food industries and for those industries to make changes to their restaurants. The high percentage of obese children in the United States is not caused by the fast food industry. The obesity epidemic has other outside influences, the fast food industries have changed dramatically, and people should take responsibility for their own consumptions. It is time for people to stop placing the blame on others and take responsibility for themselves and their actions.
Americans made a big mistake back in 1916 that has changed the way other countries view America! In 1916 in America, the first ever fast food restaurant was opened. It was called White Castle, according to http://www.accupos.com/pos-articles/history-of-fast-food-in-america.php. Though this fast food restaurant did not affect people and their weight, until the end of the 1950’s, when people were inspired by White Castle to start their own fast food restaurants. Fast food is one of the main causes of obesity and causes many Americans suffer from chronic diseases, like gallbladder cancer, atherosclerosis, and diabetes, every year. Fast food has also shaped the way other countries see America.
Obesity in the United States, which the media has labeled a national crisis, has also been connected to poverty rates. Big fast food industry’s target poor communities, and spend millions of dollars each year to create advertising that appeals to these specific areas. These industry’s also target naïve children when advertising because they know that eating habits developed in childhood are usually carried into adulthood. Children who are exposed to television advertisements for unhealthy food and who are not educated well enough on good nutrition will grow up and feed their families the same unhealthy foods they ate as kids. A big way fast food giants are able to make certain young people have access to unhealthy food is by strategically placing franchises in close proximity to schools. They will often place three times as many outlets within walking distance of schools than in areas where there are no schools nearby. The way fast food advertising is targeted towards children is very alarming considering how important good nutrition is for young people and how a child’s eating habits can affect their growth and
This particular article sheds a different light onto how advertising affects the life of a child. This author suggests that our society has grown away from respected the opinions of our elders and now the opinion lies in the hands of the child. As the author states that front door is now a permeable membrane allowing advertisers into their homes and allowing children to view them through the many sources of technology that lie beyond that membrane.
Is fast food to blame? Fast food restaurants advertise all their ingredients in plain sight. They provide healthy options to their more popular foods such as grilled items, skinless options, low calorie/no calorie beverages, and small portion orders. Most obese Americans are overweight because they are uneducated about the dangers of the fast food. Once they learn about eating healthy, managing overweight issues becomes more elementary. Fast food restaurants should not be the blame of American obesity because there are healthier options, self-discipline, and self responsibility for each individual.
The atmosphere of the neighborhood and household is a justification on how parents are the influence to their kids bodies. If a neighborhood is close to fast food restaurants it could lead to bad eating habits like going there everyday and buying a burger off the dollar menu. In addition, if say a family does not bring in a high-income that could cause bad eating habits also. If parents do not bring a big income and have to have a budget, fast food is the way to go. Easy, fast, and cheap. Also if a parent makes little income they might have to work overtime or have more than one job. When people work to much they tend to get tired faster and do not have the time and energy to prepare healthy meals or even an meals at all. To explain more on this issue I found an article that connected to my points citing, “Children who rely on fast food may tend to have parents who do not have the means desire or time to purchase or prepare healthy foods at home. This is what really is driving children’s obesity and what needs to be addressed in any solution” (Klausner 1). The author, Klausner drew attention that because parents are so busy and tied up with work , there is no possible way that children can stay healthy. The parents have a huge contribution to why fast food makes children obese. Today many Americans suffer in poverty. Poverty is a huge
However, when creating fast food restaurants, the industries were not thinking about the negative effects such as obesity. Other than obesity, other harmful effects exist as well. Fast food restaurants serve unhealthy products such as greasy foods and artificial meat that lead to dietary health issues in many adults and children. A recent study showed that “Young children who are fed processed, nutrient-poor foods are likely to become unhealthy teenagers, and eventually unhealthy adults. Now twenty-three percent of teens in the U.S. are pre-diabetic or diabetic, 22% have high or borderline high LDL cholesterol levels, and 14% have hypertension or prehypertension”
McDonald's is a fast-food chain that was founded on the 15th of April 1955 in Illinois, United States by Raymond Albert Kroc. The American fast-food chain has become very successful as it has grown throughout the globe and the owners of the franchise have grown rapidly in wealth. A survey showed that McDonald’s is so famous that it’s more recognizable than the Christian Cross. Worldwide, the revenue of the entire company 17.18 million dollars per day. Despite this wealthy and well-known behemoth, the company is hiding what actually goes on behind the counter and the outcome that the food has to your health: the unhealthiness of the meals, the cruelty towards the animals and the negative impact on the environment.
One way that fast food effects obesity is by advertising their products to children (Miller). In her article Food Advertising Contributes to Obesity, Patti Miller explains that the fast food companies are targeting kids and teenagers by advertising on television. The fast food advertisements are promoting unhealthy products as acceptable food which influences children to choose those meals. The American Psychological Association, an organization focused on improving the lives of individuals, expressed that with the exposure of different fast food commercials, children request to purchase these unhealthy products and cause the parents to be influenced by these requests. This concludes the idea that once children are encouraged by the commercials, they opt to consume the fast food advertised on television. Today, fast food companies are even advertising through schools by offering pizzas and burgers as school lunches, which consequently becomes a daily meal for children and teenagers to consume (Wadden, Brownell,
McDonald’s is a well-known restaurant around the world the symbol can be recognized anywhere. Society begins adapting to the characteristics of McDonaldization which are efficiency, predictability, uniformity, and control. This is taking away the creativity out of business management by using scientific management and rationalization. This is also dehumanizing society and taking away basic humanity from the people who work inside the industry. Mcdonaldization rest on four principles one of them being efficiency in the 50s one of the goals for fast food was to have the meal done in 50 seconds.
Through Eric Schlosser’s book Fast Food Nation he examines the effects that fast food has impacted the world and the way it is affecting the people that are consuming it. As the fast food industry continues to grow throughout not only the United States but the whole world, marketing companies are always looking for ways to broaden the group of people that are interested in buying their product over another company’s. As a marketer for a fast food company it is essential to have a group of people that you can rely on to always buy the company’s product, to many fast food companies they found this group of people to be adolescents and children. Marketing groups specifically market their products to entice this group of people to lure them in. Food is an object that is needed for the survival of a human, but the type of food that humans chose to eat is also not always the best. Because fast food is so cheap and easily accessible just about everywhere you turn your head, many people resort to eating it even though it is very unhealthy. With these factors present, many adults have exposed their children to fast food at a young age, these parents do not always think about the long term effects of feeding their children fast food because they are so caught up in the moment of feeding their kids right then and there; they do not think about the health risks that can occur later as a result from eating fast food now.
In an article from the Elephant Journal, a blogger named Tom Grasso focuses on the question about whether feeding kids fast food is child abuse. He considers today's society as a society that is fat even though there is a fear of being fat. He puts the blame on parents for kids who are obese and eat fast food and other unhealthy foods. (Grasso-Gyandeva, 2011) Fast food is not just considered foods like hamburgers, hotdogs, tacos or french fries.
Since industrialization in early America, the food industry has been growing, and with the development of prepackaged foods and fast-food chains, having snacks at your fingertips is a luxury that seems convenient and beneficial… until one considers the effects of junk food on the body and brain. Generally, junk food is characterized as food with high fat and sugar content and minimal nutritional value (Karimi-Shahanjarini et al., 2012). In modern day America, it is common to arrive home from a long day at school or work and grab a conveniently prepackaged snack to quiet your munchies and calm your nerves. Although this seems like a harmless act, eating these snack foods can have negative effects on the body and brain.
This obesity problem has been majorly affected by fast food restaurants. Since obesity is such a serious problem in America last year there was close to 300,000 deaths.(Is Obesity a Disease?) As the author for procon states “Obesity was the third leading cause of death in 2009”(Obesity.procon.org) This problem does not only kill people but it additionally affects many people in different ways.(Is Obesity a Disease?) In america all of the expenses for obesity add up to 147 billion dollars annually, plus the average human that is overweight ways 32.8 pounds more than the normal weight of a human being.(Is Obesity a Disease?) Also eating excessive amounts of fast food can seriously harm your body.(Is Obesity a Disease?) One way it can harm you is you can develop many varieties of diseases, as well as gaining numerous pounds of fat and weight.(Jaworowska) Fast food is bad for you because it is low density protein.(Jaworowska) This means you have to eat more food to gain energy, drawing you in to eat at a fast food restaurant.(Jaworowska) Even though these fast food restaurants are a huge factor in obesity, some of these restaurants are trying to fix the problem.(Jaworowska) For example Mcdonalds is being pressured into selling healthier foods and are required to post how many calories each food is on there
“We need to teach our children to eat real food. No fast foods. No junk foods. No processed foods. Just honest, nutritious, real food.” As the years go by many more people are becoming obese because they consume too much fast food. People need to get in habits to cook at home rather than eating out everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. People in this world are now always trying to look for the easy way out of things. Eating out at a fast food restaurant is not a healthy meal to eat. We the people need to avoid the fast food restaurants and stop being lazy and have home cooked meals everyday. Although fast food is convenient for everyone, it causes obesity and consuming too much fast food can lead to type 2 diabetes.