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fast food and childhood obesity
fast food and childhood obesity
fast food and childhood obesity
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The Definition Essay: Fast Food and Child Abuse
American families are struggling with problems of child abuse and obesity. These problems are issues for many reasons, but one major reason is the availability of fast food. Parents often take advantage of the easy and affordable options for food; however, when parents begin to take their children to a place that serves this food every day, it turns into child abuse. The parent or guardian neglects the need of nutrition for their child, causing the child to become overweight, which can be seen as disfigurement. Neglect and disfigurement are harsh words, but they are necessary to show the severity of the issue.
Fast food is everywhere, and sometimes hard to differentiate from healthy food that can be ordered quickly. McDonald’s is a company that is known for being a place to buy fast food. Their food has large portions, is fairly inexpensive, and contains a lot of sugar, so it fits the requirements for a fast food restaurant (“Food and Diet,” 2012). There are meals at McDonald’s specifically for children. Happy Meals, as they are called include an entrée of chicken nuggets, a hamburger, or a cheeseburger. These all come with a side of French fries, a choice of apples or yogurt, and a drink.
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There are typically six main categories into which all types can be organized. Physical abuse, emotional abuse, exploitation/sexual abuse, neglect, abandonment, and parental substance abuse. Neglect is “frequently defined as the failure of a parent or other person with responsibility for the child to provide needed food…medical care, or supervision to the degree that the child’s health, safety, and well-being are threatened with harm” (“Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect,” 2014, n.p.). Considering this definition in relation to obesity raises questions. If a parent or guardian is feeding the child McDonald’s every day, causing them to become obese, then the child’s health is being
In most states this would be considered child abuse. Child abuse is defined by the CDC as the following; “…any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child.” There are strict laws against physical and sexual abuse for the health and wellbeing of children. These physical abuse laws should be applied to criminally charge parents of morbidly obese children.
In the recent decades, obesity has grown into a major health issue in the United States within young people. With 31 percent of the United States of children being obese, the United States has become the country with the highest rate of obesity in the world. Obesity is not only found among adults, but it is also now found mainly among children and teenagers. The childhood is a very important period for the initiation of obesity especially in this time. Eating practices that children are taught or learn during childhood affects a person later in their life whether they know or not. Multiple studies have confirmed that childhood obesity in the U.S has been on a rise for years. One out of three children in the U.S are obese, most of them face a higher risk of having medical, social and academic problems. Childhood obesity also leads to many health problems among young people. Those problems include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and many more others. These problems cause a rise in health care costs that their families might have to pay sooner or later. The influence of parents and the media play a big role in causing these problems to happen. Some people believe that a family with an obese child should not raise child protection concerns if obesity is the only cause for concern (Callaghan, 2010). However, doctors should always be mindful of the possible role of abuse or neglect in contributing to obesity. The result of some research that was done on the symptoms of neglect shows a clear correlation between childhood abuse and obesity in childhood. A study of American school children has found that after controlling for socioeconomic status, those who were physically abused were more likely to be obese (Callaghan, 201...
As the world strives for convenience and a fast-paced lifestyle, an epidemic of poor health is on the rise. With constant life struggles, fast food readily available, and little time for preparation, citizens of the United States are not paying attention to what they’re putting in their child’s mouths. The state of Mississippi has developed the highest percentages of childhood obesity in the United States. Although this percentage has decreased in recent years, the numbers are still astounding. The children of Mississippi are slowly being poisoned by their parent’s poor choices. Due to parent’s poor nutritional education and poor health habits, the children of Mississippi will continue on the destructive path of obesity
The mentality of parents can lead to the downfall of their children 's health. Due to the lack of provision and support that they provide as a result of their mentality, their children who gravely need it remains obese and their condition usually exacerbates. In Jan Hoffman 's article, Parents ' Denial Fuels Childhood Obesity Epidemic, she makes it clear that parents who deny the condition of their children can drastically harm them even if it is unintentional. Since, parents with an ignorant mentality cannot provide their obese child with the help they desperately need to combat their obesity problems. She provides anecdotes of parents as well as the sentiments from individuals that developed obesity as a child and needed an intervention,
Childhood obesity has become huge epidemic in the United States. It is becoming one of the biggest health problems in America. Children are facing serious health concerns by not having the proper diet and exercise needed on a day-to-day basis. There are many different perspectives on how obesity should be treated and prevented. Many argue that children nowadays are becoming lazy, not getting enough exercise and have poor eating habits. Children are lacking fast and cheap food options that are actually healthy. Which are making people question who is to blame for this issue. Parents, schools, fast food industries and even the children themselves are just a few of the things that are to blame for this epidemic.
It is apparent that living an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as eating poorly, negatively affects one’s health. From a young age it is quickly learned which foods are considered healthful as opposed to junk food. It is a parents responsibility to supervise the intake of their child's food, however there is a higher risk than ever before of childhood obesity.
Also approximately, 13 million children and adolescents between the ages of 2-19, are obese in the United States too. A child who is obese will have the following symptoms, such as a physical look of being overweight, binge eating, and it is very common for them to have a shortness of breath when they take on a physical task, or exercise. Child obesity, if not treated, nor looked after can cause very mortal complication diseases in the near future that awaits for them ahead. It can lead the child towards having future high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. It is considered neglect that parents have an obese child, this is because children need to be looked after, and not have to look after their own wellbeing, they don’t know any better. The parents on the other hand, are grown adults to know their own child’s medical history, and what needs to be in order for their child to live a healthy. In order to avoid obesity from their children, parents have to know all of the fundamentals towards becoming successful on their child’s health, and away from the bad eating choices. At the end of it all parents need get their child proper medical treatment, and counseling towards a healthy lifestyle, or it is considered for the child to be obese, and a result the state will affirmative action against the family
Fast food and obesity are like best friends. According to Josh Ozersky's article, "If you are trying to keep kids from eating fattening meals so as not to become big and fat themselves, arm-twisting McDonald's into making its Happy Meals less caloric (or kids into swapping the fries for apple slices) is one way to do it" ("Pint-Size Me"). Most...
According to resent studies, Americans eat fast food for the convenience, mostly in the Western and Eastern part of the USA and people that cook and eat at home they are more traditional, for example in the Midwest. Fast food has been part of life in the USA for over 60 years. It has become extremely popular by Americans simply for the convenience.
Greasy pizza. Fried chicken. High sugar drinks. These all aspects of the American diet. American citizens and the American government are well known for a certain disregard for healthy eating. Severe health problems such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and other weight related medical issues are steadily increasing. “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” by The New York Times, “Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by first Figuring Out Its Cause” by The New York Times, “Give (Frozen) Peas a Chance-and Carrots Too” by TIME, and “Edible Schoolyard” by Alice Waters are four articles that discuss the complications Americans face when it comes to the fast food epidemic. Farming, government policy, and schools as well as homes should be making bigger strides
“This might be the first generation where kids are dying at a younger age than their parents and it's related primarily to the obesity problem.” Judy Davis. Childhood obesity is not a new term by an means but in the last few years it has grown in popularity. Some call childhood obesity the next “national epidemic”, sounds pretty scary especially when it’s effecting the youngest of Americans. Obesity is among one of the easiest medical condition to recognize but is the most difficult to treat. Children who are overweight are 10x more likely to become overweight adults unless they change their eating habits and exercise. (“Childhood Obesity. Pg 1). 30% of adult obesity begins in childhood, it is also said obesity is the cause of 300,000 deaths a year and cost society an estimated $100 billion a year. Today, about one third of American’s children and teens are considered to be overweight or obese, it has nearly tripled in size since 1963 (“Childhood Obesity”. Pg 1). Obesity is causing numerous health problems that typically aren’t seen until adulthood. Childhood obesity can effect the physical, emotional, and social well-being of a child.
This problem has fueled debates and court cases. Most of the time parents of obese children are obese themselves, and if it is not a medical issue it could be a mental health problem that causes them to eat everything that they eat. “Defining childhood obesity as abuse would put a tremendous burden on obese children’s parents”. (Yam)
Research shows “the prevalence of obesity among U.S. preschoolers has doubled in recent decades” (May 629). This is not surprising because we live in a “fast food” world where convenience is king. Where the television is the babysitter, and staying indoors to play video games is preferred to playing outside. So is this the child’s fault? Sometimes, but it is my opinion that parents are mainly to blame for childhood obesity because they are the ones that buy the groceries, set the television limits, and rely on fast food to feed their children.
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.
“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.