Fast Food and Fat Kids

1400 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fast food and childhood obesity

In the adolescent and school health section of the cdc.gov website, it states that "Childhood obesity has doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past thirty years" (par. 1). In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. Overweight is having excess bodyweight for a certain height from fat, muscle, bone, or water. Obese is having excess body fat.

"Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure" (par. 6). Seventy percent of obese youth have at least one risk for cardiovascular disease. Children and adolescents who are obese are greater risk for joint problems, sleep apnea, and social/psychological problems such as self esteem or depression. Children become overweight or obese for many reasons, such as genetics, lack of physical activity, or unhealthy eating habits.

According to the CDC, on the "Healthy Weight- it's not a diet, its a lifestyle" section Body Mass Index (BMI) us a number calculated from a child's weight and height. BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most teens and children. BMI can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat. "The BMI number is plotted on the CDC BMI-for-age growth chart (for boys or girls) to obtain a percentile ranking" (par. 2). The percentile indicates the relative position of the child's BMI number among other children the same sex and age in the United States.

In the article "Fast Food Linked to Child Obesity," "nearly one third of the U.S. children age 4-19 eat fast food everyday" (par. 1). Director of the obesity program at the Boston Children's Hospital, Dr. David Ludwig states that "the numbers aren't surprising si...

... middle of paper ...

...tead of adding grocery shopping and cooking on to their long list of tasks. Stressed parents are more likely to serve their children fast food, and more likely to have obese kids.

Works Cited

"Adolescents and School Health." Cdc. n.p., 13 Jul. 2013. Web. 28 Jul. 2014

"Fast Food Linked to Child Obesity." Cbs news. CBS Interactive Inc., 11 Feb. 2009. Web. 29 Jul. 2014.

"Healthy Weight- It's Not a Diet, it's a Lifestyle." Cdc. n.p., 13 Sep. 2011. Web. 28 Jul. 2014.

Oches, Sam. "Winning the Blame Game." qsr magazine. Journalist Inc, 2012. Web. 30 Jul. 2014.

Rabin, Roni Camryn. "Proximity to Fast Food a Factor in Student Obesity." New York Times. n.p., 25 Mar. 2009. Web. 29 Jul. 2014.

Tuttle, Brad. "3 Fast Food Trends: Cheap Prices and Promos Aimed at Getting You to Spend More." Business Time. Times Inc, 24 Sep. 2010. Web. 30 Jul. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Is Fast Food the Cause to Obesity?

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    Is Fast Food the Cause to Obesity, or is it Just a Factor? Over three hundred thousand deaths occur every year due to obesity. Obesity adds over one hundred seventeen billion dollars in health care every year (Stern 11). Obesity is an ongoing epidemic in the United States as well as in other countries. Kids eat out more than often, portion sizes are exceeded, and fast food has started being served in school cafeterias. Eating out often leaves the consumer used to eating above average portions .They

    Read More

  • Fast Food Essay

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    SHOULD FAST FOOD ADVERTISEMENTS BE BANNED ON TELEVISION CHANNELS FOR KIDS IN AUSTRALIA? Introduction As children mature into adulthood, they learn to make responsible choices about their lifestyles. Along with sufficient amount of physical exercise, health authorities continuously evoke the importance of maintaining a balanced diet to lead a healthy lifestyle. Although pathways leading to healthy lifestyle seem straightforward, nurturing children to be health conscience can be challenging, especially

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Fast Food

    1830 Words  | 4 Pages

    Do you know what is in the food that you are eating? Obesity is a huge topic in America. It is hurting our friends and loved ones. It is not something that you can catch but, is caused by lack of caring for your body. The children and parents should have a big say in what they eat. Fatty foods are not good for you. Some may say that its so appetizing but, those foods are hurting you. The main reason people eat such fat foods is because of the prices. Healthy foods can help you out in the long run

    Read More

  • American Culture's Infatuation with Fast Food

    1558 Words  | 4 Pages

    Near the core of American culture that dearly loves liberty, lies its love for fast food and all that it offers. The fast food industry was initially created as a moneymaking enterprise that marketed itself as a time effective source of food, but over the years it has strayed from its marketing promise to save Americans’ time. Many Americans are regulars at one, or more, of the numerous fast food restaurants in the United States, because they want to save valuable time that otherwise would be squandered

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Fast Food And Fast Food

    1900 Words  | 4 Pages

    because they need to have fast and convince meals instead of enjoying at a restaurant. Fast food restaurants are cheaper and faster than other restaurants, so people often go to fast food restaurants every day. Despite its convenience, fast food can be very dangerous to people if they consume it day by day, which is why people should be cared about the risks and effects of it. From that people can live a healthy lifestyle. Why do people eat fast food too much, and what does fast food have effects on people

    Read More

  • Junk Food Should Be Banned In Schools Essay

    944 Words  | 2 Pages

    McDonalds contain 380 calories, 171 calories from fat, 270 mg of sodium and plenty of salt. There is no doubt that junk foods, like fries, commonly served in school cafeterias are unhealthy. There has been a significant rise in child obesity, and food is a major contribution. Over 9 million children in the US are obese, and come with life threatening health problems. Schools need to focus on producing not only smart kids, but healthy ones as well. Kids rely on their schools to provide them with a nutritional

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity In America

    585 Words  | 2 Pages

    Eating many fast food items can cause you to become obese, addicted, and overall unhealthy. Fast Food should be BANNED from schools. Soda can also cause a caffeine addiction, which many people can go through, and eating fast food a lot can cause a fast food addiction. Despite these problems, schools have been serving children fast food in schools and are putting vending machines in the cafeterias to replace much needed staff. So, as childhood obesity continues to grow in the USA, fast food is still

    Read More

  • Essay On Fast Food

    718 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 2002 two girls sued McDonalds because they claimed that it was making them fat. Many people in America blame the fast food industry for making them fat. Nutritional information is available for most fast food restaurants and one is forced to eat there. Even though the food is unhealthy, the fast food industry should not be held responsible for obesity in the United States. Many Americans have busy lives and do not have time to cook for themselves, so eating out seems to be easier and more convenient

    Read More

  • Should Schools Have Snack Foods In Their Cafeterias?

    510 Words  | 2 Pages

    Schools should allow snack foods in their cafeterias. Because even know that the schools are trying to help kids are not eating the healthy food and going home and are filling up on double the snack foods [Taub]. Kids are not eating it because the are so used to coming to school and eating fast food which everyone likes. To begin with the cost of fresh produce coasts more. The fresh produce is good for the kids,but it costs more to give that choice to the students. The school is used to buying

    Read More

  • Effects Of Fast Food Essay

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    to do, so they start eating fast food because they don’t know how to cook and they can save time like that. Once these students start eating fast food they don’t stop. They get used to the fact that they don’t need to cook and they don’t have any family that would stop them. However, not all the blame sits on their parents. It also sit on the fast food restaurants. For example, in the article "Don’t blame the eater" written by Zinczenko, He explains how fast

    Read More

  • Essay On Fast Food And Obesity

    2105 Words  | 5 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • School Lunches

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    choose? Between junk food or a school lunch, most students will choose junk food every time. Yet many students do not get to make that choice because parents and the state government make the decision for them. Making healthy foods cost more than making the regular food which means that schools are losing money. Every young person should have their say in what they eat instead of having parents and the state government decide for them. Between picking a healthy lunch or a fast food lunch, most students

    Read More

  • Fast Food Restaurants Should Sell Healthier Food or Be Banished

    1348 Words  | 3 Pages

    hundred sixty thousand fast food restaurants in the United States of America. Everyone should think twice before deciding to eat fast food. Fast food restaurants need to sell healthier foods and tell the people what is actually in the food. Fast food restaurants should be banished in the US. The fast food restaurants should be taxed more. A person’s health is one of the most important aspects about them. People want to be skinny and have a perfect body, people cannot eat fast food all of the time and

    Read More

  • Fast Food And Obesity In The United States

    1622 Words  | 4 Pages

    Fast food First off all let me define fast food and obesity. What is the fast food? According to oxford dictionaries website the definition of fast food is "Food that can be prepared quickly and easily and is sold in restaurants and snack bars as a quick meal or to be taken out". The Merriam-Webster online dictionary mentions that the word fast food uses first time in 1951. Anyway, everyone have an idea about fast food, but many of us don’t know what is the fast food exactly means for doctors

    Read More

  • Super Sizing America

    603 Words  | 2 Pages

    A New Era How does fast food affect the health of people in the United States? Fast food has definitely played its mind games and tricks on people in the Unites States, making people want more and more of the unhealthy and spurious food that fast food restaurants provide. Out of all of the horrible issues in the US, the biggest one affects the health of the people in the United States. This involves gaining massive amounts of weight, otherwise known as becoming obese. Fast food makes obesity happen

    Read More

More about Fast Food and Fat Kids

Open Document