Fast Food and Obese Kids

It is believed by many people that fast food has nothing to do with the fattening of our children today. Though, evidence shows that these restaurants are a huge factor in child obesity, the blame is being put on other things as well. As revealed in my previous posts, fast food provides families with not only convenience but also health issues, and children are the main targets. Parents play a big role in making their kids obese simply because they are the ones taking the kids to the food and a giving choice in what they want to eat. Either you can eat a healthy home cooked meal where all of the proper nutrients will be provided or you can eat Mickey D’s or Burger King where you get a toy and fattening food that causes clogged arteries, high cholesterol, and unhealthy weight gain. After researching this topic numerous times, I came up with the conclusion that parents are easier to blame because the kids are theirs and they have an option to cook or take the lazy route to a fast food restaurant. This is true but also unfair because yes, the parents are taking their kids to these restaurants, but they aren’t providing the food. The restaurants slide through the loop holes and get away with taking responsibility for their actions because they are a business and have to make their money however they can no matter who they harm or kill in the process. Some commented that “the occasion cheeseburger” doesn’t cause obesity or because these restaurants offer “fruit and milk instead of Coke and fries”, they should be off the hook. This is absolutely wrong. Yes, these things are being offered, but they are not being advertised in the way that the Big Mac or Whopper is, and the parents aren’t ordering it. One also used the excuse that “Parents are busy!” This is may be true but if you are so busy that you are neglecting your child’s health due to laziness, being tired, and convenience then maybe you shouldn’t have a child at all. I believe that when the health of children becomes the first priority of families and businesses then we will become a much more healthier world and the generations to come will not be as fat.

Fast Food and Obese Kids

As explained in my first blog post, fast food has been targeted as being the cause of obesity in society's children for a while now. Though lawsuits against McDonald's and other restaurants have not been successful, they still prove that these places have a big part in this horrible act of obesity in our kids. No the "occasional cheeseburger" is not the cause of obesity in children, but these meals are not occasional anymore. It is becoming their everyday dinner. The process of these meals went from Kid’s Meals to Big Kid's Meals to Value Meals. This goes to show that our children are not even getting full off of “normal kid” servings anymore. An article by Vincent Iannelli, M.D. entitled Childhood Obesity: Who's To Blame explains how fast food plays a big part in children's obesity, but tells how there are others involved. This second party being the family or parents. "Busy and cash-strapped families increasingly rely on take-out food for family dinners," which proves the laziness of the parents. Jennie Murphy, in the article The Super-sizing of America: Are Fast Food chains to Blame for the Nation's Obesity?, tells how these fast food restaurants are "facing fierce competition for customer loyalty" so, they will basically do whatever is necessary to keep the customers coming, no matter the consequence; this consequence results in fat kids. Murphy also said that "the portions served by fast food chains and other restaurants are far larger than the recommended portion size for most foods." So, not only are they consuming unhealthy food, but also large portions of it.

Fast Food and Obese Kids

Is it not obvious that the children of today are getting bigger and bigger? I blame it on fast food. Some may use the convenience of it as an excuse, but its simple laziness on the parents. A child may be asked, “What do you want for dinner?” and they may simply reply, “Chicken Nuggets or Cheeseburger!” This same child may very well be asked would they rather have vegetables, fruit, or McDonald's and Burger King and the answer would not be the "politically healthy" choice. This is becoming a big issue because fast food is making our children obese and unhealthy and no one is trying to do anything about it. A child can only eat what is allowed to them and it's as simple as that. Some kids have gotten so comfortable with their poor eating that they throw tantrums and fits because they cannot have their chicken nuggets, barbeque sauce, and little toy. This is just to show how dangerous it as become to our kids, not only to health, but behavior as well. Jeanie Learche Davis shows in her article Fast Food Creates Fat Kids that a study provides evidence that on average, one-third of the nation’s children eat fast food, but not only are they eating unhealthy food, they eat more of everything else, too. Kids between the ages of 4 and 8 eat 6% more food than children who do not eat fast food and kids between the ages of 10 and 14 eat 17% more food. I believe that the fatness of these kids is the parents’ fault. They have become so lazy in their parenting that instead of cooking their child a healthy meal, at these young ages, they would rather take them to McDonald’s or Burger King and provide them with an unhealthy Kid’s Meal. Not only have these fast food restaurants sucked our poor children and parents in with toys and other gadgets, but they have upped their menus to Mighty Kids and Big Kids Meals which give them an even bigger dose of clogged arteries, high cholesterol and weight gain. A doctor, Kelly D. Brownwell, PhD, also stated in an editorial that "the food industry claims that their products are not the primary cause of obesity..." and that "the nation's children deserve protection from damaging forces." We have become captive to the enslavement of these fast food restaurants and its making our kids fat. At this point we need to just learn to tell the kids “No you cannot have this or that, I’m cooking and you are going to eat it.” Period. Until they become adults, and are able to make their own decisions, parents should provide their child with a fair share of healthy food, exercise, and a limited amount of snacks.