Fast Food and Childhood Obesity Essay

In the past decade there has been a advance of obesity in children. I believe along with many credible sources that a lot of the reoccurring obesity problems we face with children crap to do with profligate victuals. You could almost say that debauched fare for thought is kind of ilk a drug for kids. It is always fun to go out to eat as well as take in food that is high in gram calories and saturated fat. Although debased food may be a swelled factor in childhood obesity, it is alike safe to say that its not the plainly factor.Are we placing too much infernal on the fast food industry for fashioning our kids obese, or is it our error as p argonnts and caregivers? Fast Food Then and Now Compared to how fast food manacles functioned when they first subject and how they operate outright you will see a huge difference not only in their food cream tho also in the portion sizes. For example, when McDonalds first opened in 1955 their cheeseburger was only 1. 6 ounces a nd now you can propose a cheeseburger for almost 8 ounces (Monte, 2008). The sizes are almost a 400 calorie increase400 calories could be much than than one self-coloured repast for a child.Every year portion sizes are essenti altogethery get larger and larger. A small now would have been a specialty just five years ago (White, n. d. ). Not only have the portion sizes gotten larger but so has the menu. Fast food manacles now have been offering smoothies, sundaes, pie slices, and even cinnamon rolls. They offer to a greater extent menu pickaxes that offer more calories and saturated fats. Along with these they have also gotten better with offering some healthy options too like apples and depressed fat milk, but who goes to a fast food restaurant to get apples and milk?There are 3,039 possible kids meal combinations and out of that only 12 combinations meet the nutrition criteria for preschoolers and 15 for all other children (Oren & Dodson, 2010). The only kind of company wh o would essentially poison children like that is ones who are trying to agnise a fast buck and that is the last for all of these fast food companies. They dont realize or they do and just dont care that they are drunkenness our youth and even adults. Advertisements For the past ten years or so fast food arrange have been advertising to children.Kids spend more time watching TV than any other activity they do besides sleeping (Nestle, 2006). Fast food chains have interpreted advantage of this by placing most of their ads on programs like Nickelodeon, Disney, and even PBS. They deal that if they spend millions on advertising on children networks that they will get their offspring on investing in them. Children see more than 32% more fast food ads on TV now than in 2003 (Oren & Dodson, 2010). In 2009, McDonalds spent the most out of all the fast food companies on advertising to children.They spent almost 900 million dollars targeting ages 6-11. Subways was in a very far out secon d spending a humble over 400 million dollars targeting 12-17 year olds (Harris, Schwartz & Brownell, 2010). Studies have also shown that Hi nosepieceics and African American children see more than 50% more fast food ads than white children (Oren & Dodson, 2010). With this there are more fast food chains in African American and Hispanic dominated neighborhoods. Family Statistics You can probably assume that every family in the U. S. goes to fast food restaurants on cause but some go more than others.Studies have shown that families with lesser income are more exposed to fast food than other families who have a higher income (Block & Scribner, 2004). With the economy the way it is, much more people are making much less and this is causing more and more families to call back fast food places rather than eating at home. You can go to a fast food joint and spend ten dollars for the whole family to eat rather than spending hundreds of dollars at a grocery store. In an article I just r ead, less than one third of Americans are eating their meals from scratch meaning actually cooking and serving them to their families (Voigts, 2005).This was published seven years agojust think of where we are now I conducted an interview with my sister, Morgan Dutton, who is an extreme fitness guru, health nut, and she also has children. I asked her what she thought about this obesity epidemic in our youth and she said, I cannot believe all of the staggering statistics regarding kids and fast food. I am not sure why parents wouldnt want their kids eating the healthiest food option rather than the fastest. Kids are starting to get diabetes earlier and it reduces their lifetime span by years.Fast food is essentially killing our kids, it may be slowly but it is happening (personal communication, October 15th, 2012). Drawing the Line So whose fault is it that our childrens generation is getting more and more obese? Should we goddamned it on fast foodwhen can we blame ourselves? As a parent I want my child to live the longest healthiest life they can live and when I take them to places like McDonalds and Burger tycoon I am basically poisoning their body. It may be fast food that is making them obese but isnt it our fault for winning them there in the first place?Exposing them to that kind of food oddly early on in their life is only going to make it harder for them when they get older and can make their own decisions. Conclusion sort of than placing blame for the obesity problem with our children maybe we should be taking action. You could blame fast food chains for making your kid obese or you could even blame yourself because you took them there. Parents need to start making better decisions on what they are putting in their kids bodies because they may outlast their own child.There are so many chemicals and toxins in fast food that people are not aware of. Fast food may be cheap and it may be fast but in the long scheme of things, it is killing our kid s.