Is Fast Food Really The Main Reason For Childhood Obesity?

In America almost two thirds of the nation is overweight. That is about 79.6 million people who are obese. Fast food is without a doubt the problem why these statistics are so high. According to Shannon Brownlee, a journalist for the Sacramento Bee “ It’s Portion Distortion That Makes America Fat” she mentions how fast food corporations are luring buyers into their offers . In another article by David Weintraub “The Battle Against Fast Food Begins in the Home” he focus more on self responsibility rather than fast food restaurants being convenient everywhere you go. In America, the obesity epidemic is caused by the lack of parent not taking full responsibility for their childrens health, as well as fast food industries distorting portion sizes in order to make more

Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a

On the other hand, the major concern right is to fight that problem starting with the children since as most of the children attend to become adults in following unhealthy food, drinks so they can become bigger so they can look older by getting that size faster. The other type of children are trying only following the same habit because of their parents, and that depends on the way the parent living. Parent are buzzy due to live demands, and most of them work two or even three jobs. That will lead the parent to rely more on the fast food rather than have some time to make a healthy homemade food.

Sub-point: Not only does fast food contribute to children being obese, but where they live has an impact as well. During a study it was found that, “21 percent of the children were overweight, and 5 percent were obese, which is similar to the Canadian norms.

An argument for fast food companies may be that in recent years they have started offering healthier options. Some menus now offer milk as a beverage and apples as a food. While these are healthier choices, there is still very few of these options as opposed to the unhealthy ones. Not to mention in advertisements the apples are always shown with a sugar filled dipping sauce. The fact that these companies still have mostly unhealthy choices, they should not target children in their advertisement. It is obvious that many factors play into the epidemic of childhood obesity. Factors that play into childhood obesity are things such as family income levels and restaurants that are in close proximity. Let me pose this question, what food places are the cheapest and have locations on almost every street corner? Yes, that is correct, fast food. When they already have those factors in their favor, these advertisements just seal the deal for them.

When someone thinks of various fast food restaurants, they often think of quick and easy way to obtain food. However they do not stop to think about how it is affecting their health. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser exposes to the public that various fast food restaurants, such as McDonalds, are detrimental for your health. He does this by showing the reader how unhealthy the food is to the public, as well as showing us how they make their food more desirable to buy to the general population. The one problem that arisen from fast food restaurants is the increase of childhood obesity since the beginning of fast food.

Obesity has always been around, however what could be the main source as to why apparently many people are overweight? Fast food could be the answer. As fast food is created by the media and advertisements to be something delicious, irresistible, and affordable, making people feel a need to invest their money to these types of food. When people fall into these advertisements they do not notice all the ingredients put in these foods that affect your health. They see only what the media wants to portray the food they are sponsoring. The availability of restaurants is also a key factor that plays in part due that it creates effortless access and is available with urgency. Factors such as advertising, no background of the ingredients contained, and convenience cause fast food to be a significant reason as to why people are obese.

In addition to the many different causes of obesity, fast food receives much of the blame.

Fast food restaurants are proven to be the main cause in becoming overweight. Due to the costs of healthy foods the low-income families have to buy what is convenient and cheap. The food that is consumed by a inactive child turns into fatty tissue. Once a child does consume things that are healthy such as, fruits and vegetables, they take the shape of the fatty food consumed before the healthy foods. Public schools only give children a ½ cup of fruits and ¼ cup of vegetables a day at lunch. On average, the American child that eat fast food 1 of 3 days gain 6 extra pounds a year says, Claudia Wallis. The amounts of fast food or unhealthy food is affecting the amount of healthy foods being consumed. The healthy foods just turn into the fatty foods since a child consumed so much fatty foods. From eating all of these bad foods that make you become overweight, there are many effects from

There has been in increase an childhood obesity in America. The reasons are fast food is cheaper than healthy food, most kids do not go outside because of technology, and if parents do not eat healthy, usually their kids do not eat healthy.

The fast food is high in fat and an added drink is nothing but sugar. Another factor of a bad diet is over eating or portion size, “Consuming large portions, in addition to frequent snacking on highly caloric foods, contribute to an excessive caloric intake” (Sahoo par 17). Well, unhealthy food is high in calories, it doesn’t fill you up, these calories are known as empty calories. This means kids are eating more calories than they need without even realizing it. When children pick up these bad eating habits young they tend to stick. When eating a plethora of calories daily, exercise is needed to burn the extra calories the body doesn’t need. Children who are not exercising enough and eating too many calories causes obesity. According to the Mayo Clinic, a medical research group, sedentary activities like playing video games have become a huge factor in childhood obesity. Children who are not exercising are not burning calories meaning they are more likely to gain weight (Staff par. 7). With the increase in technology such as cell phones, video games, and computers, children are not getting enough exercise. Children used to get daily exercise in school through PE and

The cause of childhood obesity is widely debated. There are some who believe childhood obesity is caused by socioeconomic factors while others believe it is caused by media marketing junk food to children. As a response to this ongoing debate, food markers, mainly fast food, try to defend themselves by blaming childhood obesity on physical inactivity and the lack of parental influence on a healthy diet. Despite what many researchers may believe, childhood obesity is caused by a combination of key factors. According to a well-written article by Erica Roth, Childhood Obesity, she along with other doctors believes that obesity could be caused by many different factors. Some may include “family history, many psychological factors, and lifestyle” (Childhood Obesity). However, the causes of childhood obesity are not limited to these life threatening factors, childhood obesity is almost always

If we want to dramatically decrease childhood obesity policies and behaviors need to change as well. Fast food is a big problem that comes to mind. Cara B Ebbeling, PhD from the article, “Childhood obesity: public-health crisis, common sense cure states”, “The rise in consumption of fast food, in developed and developing nations, might have particular relevance to the childhood obesity epidemic”. Ebbeling also states, “Although there are no data on fast food and obesity in children, adolescent girls who ate fast food four times a week or more consumed about 770–1095 kJ (185–260 kcal) per day more than those who did not. A large fast food meal (double cheeseburger, french fries, soft drink, dessert) could contain 9200 kJ (2200 kcal), which,

The fast food industry promotes childhood obesity by manipulating the young mind, putting them at risk for health complications such as hypertension and diabetes. The super-sizing of America is been a frequently talked about subject lately. Especially since it is seem to have negative effects on the health of children and adults alike through massive consumption of fast food. Health providers and other authority figures are now concerned about children’s obesity rates shown during the past 3-4 decades. They have now drawn a close connection between fast food and obesity and identified a childhood obesity epidemic with increased negative health factors. According to the American journal of public health, 2005 September issue, fast food

A study of The Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that more than 70% of men and more than 60% of women have extra pounds because of the consumption of fast food in large amounts. In kids the problem gets more extreme. If kids consume too much fast food they could have high cholesterol and obesity, then they would have higher risks of cardiovascular issues, diabetes and heart diseases. Parents should prevent those kinds of health issues in their kids because it will be reflected in them as adults.