Kentavia Humphrey. Eng1010 Sec H. Lilian Mina. 4 April

When the subject of fast food comes up, most people can agree that it is not the most efficient source of nutrition. Fast food is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues found in today's teens and adolescents. In the article “Don’t Blame the Eater” written by David Zinczenko, he argues that fast food chains fill the void in children's lives left by their exhausted, overworking parents. Many teens choose unhealthy eating choices because they are left alone for meals, fast food restaurants are easily accessible, and many teens are unaware of what they are consuming.

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

Because of parents using food as a reward, many children learn that being good means eating unhealthy. Combined with the advertising techniques used by the fast food industry, children begin to make a correlation between fast food and a reward. Ellen Gustafson further confirms that fast food contains “more refined grains, fats and oils and sugars than the 1980’s.” All of these components of fast food make it appealing to children. Furthermore, many parents do not have time to make healthy meals for their children because of our fast-paced society. As David Zinczenko relates in Don’t Blame the Eater, “lunch and dinner, for me, was a daily choice between McDonald’s, Taco Bell, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Pizza Hut. Then, as now, these were the only available options for an American kid to get an affordable meal.” This is not a rare situation. Many parents work long hours and therefore encourage their kids to eat fast food instead of taking the time to teach healthy habits. This has the ripple effect of overeating and lack of exercise. Without exercise, many kids gain weight, become obese or are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and asthma. (Childhood Obesity) Today, type 2 diabetes exists in 30% of childhood obesity. (Zinczenko 154) Gustafson further states in her presentation “1/3 of American children are overweight and obese.” When a child has obesity, their ability to participate in everyday activities like sports and play is inhibited, which means

This article shows that fast food today is convenient because people have a lot of work to do in a very short time, so so thinking about driving through the fast food restaurant is easier and better than cooking. Therefore, one thing parents don't know is that fats, sugars, and salts are engaging their children primordial tastes. The most widely recognized disease that impacts children is obesity. Studies show that 15-20% of children aged 12-18 are overweight. In addition, obese children can affect emotional and

Over time America has become bigger. Not just in population size, but also in pant size. Obesity has been on the rise and children are now being affected at an alarming rate. Obesity can be defined as having an unhealthy amount of body fat. The rise of childhood obesity can be linked to bad diets, family, and a lack of exercise. Being obese as a child can cause serious consequences later in life. Bad diets are a major cause of obesity, especially in youth. Consuming unhealthy food often is linked to weight gain. Food that is high in fat, sugar, and calories are the staples of an unhealthy diet. Fast food has all three. According to studies “adolescents associate junk food with pleasure, independence, and convenience” (Sahoo Par 12). Fast food

According to an article, “Obesity in Children”, published through the medicine health website, the issue on childhood obesity in the United States has increased within recent years. “Today, nearly a third of youths are overweight or obese. That’s more than 23 million children and teenagers,” (Childhood Obesity in the United States). Obesity can eventually lead to different and more serious health issues. Fast food restaurants attract the attention of our younger generation and are some of the main causes of obesity today. This has become a huge issue to Americans, but especially to the youth. With that being said, my goal in this paper is to show how rapidly obesity is increasing in children in the United States.

Mississippi is known to be one of America’s fattest state where majority of their population eat unhealthy and are very inactive. One in four of Americans, especially in Mississippi order from a fast food restaurant daily. Obesity in the US is increasing significantly causing many physical and emotional effects to one’s health.

In all the survey’s conducted, the calories for obese children were higher than any other (“America”). In addition, one article states that according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has doubled in the past decade. “According to the CDCP, obesity has more than doubled in the past decade“ (Paula). Finally, Children who eat fast food regularly gain an extra six pounds per year. In the past years, fast food consumption has increased, so has obesity, so the fast food must be doubling the obesity (Paula). Overall, fast food is causing a problem for overweight children and are making average weight children,

There has been a large increase in eating fast food, eating out, and supersizing meals. Fast food is cheap and accessible. Due to families’ busy lifestyles, more Americans are eating fast food. Nearly 40 percent of children’s meals are fast food. Eating fast food is unhealthy and causes people to create bad habits of improper eating, which lead to obesity. Portion sizes have also significantly increased in restaurants in the last thirty years. The portions in restaurants are

High calorie diet-induced obesity in children is a serious public health concern while considering short term and long term health risks of morbidity and mortality associated. A fast food diet is mostly energy dense in which one consumes higher amount of calorie and fat in one meal. It is clear that fast food chains are increasing across United States and in many other countries in the world because it is convenient, inexpensive, and it is appealing to young children and adolescents who do not know better about health. . “The United States now has approximately 250,000 fast food restaurants, and total fast food consumption has risen from 2% to 10% of total energy intake per person over a 20-year period (Hurt,

Fast food, as an aspect of our cultural identity, alone, cannot be responsible for the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, as the behavior of children is largely reliant on the influences of their parents. Home and social environments, parenting styles, family-feeding practices are the primary influences on early childhood nutritional behaviors. Obesity is a serious and widespread health problem in only certain kinds of societies characterized by economic modernizations, food surplus, and social acceptance.

One of the principal contributors to child obesity can be fast food. Most children and adults eat this type of unhealthy and cheap foods. The main reasons why people in general eat fast food is because there is fast food everywhere, and it is quick to get it when a person does have time to cook, plus it is inexpensive. According to a CDC report in 2013, “a third of kids eat fast food on any given day… adolescents ages 12 to 19 years

Today, an unhealthy diet is the number one issue that causes obesity in children. It is very common to see children of all ages consuming fast food which can be purchased everywhere and is easily accessible. Fast food contains high calories and fat which eventually leads to various different diseases amongst young people.

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

In 2012, one third of adolescents were either overweight or obese and 18% of 6-11 year olds were obese; that is a staggering statistic (CDC). This can cause life long problems for these children. In this essay, I will show you that unhealthy food choices, lack of parental guidance, and a sedentary lifestyle are some of the leading causes of obesity in our children. For instance, these days with most parents having to work outside the home, there is not much time spent cooking healthy meals. Most children come home to an empty house and many do not know how to cook, so unless there is something prepared for them ahead of time, they head straight for the junk food. Plus, with all the inexpensive convenience foods that are on the shelves these days it makes it too easy for one to whip up a “family meal” or snack in just minutes in the microwave. The problem with these convenience foods is that they are usually high in fat, sugar, and calories (Sorte, Daeschel, Amador 5). Not only are convenience foods bad for you, but also too are the so-called “fast foods.”