Fast Food and the Risk of Childhood Obesity Essay

The prompt viands industry promotes puerility fleshiness by manipulating the young psyche, putting them at put on the line for wellness complications such as hypertension and diabetes. The super-sizing of the St takes is been a frequently talked ab forbidden subject lately. curiously since it is seem to contain veto effects on the health of electric shaverren and adults alike through and through massive habit of ready victuals. Health providers and opposite authority figures argon now concerned about clawrens corpulency rates shown during the past 3-4 decades.They have now drawn a close connection between de ground feed and obesity and identified a childhood obesity epidemic with increased negative health featureors. According to the American journal of public health, 2005 phratry push through, unbendable sustenance for thought retail sales eveningts in the United States have increased 900% from $16. 1 single thousand thousand in 1975 to a projected $15 3. 1 integrity million million in 2004, during the past 3 decades. The numbers of speedy nourishment restaurants targeting child and adolescent customers are prime to be clustered around coachs.With the addicting flavors and affordability of dissipated forage has contributed to ad aloneing the young minds gradu ally to grab the quick eat without second thought. Apart from the umpteen types of unfluctuating food offered inside the school cafeteria, Studies have shown the quick food restaurant outlets are multiplying around the school reason and neighborhood. The American Journal of Public Health estimated that at that place are 3 to 4 generation as more stiff-food restaurants within 1. km from schools than would be judge if the restaurants were located around the city in a way unrelated to schools. They in addition reveals that the median aloofness between any school to the nearest fast food restaurant is barely 0. 5km, which means, there is only a walk of minis cule more than 5 mints for any squirt to grab that delicious treat. both(prenominal) schools in the nation have already begun the bear on over against the fast food epidemic, although theyre a a good deal little percentage of the whole. The marketing strategies used by fast food brands intimatelyly target children and adolescents.In his book degraded sustenance Nation, Eric Schlosser describes the history of child marketing explaining the concept of kid kustomers McDonalds was the first fast food chain to direct their marketing towards kids. Schlosser explains how McDonalds took on the certain dodge from Disney, who by the time had under behave the way to success is approaching the kids and who intern get out attract a third society to the equation. They dumb that the best way to make sales with adults was to provoke the children who would keep whining until they got what they want. The ast food industry does not part until it would possibly attract both single kid kustomer possible. Beginning with famous cartoon characters, the fast food industry started big away abandon toys to children as compliment. They promoted unique collections of the current child attractions of super heroes and new(prenominal) toys such as stuffed animals and army troops. The constant publicise of such collectors editions, scratch and wins, party hosting ides with fun activities and alike, the building of personal play grand with structures was and still is a major attraction strategy used by the fast food industry.They manage how to manipulate a young mind in to thinking that love and care is about giving you food that tastes so good, and giving away free toys. The sole problem is not in just the types of fast food that is served in fast food restaurants-which are obviously fatty, oily and high in sugar content-but too in the fates. The subdivision size was drastically increased over the past brace of decades, bringing the once Large size portion as the now small size and having 5 categories as small, medium, large, supersize and combo meals in the ascending order.The confuse is, every time you go for the next big portion, the customers are made believe that they get more for less price, in turn making the sale a worthwhile exchange. Since it is all about the optical of it, the customers tend to over look that whether it is more for less, it is all too much than what anybody needs to bury per meal. Fast food tastes best when they are fresh out of the restaurant. No matter how big the portion is, fast food can be hardly eaten as leftovers. So children have gradually trained their stomachs-adults likewise-to restrict fattier, oily, sugary foods that come in super sizes.The initial issue seemed to be just being fleshy and obese, as these children who consume more fatty foods than requirement grew up to be a fat genesis of adults. that now, the fast food monster has bounteous bigger and wilder that it brings children hyper l ively health issues at much younger ages. Children in the United States are currently considered to be facing an obesity epidemic. lumbering and obese children are diagnosed with a number of health issues such as Type 2 diabetes, Hypertension, cholesterin and Lipid abnormalities, Hyperinsulinemia and obstructive Sleep Apnea.In her book, pocket-size and Over weight, Frances M. Berg, a licensed nutritionist and adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota inform of Medicine express that during the 1990s, cases of diagnostic diabetes for all ages rose 33% nationwide. She also explains by 2004 diabetes was the seventh leading cause of end in the United States and is the main contributor to health problems like heart illness, stroke, blindness, high blood pressure, kidney disease and amputation which occurs with increased frequency in overweight children and adolescents.Although many fast food restaurant businesses argue that they do not serve unhealthy food to their custom ers, the fact remains that since the rise of fast food restaurants, the obesity epidemic has only grown alarmingly. And as mentioned before, the portion size has massively increased, contributing to this epidemic every step of the way. This is now not just a concern of individual willpower but also a fight to save the nation as a whole. Studies show that children can be point washed to believe in anything with little incentives.With the fast food industry being the top manipulators of childrens mind, they keep stuffing themselves with the mouth watering hamburgers, chips and shakes. Apart from these critical health problems, obesity brings in other issues to a childs brio. David Ludwig, an cerebrate professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School has dedicated his life to researching and contributing to overweight reduction in children. He is the director of the Optimal charge for Life (OWL) program at Childrens hospital Boston, one of the largest clinics for overweight chi ldren and their parents.In his book, Ending the Food Fight, Lundwig explains the Vicious Cycle of poor diet and indolent life style which fosters many other negative factors in between. He lays out a slap-up picture of poor diet that resembles over eating, that lowers metabolism, resulting in sluggishness and low motivation leading to an unreactive lifestyle. Once this life style is acquired, the amount of calories stored in the body increases, causes fatigue and boredom, results in low ego esteem that succumbs to temptation for comfort food which contributes again to the poor diet that started out the cycle.He also explains in detail how obesity due to high-glycemic food intake-the type of food available at fast food restaurants-result in complications in a child in his/her Brain, Heart and blood vessels, lungs, digestive tract, hormones and also mental health. Obesity is also a cay factor in most childrens self esteem and performance levels. Dr. Sylvia Rimm, a Child Psycholog ist and clinical professor at Case Western reserve University School of Medicine describes in detail the region of Obesity in depression and quality of life of children.She mentions In a nationally representative see conducted in 1996-1998, researchers reported that more than 60% of kids ate 5 servings of food fruits and vegetables a day. Unfortunately these results were based on a broad range of vegetables that include potatoes. In illuminating potatoes from the vegetable group, Sylvia states, children who consumed five servings of fruits and vegetables a day dropped to 30%. This means the consumption of fast food is quite often as the most popular method of potato intake is through fries and fries are often not consumed by itself.The 30% that actually dropped was consuming 5 portions of potatoes a day. Rimm shows a wide range of depth psychology and research done on over weight/obese children on Self Description of Intelligence, Self-Description of Grades in School, Self-perc eption of Intelligence, self-deception of work ethic, Self-description of Athletic etc, of all which with ought a failure represented the obese and overweight children in the more negative side of the chart.When childhood naturalness takes a turn in emotional handle like this, it is high time that there is even greater attention be given to the issue of fast food that make unhealthy little human beings who are not only physically but also emotionally malfunctioning. To bring screen attention to the facts and analysis made on the fast food industry and childhood obesity obesity is currently exposing an unfortunate epidemic in children who consume the wrong types of food, in wrong amounts. The fast food industry promotes sales by manipulating the childrens mind with toys and other prize promotions, luring them in the friendly sympathize with restaurants.Children not only get to have intellectual meals, but they get rewarded with toys and more importantly critical health issues su ch as diabetes, hypertension and other heart and mental illnesses. The emotional lives of young children which is critical to having healthy physical and mental conditions in future(a) is also subjected to being obese/overweight resulted in too much unsuitable food intake. beingness from a South Asian country, I myself have faced the discomfort of fast food addiction as I grew up.I preferred less activity and ate out more times a week than necessary and ended up with low self esteem during my high school years. I was bullied I did not have guys who were at all interested in me or even good grades. I am just one person who went through this painful process of development up with too much tasty food. But I know there are many more who are entangled in the selfsame(prenominal) web. It is not easy to wake up one day and say to yourself, Im not going to be discouraged. We need help. And if as a whole world people need to stand up for the root of the problem, fast food, then isnt it worth the try?