The Effects of Fast Food Restaurants on Obesity and Children - Coursework Example

The effects of fast food restaurants on obesity and children THE EFFECTS OF FAST FOOD RESTAURANTS ON OBESITY AND CHILDREN The quickest choices for foods away from home are establishments that offer fast foods such as restaurants. Many people have made fast food joints their destinations because of the changing social economic trends. They spend a significant proportion of time at work and get little time to prepare their meals. Additionally, more women currently work away from their homes and the number of single parents is rising. These parents experience challenges raising children and working. This may make them ignore proper nutritional practices. Families rarely get time and opportunities to prepare meals at home because of such trends (Schlosser, 2012). It is necessary to explore the relationship between increases in the consumption of foods from fast foods restaurants to the rise in cases of obesity among children. Fast food is a description given to food whose preparation is quick, and departs from normal processes. Foods prepared within a short duration do not all qualify as fast food. However, fast food corresponds to meals prepared and served to customers either as take-away or taken from restaurants. Lately, such foods have become popular amongst several age groups such as adolescents and children. This is because such foods are appetizing and accessible to the populace compared to other foods that take time to prepare. Additionally, the ingredients used while making fast foods appear relatively cheap. They include refined grains, lofty fat meat and added fats and sugar. The categories of foods regularly served in several food restaurants include soft drinks, burgers, noodles, rice, and frozen French fries (Schlosser, 2012). Most fast foods are rich in sugar and fats. Children fancy sugary foods making them frequent fast food joints. In a related scenario, children who eat at fast food chains are increasingly becoming obese because their bodies deposit excess fats due to the sugars. The most common causes of obesity in children include poor choices of food, absence of physical exercises, presence of overweight parents and genetics (Schlosser, 2012). Some medical conditions in children such as Prada-Willy syndrome cause obesity in children. This is because they serve as predisposing factors that make persons obese (Schlosser, 2012). Generally, there is a tremendous rise in the proportion of obesity cases across the society today. This is attributable to several factors across the society. The recent revolution in information technology makes individuals engage in electronic gadgets rather than exercising though this is beneficial. People spend extended hours watching their television sets making them inactive. The current population takes large portions of meals rich in calories and drinks containing high caloric levels causing weight gains. Some people have bodies whose storage of fats is higher as compared to others (Davies & Fitzgerald, 2007). Medically, there are rare genetic disorders responsible for obesity in childhood. These particular genes act together to make the affected child susceptible to obesity. These involve the genetic causes. Despite all these factors, the consumption of foods rich in excess fats and sugar is the major contributing factor of obesity. The deposition of excess fats in the body being the main cause of obesity is associated with fast food restaurants. Coincidentally, some fast food restaurants are where the preparation and sale of foods rich in fats and sugars takes place for easy access by children. Children who consume foods rich in trans-fat, saturated fats, sodium and cholesterol can experience health concerns such as obesity. Most of the fast food joints prepare foods that contain these minerals and as such contribute to the rising cases of obesity among children. It is worth stating that increase in the number of fast food joints has led to a proportional increase in the cases of obesity in children. This is because the fast foods have some components or minerals that are accountable for the development of obesity among young children (Grzybowski, 2005). There is a belief that the presence of fat in the body is solely responsible for the weight gains among obese people. However, previous studies have pointed to an additional dietary cause. Carbohydrates contain long chains of sugar molecules. The consumption of excess carbohydrates leads to the storage of excess fats by the body. Some chains of sugar molecules that make up carbohydrates are too long and complex and require an extended time to break down. However, some short chains of sugar molecules in carbohydrates break down very quickly in the body. This causes an abrupt accumulation of simple sugars in the bloodstream. The increase in blood sugar levels in the body causes a rise up of energy. However, this energy is short lived because it leaves one with a feeling of drowsiness, sleepiness, and moodiness. The attempt to gain more energy by the body leads to the release of hunger signals even when one has just taken some food. As a result, one craves for more carbohydrates. This turn of events causes one to overeat leading to escalated weight. Frequent consumption of carbohydrates causes rapid digestions too. This leaves the body with little time for processing making it store food as fats (Paxon, 2006). Reports indicate that a third of the children in the United States aged between four and 19 take such foods daily. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further reports that 17 percent of the United Sates’ children and adolescents are currently obese. This reflects the triple number as compared with the preceding generation. Children today eat fast foods that are rich in carbohydrates, fat, calories, and sugar. The same children ignore fruits and vegetables in their diets. Apparently, calories do not have any nutritional value to the body. Instead, they contribute to increasing the body weight (Coutts, Schneider, & Gruman, 2005). The fast foods are popular with the children of the U.S because of the marketing choices of the joints. Most advertisements of fast foods occur in schools and target the children. This makes the access of fast foods become easy by children across America. The fast foods also cost low in terms of money and distance. In this essence, the location of fast foods joints in schools within the reach of children contributes to the increase in their consumption by children (Blakeman, 2011). The results of the study commissioned by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) published in the year 2005 states that the frequent consumption of fast foods is responsible for weight gains in children and adolescents. Overweight children face increasing risks of developing resistance to insulin. The development of the insulin resistance carries the potential risk of causing the type 2 diabetes. Apparently, diabetes acts as a key risk factor when it comes to the ailments affecting the heart. Studies have also shown that fast foods cause headaches. This is due to the presence of mono sodium glutamate that enhances flavor in food in addition to eliminating bad taste in food. This mono sodium glutamate triggers migraines that are responsible for headaches. Additionally, the preservation of some fast foods requires the use of nitrites and nitrates that are responsible for increased blood flow. Increased blood flow normally causes migraines and headaches. Furthermore, fast foods always lack essential nutrients that the body requires. As a result, the body acquires less energy on consumption of fast foods. Other reports indicate that fast foods decrease one’s libido, negatively influencing one’s sexual health. This harms a couple’s relationship and cause conflicts in marriage (OConnor, 2008). The availability of higher levels of fats and cholesterol in fast foods causes liver diseases. Additionally, the increased consumption of the foods leads to narrowing of the arteries. The effects of the narrowed arteries are myocardial infarction and heart diseases (OConnor, 2008). Various numbers of media stations are engaged in advertising ventures aims at promoting the advertisement of fast foods. Unlike the alcohol and drugs industry, the advertisement of fast foods does not have any regulations. However, recently there have been frequent cries from the public to minimize the promotion activities. With increasing awareness of the relationship of fast foods and obesity, most fast food restaurants have attempted to change their marketing campaigns. Some marketing campaigns carry messages that dispel criticisms of the damaging effects of fast foods. This promotes further consumption of the foods by children who usually lack a reason to doubt the advertisements. The rise in aggressive campaigns by advertising firms at homes, schools, and places of leisure hold children captives to the fast foods. As a result, children increasingly pester and nag their parents for money to buy the fast foods. In the end, the aggressive marketing campaigns by the fast food joints and restaurants render parents incapable of controlling their children’s desire for the fast foods (Blakeman, 2011). Most of the advertising by the fast food restaurants target children and students in schools because they constitute a significant proportion of the market. In McDonald’s Happy Meals, the latest children’s film accompanied with a toy is packaged together with a can of fast food. This helps in attracting children who will get multiple benefits from purchasing such foods. The other target audience for fast foods is the college students and young teenagers. To capture this audience, some fast food joints have devised strategic advertising schemes that aim to capture this market. Fast food chains such as the Burger King and Carl’s Jr. have messages portrayed in sexualized imageries and trends. This taps into the supposed teenager’s and male college student’s desire for hefty burgers filled with meat and satisfyingly rich foods. A case was in 2005 when Carl’s Jr. devised a controversial advertisement. In the advertisement, a woman wearing a bikini was sensuously writhing on an extravagant Bentley sumptuousness car as she enjoyed a huge chunk of burger. Although this advertisement provoked a lot of outrage from parts of the society, Carl’s Jr. registered an impressive number of sales (Coutts, Schneider, & Gruman, 2005). Parents should play a crucial role in influencing the consumption behavior of their children at all times. This is because they are the ones who purchase and serve their children with food. Besides, they are the ones who select the places where their children buy and eat their foods. In this regard, parents influence the exposure of their children to some kinds of food and their eating tendencies. Therefore, the parent’s attitude, choices, and beliefs have a direct effect on food consumption patterns. The choice of a particular brand of food by parents creates comfort in their children who will automatically comply with the brand. When children develop beliefs and attitudes towards fast foods within the family context, they will likely carry on with the attitude and belief for a long time. Consequently, advertisement companies for fast foods focus on this memory. With this observation in mind, parents must ensure that the decisions on their children’s food consumption behavior are wise and well thought out (Grzybowski, 2005). The advertisements of food often inform children more than their parents. The fast food industry is exploiting this opening. Consequently, it is delivering improper information to developing children. Apparently, many parents do not consider it a priority to educate their children on the dangers of junk foods. Educating the children about the health implications and the tricks by the advertisers will equip them with the necessary knowledge on the harmful effects of fast foods. Alternatively, parents can ensure that they keep their children off the television sets and engage them in exercise activities. Works Cited Blakeman, R. (2011). Advertising Campaign Design: Just the Essentials. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Coutts, L. M., Schneider, F. W., & Gruman, J. A. (2005). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE. Davies, H. D., & Fitzgerald, H. E. (2007). Obesity in Childhood and Adolescence [Two Volumes] [2 Volumes], Volume 1. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group. Grzybowski, M. J. (2005). Parental Influence on Eating Behavior of Children: Intervention to Improve Frequency of Role Modeling and Making Healthy Foods Available. Minnesota: University of Minnesota. OConnor, F. (2008). Obesity and the Media. New York, NY: The Rosen Publishing Group. Paxon, C. (2006). Childhood Obesity: Number 1, Spring 2006. Princeton, NJ : Brookings Institution Press. Schlosser, E. (2012). Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal. Boston : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Read More