Childhood Obesity And Fast Food
Growing child obesity has become a concern for many parents. We know that obesity is very much linked with the lifestyle that we lead. If we give a serious attention to the diet that most of our children eat today, we will be shocked to find that the growing problem of obesity in US and other countries is very much linked with the increased fast food consumption among children.
Children are the biggest customers of fast food. Fast foods are not only popular because they are delicious but as they are fast and cheap too. That is why fast food chains are earning millions of dollars and expanding their business through out the world. Not only big fast food chains like McDonalds or KFC, but small fast food restaurants and outlets also attract lot of customer by serving delicious burgers, pizzas and fried chicken etc. at very low prices which allows customers to buy them often.
There is no denying the fact that eating wrong kind of food and not doing enough physical movement is the main caused behind obesity, besides genetic or medical problems. We can very well see that fast food contains many ingredients that contribute to obesity in children. They are high in fat, sugar and salt and the serving size is too big and most of these fast foods are low in fiber content. Since kids usually play and do lot of physical activity through out the day, so lack of exercise can not be the major cause of growing childhood obesity; the main culprit is fast food. Today many families like to eat out two three times a week and they find fast food as the cheap and best option.
There are many causes behind the increased consumption of fast food in today’s society. First of all, we are living in a society where every one is running short of time. Working mothers find fast food very convenient to make. Fast foods are served even in school canteens. One can easily satisfy his / her hunger any time as fast food outlets are easily available everywhere. As a result, health and nutrition is overlooked or compromised due to convenience.
Another cause of growing fast food consumption that is affecting children’s health is the television advertisement and the attractive gift offers like toys and boxed meals that are made by fast food industry to attract the attention of children.
No one can deny the fact that increased consumption of fast food is causing obesity among children. As a concerned parent it is our duty to provide healthy and nutritious food to our children and limit the consumption of fast food so that our children grow up as healthy individuals.
