Obesity: Nutrition and Fast Food Essay

through with(predicate)out the previous(prenominal) ten years, childhood obesity rates keep up skyrocketed in the United States. Many experts and studies claim that pargonnts atomic number 18 the ones to blame for their childrens unhealthy take in habits. However, today kids live in a world where trade innovations have made alimentation prodigal feed the norm, so how much influence do pargonnts in reality have on their children? In my view, Americas childhood obesity epidemic is a select result of fast-food marketing techniques that expand advertisements throughout instills, promote junk food on video recording, and increase batch sizings in restaurants.Schools are powerful marketing sites of fast food, seeing as they provide students the option of feeding from outlets such as McDonalds and Pizza Hut on a daily basis. Writer, David Barboza claims how numerous schools have special agreements with fast-food chains to sell their products. For example, he mentions how, V o bliterateing machines now dominate school corridors. Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have pour rights contracts in hundreds of schools nationwide, (2). By offering sugary beverages and other snacks all over campuses, schools are advocating unhealthy eating habits that in turn lead to obesity. When educators fuck off fast food available at their schools, they are increase funding yet they are providing students with meals that contain hundreds of calories.Although many schools do not have contracts with fast food companies, they still make junk food accessible by having special days dedicated to fast food. For example, writer Barboza describes how a school in Garden City, Kansas has Pizza Hut Days, (2). Ultimately, by virtue of computer programming days where fast food is often the only lunch option, schools are forcing students to decide between preparing their cause meals or simply consuming the junk food that they offer. Since many students are not able to place their own meals, they e nd up consuming an incredible amount of calories from the fast food offered at the school that eventually leads to obesity. All over the United States, schools advertise fast food in order to make profits and do not pay attention to how they are influencingchildhood obesity rates.Apart from schools, television is one of the most prestigious marketing mediums for the selling of fast food to children because advertisements are constantly impacting kids via childrens networks such as Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. Barboza claims that fast food advertisements using program characters as pitchmen are taking over television channels. For instance, he describes how SpongeBob SquarePants has his own show, but in like manner sells Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Popsicles, Kleenex, etc, (2). Barboza then discusses how Nicky Greenberg who is half a dozen years old knows the SpongeBob SquarePants song and eats Kellogs Cinnamon Toast Crunch because she loves the commercials that feature SpongeBob ( 2-3).Through the use of a Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob, television is influencing young kids to develop unhealthy eating habits that can lend to obesity or Type 2 Diabetes. Fast food companies take wages of these well-known television characters and use them as pitchmen to increase their profits, without caring that by promoting their high calorie foods they are in turn expanding waistlines. All in all persuasive fast-food advertisements on television are make kids believe a lie that the consumption of junk food does not lead to obesity.Another authoritative advertising technique that contributes to childhood obesity is the increase of portion sizes. Writer David Zinczenko describes how fast food companies confer on various ingredients and sugary beverages that make even a healthy meal unhealthy. For example, he describes a chicken salad that initially contains 150 calories, but turns out to be more than 1,040 calories with the additional almonds, noodles, dressing, and Coke (10). non only are portions increased in fast food restaurants by adding more ingredients to the meal, but also by super-sizing foods.For instance, writer Susan Brownlee communicates how McDonalds supersized its products when they introduced the 32 ounce super size soda and super size fries (5). Whether fast-food restaurants add more items to the overall meal or make food bigger, kids essentially end up consuming unnecessary calories and this gives rise to obesity at an early age. As soon as fast food restaurants change their portion sizes, childhood obesity rates volition begin to return because kids will consume fewer calories. Although an increased portionsizes bring in high profits now, this action will deteriorate when consumers see how the extra calories are affecting their lives.Overall dozens of fast-food marketing techniques are at fault for the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. Yet the most influential of these techniques are the advertisements in schools and on television, as well as the increase of servings at chain restaurants. Critics qualification say, that parents must take the personal responsibility to prohibit children from watching certain channels or overtaking to certain places. However, what happens when children are at their friends house where there are no restrictions on T.V., or out and about with their friends at the malls food court, who protects them then? One way of life to resolve increasing childhood obesity rates due to persuasive fast food promotions is to certify kids how to prepare healthier meals. Unless people take action against fast food marketing, childhood obesity will remain a problem across the United States.