Cios Pizza

Fast Food Effects On Childhood Obesity

Article by Terry Schierer

As the number of obese children in America grows, so do the health problems that are a direct result of the fast food effects on childhood obesity. Statistics show that between 10% and 15% of today’s children are already obese, and this does not include the children that are at risk for quickly becoming obese.

There are a number of factors that are related to the rise of obesity in children in the United States, including television, video games, advertising, and the foods children eat.

One of the biggest culprits is the high consumption of fast food among children, and while an occasional stop at McDonald’s probably will not lead to obesity, it is the children who are consuming fast food on a regular basis that are at such a high risk.

With the hectic lives of many parents and their children, many times instead of a healthy well balanced meal, people are turning to fast food for a quick fix at mealtime.

This quickly becomes a habit in the lives of many people and some children end up eating fast food meals almost every day.

Uninformed parents may wonder why fast food is such a bad choice for children, but once people realize that the consumption of fast food leads to consuming more calories, more fat, more sugars, and more carbohydrates, the fast food effects on childhood obesity becomes clear.

One average, if your child eats fast food only 2-3 times each week, this can result in an extra six pounds gained every year, which can quickly add up. If your child eats fast food every day, then he or she is likely to gain even more weight.

For parents to understand completely how fast food is causing their child to become obese, they need to take a closer look at the nutritional facts surrounding the food their children eat.

For example, if your child wants one double cheeseburger, a large order of fries, and a large coke, your child will end up consuming 1340 calories and 53 grams of fat in one meal.

In general adults only are to consume about 2000 calories a day, and children less than that, so in one meal a child has consumed almost an entire day’s worth of calories and fat. Add a small vanilla shake to that meal and you get a whopping total of 1760 calories and 63 grams of fat.

When you take the time to actually see what children are eating, it becomes very apparent why so many children are dealing with obesity.

Saying you’ll never let your child eat fast food again may be a bit extreme, but in their best interest you should try to cut down fast food consumption to only a couple times each month. By cutting the amount of fast food your child consumes you will help them eliminate a number of the fast food effects on childhood obesity.

Parents need to remember that obesity is serious and can lead to a variety of health problems, both as a child and as an adult. If you want to protect your child from serious health problems such as diabetes, heart attacks, and liver disease, then it is time to take control and start limiting the amount of fast food in their diet.

The author, Terry Schierer is a retire decorator that was diagnosed with type 2 diabeties. Deciding to get a secong opinion his web site http://healthfood-guide.com is the direct result of those second opinions.

** Attn Ezine editors / Site owners **Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in yourezine, blog, autoresponder, or on your site so long as youleave all links in place, do not modify the content andinclude our resource box as listed above.

Related Fast Food Articles

Fast Food and obesity

Article by Mark Neal

Drive-up restaurants, milkshakes, fries, and time-honored burgers and dripping Coney Islands – that’s what makes the American cuisine – since the 1950′s. This has been America’s characteristic manner of preparing food – Fast Food – the epitome of the American life. Yet should tradition hinder improvement?

When it comes to health, the answer should be a big NO. When America is at risk of the fast food and obesity outbreak, the consumer should think twice before he takes a huge gulp of his sweet soda.

Fast food and obesity has been a major link that makes the American dinning experience and unfortunately American Health most noteworthy to world specialists. About 60M of the American population is considered obese. Australia only comes second in the fast food craze and obesity maze. Most significantly is that the impending danger of fast food and obesity concern has become a world phenomenon. The problem of obesity has crept quickly as fast as the spurt of fast foods all throughout the world. Though, we could not blame McDonaldization and Globalization.

What makes fast food so appealing not only to Americans is that it’s not just hot, tasty, and greasy; it’s also constant and convenient. The cheeseburger that you so loved since childhood have never changed a bit – a constancy that is so hard to find in the constantly changing society. Additionally, the fast-paced lifestyle of the current generation only leaves fast food in the high-ladder for convenience. Preparing everything with minimum fuss has just become so valuable. And you can also add the joy of indulgence. But what about the cons?

Primary is over-indulgence. Not only is fast food expensive and isolating; it is also over-eating tolerant. It’s true that it is sometimes a wonderful thing to be able to overcome your guilt to have yourself a treat, yet can you take the guilt of burdening your body with fast food and obesity?

The problem with fast food and obesity is that it has become socially acceptable, even encouraged. Some call it expression, even freedom, equality. You see commercials of all sorts urging you get the latest dessert. You go to the mall and there’s a special line of plus sizes. It all seems purely natural but it doesn’t mean it’s totally right. This isn’t to say that fast food can’t be consumed occasionally, and that fat people should be detested. The point is that these can be avoided, and that there are better choices.

Sure you can look at fast food as just a way of life; but also look at obesity as what it is – a disease, and a serious one – something you wouldn’t want to indulge in.

http://www.childobesitysolution.com is a complete obesity solution training center designed for both novices and experts. It is a place to share the latest in lost weight strategies, tips and techniques for the long term survival

For more information on child obesity solution do visit

http://www.childobesitysolution.com

a website that specializes in providing obesity solution

and other related Information, Advice and Resources.

Fast Food And It’s Link To Obesity

Article by Martin McCartney

Oftentimes fitness enthusiasts and health gurus will lecture the public upon counting calories and watching how many of these calories are consumed on a daily basis. With the advanced technology that we have today calorie counting is made much easier then in previous years. There are many plans which encourage people to exercise on a regular schedule in order to prevent obesity however even with all these preparations in the making people are generally becoming more and more overweight then ever before.

One of the primary reasons why obesity is so inevitable in America today is centered upon the popularity of fast food Fast food chains in our country are proliferating like mushrooms in a forest. To many people fast food has become a part of the lifestyle for which they are accustomed to. This change in lifestyle is partly due to the busy schedules many workers keep as well as the fast-paced lifestyle that they are currently experiencing. Fast food has become the answer to every physical hunger felt by this generation since time does not usually permit one to sit and properly eat a meal. Being able to offer many tasty, enticing, fast and low-priced food items has enabled fast food chains to gain a foothold on the food industry. Considering the fast pace of our lifestyle this manner of eating seems to be the right answer to everyone’s fast-paced life. None of this food is as healthy for an individual as sitting at a table and having a good ole fashion meal so it is no surprise that the population is quickly becoming. overweight .

Does fast foods provide good nutrition? The answer is usually no. The food items found in our fast food chains are enticing and tasty plus looks appetizing but are not really nutritional. Actually, these meals contain mostly calories and various fats. These foods are made to merely satisfy the immediate hunger which a person feels at that time. Because it is “Fast Food” it is of course served quickly. This means the food is a ready to serve item and is easy to prepare. These food items are usually altered to conform to a long shelf life and the nutritional value that each of the foods contain is unfortunately decreased or in some cases eliminated due to the preservation process. Adding to this fact all the additives which are placed into the food as preservatives we end up with a very unhealthy balance of food.

Aside from the dreaded calories which you obtain from the food purchased in the fast food chains the more dangerous factors which you should always take into consideration are the unnecessary additives used to extend the foods shelf life. These preservatives are actually more dangerous than the obvious calories. Preservatives are usually of a chemical nature and may cause a number of diseases including cancer.

by photoAtlas

Obesity And Fast Foods – The Lethal Link

Article by Andrian Nale

Obesity and fast foods – there’s little doubt about the link. Obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United states. And it’s an epidemic that has grown side by side, step by step with the the fast food industry.Eric Schlosser in his brilliant and shocking book, Fast Food Nation, describes the US as “an empire of fat,” and he lays the blame for this clearly and convincingly at the door of the fast food industry.Obesity Fast Food DataTwice as many American adults are obese today as in the 1960s. More than half of all adults and a quarter of all children are now obese. Over this same period, fast food has become cheaper and easier to buy. Further evidence for the link between obesity and fast food can be found outside the US. Since the early 1980s, American-style fast food culture has spread like wildfire around the world… And obesity has followed, accompanied by its many unwelcome side effects: heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and other ills.As people in countries like Japan and China have abandoned traditional healthy diets in favour of fast food, the rates of obesity and associated diseases have soared.In countries which have resisted the spread of fast food culture, like France, Italy and Spain, obesity is far less of a problem. The good news is that there is now more awareness about the ill effects of fast food than ever before, thanks in part to books like Fast Food Nation and documentary movies like Morgan Spurlock’s popular and punchy Super Size Me.There also seems to be a genuine change in people’s attituded to to food and how it is produced. As Schlosser says modestly of his book: “its success should not be attributed to my literary style, my storytelling ability, or the novelty of my arguments.”Had the same book been published a decade ago, with the same words in the same order, it probably wouldn’t have attracted much attention. Not just in the United States, but throughout western Europe,people are beginning to question the massive, homogenizing systems that produce, distribute, and market their food. The unexpected popularity of Fast Food Nation, I believe, has a simple yet profound explanation. The times are changing.”What can we do about fast food and obesity?So what can we do to as consumers to tackle the problem of obesity and fast foods?First, we can stop supporting the traditional, unhealthy fast food chains. Let’s rather buy from outlets that sell healthy alternatives. More and more of these restaurants and delis are opening. There should be at least one near you. Support it!Another thing we can do is to lobby our congressperson (or MP or some other political representative if we’re in a country outside the US) to ban all advertisements that promote foods high in fat and sugar to children.As Schlosser points out, prevention is far better than cure. “A ban on advertising unhealthy foods to children would discourage eating habits that are not only hard to break, but potentially life-threatening.”Such a ban may sound far-fetched, until you remember that 35 years ago a ban on cigarette advertising sounded equally unlikely. Five years later Congress banned cigarette ads from television and radio. And those ads were directed at adults, not children.Smoking has declined ever since.It’s time we did something similar with obesity and fast food