Childhood Obesity and the Rise of Fast Food Industries
Over the past few years, there has been an increase in childhood obesity in America. According to the most recent data, obesity among young people and obesity-related diseases have increased dramatically over the past thirty years. In reality, since the early 1970s, the percentage of children between the ages of six and nineteen who are considered overweight has nearly tripled, rising from 5% in the 1970s to about 18% in the present. (Currie et al. 37). The percentage of adults who are considered to be overweight or obese has also gone up, from 50% to 75%. However, it is also imperative to add to the account that the increase in fast food industries over these days has also increased proportionately, almost doubling (Davis and Carpenter 505). Therefore, there is no doubt to believe that the growth of fast food industries have been the main reason for the rise in obesity and overweigh cases, particularly among the young population.
Debates and Interventions
Numerous debates on obesity have always singled out that fast food industries is the major cause of overweight and that it is the greatest determinant of the high rates of obesity in the united states . Based on the assumption of debates from obesity, various policy makers from different cities in America have shown their response towards this menace affecting the young aged population in America. The stakeholders have either regulated the availability of the first foods by restricting their supply or advised the suppliers to indicate the content of calorie content of their products. With all the empirical reports regarding obesity pointing towards fast foods, the paper seeks to discuss the benefits of taking healthy foods and their long-term effects to the American population.
The Impact of Food Choices on Obesity
Several studies have aimed at examining why the American young populace is so fat (Andreyeva, Kelly, and Harris 229). Various assumptions have been made starting from lack of physical exercise to the socio-economic status of individuals. The excess weight among the working population has also been associated with long working hours. That is, too much stay in the office. Even so, one of the most critical factors has been underestimated, which is the types of foods that these individuals take. Surprisingly, a good percentage of the Americans are surviving on fast foods, especially the children between ages four and nineteen, who have little understanding about their diets.
Advertising and Fast Food Consumption
The rate of advertising fast foods has been on the rise making children to believe that fast foods are better for their lives as opposed to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. It does not matter how frequent someone does physical exercise. Again, the socio-economic status of an individual does not count so much. Instead, what matters is the amount of fats someone consumes in the body. The nutritional guideline recommends that an American should take approximately 1500-1800 calories per day (Khan, Powell, and Wada n.d). Even so, many of the fast foods that are available to the children in America contain at least 1500 calories. This means that an individual takes 1500 calories in one meal, which might double or triple depending on the number of meals that a person takes in a day. The explanation describes why physical exercise might not count so much regarding countering the rate of obesity. Of course, physical activity would only be useful to the body if the amount of calories lost during the exercise supersedes the amount of calories consumed in the body. Hence, burning lesser calories to the amount consumed would be nothing other than a waste of time.
Regulating the Consumption of Fast Foods
The assertion described above suggests that the only feasible intervention of reducing the cases of obesity and overweight among the American children is to regulate the consumption of fast foods through restricting their supplies before settling to other interventions (DeBono, Ross, and Berrang-Ford 749). It is not debatable whether other approaches such as the regular physical activity would work towards reducing the prevalence of obesity. In fact, engaging in constant exercise would lead to desirable outcome if the main issue were addressed adequately (DeBono, Ross, and Berrang-Ford 751).
Influence of the External Environment
Besides, it is also important to point out that the external environment plays a major role towards facilitating cases of obesity among the young population (Currie et al. 36). Children spend better part of their time in school with their peers than the time they spend at home with their parents. This makes them to be more at risk of involving in similar activities to those of their friends. If there is a widespread supply of fast foods in America, it means that most of the children are exposed, and that there is a high likelihood that they would be carrying fast foods to school, or they would prefer buying fast foods at school (Currie et al. 49). Even if a child were not used to taking fast food at home, it would be hard for them to avoid taking them at school (Davis and Carpenter 506). Therefore, it would be more advisable to regulate the supply of fast foods at educational institutions, which poses a major risk to childhood obesity. Many proponents of healthy diet have also advocated for institutional meal plans for students to discourage children from carrying fast foods to schools.
The Importance of Early Physical Health
The early stage of life of a child is important for his or her cognitive and mental wellbeing. However, it is also imperative to be cognizant of the fact that these two aspects may not be at balance without good physical health. Physical fitness during early age is not only important for the overall growth but also for the good quality of life in the future (Burgoine et al. 1544). If a child starts battling obesity when he or she is still young, there are higher chances that he or she might risk contacting some lifestyle diseases related to obesity.
Health Risks of Fast Food Consumption
Of course, fast foods do not only create risks to obesity and overweight among the children. Instead, it puts people at risk of suffering from some other sister diseases to obesity such as cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. According to “The Role of Local Food Availability in Explaining Obesity Risk among Young School-Aged Children,” hypertension or high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases are also among some of the deadliest diseases in the United States, which are claiming countless lives.
Impact on Heart Health and Blood Pressure
When one prefers fast foods such as the readily prepared snacks to healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables, it means that they do not care so much about the amounts of fats that their liver stores or the percentage of sodium that is absorbed into their blood (Andreyeva, Kelly, and Harris 233). When there are excess fats in the body, there is a high possibility that the body might store excess of bad cholesterol, which is a life threat. More than enough deposits of fats around the heart may lead to constriction of the heart muscles, hence resulting to heart attack or heart failure (Lee 1195). This assertion means that if a child feeds on fast foods, then there is the possibility that he or she will have a heart failure or heart attack in the future, which might lead to death. Thus, the question of whether fast foods ultimately lead to death should be self-explanatory based on the empirical studies.
The Risk of Mineral Imbalance
Again, in as much as minerals are nutritionally required in the body, their excessive intake is harmful. Minerals such as calcium and sodium are essential for strong bones and blood clotting process. However, the amount of minerals that are compounded in the fast food spices puts the lives of American children at risk (Poti, Duffey, and Popkin 162). Excessive consumption of such components makes the blood to get used to high levels of salts, which ultimately affects ionic balance in the blood. The ionic imbalance directly affects the functions of the pituitary glands, hence making the blood to loose balance of its pressure (Poti, Duffey, and Popkin 163). High blood pressure or hypertension has also been a lifestyle threat that if not managed adequately might have serious implications.
Socio-economic Factors and Fast Food Availability
The likelihood of children suffering from obesity and other associated conditions in America today cannot be linked to socio-economic status of the children. The fast foods have been made readily available for everyone at a cheaper cost than the healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables (Dunn, Sharkey, and Horel 7). This means that almost all children in the United States are at risk of developing obesity. Despite the increasing awareness of childhood and adult obesity and overweight in the United States, the intentions of regulating the supply of fast foods are still far from being achieved. The Americans seem to be busy at work and their businesses having no time left for preparing their meals. The supply of fast foods has made it easy to ‘pick and eat’ rather instead of spending time to think and prepare what to eat (Dunn, Sharkey, and Hore 11l). The difference in food choices and preparation between our ancestors and the current generation explains why people are at a higher risk of developing lifestyle diseases as compared to the past. The average life expectancy has also drop considerably with the constant supply of the third generation foods.
Conclusion
Concisely, it is justifiable to believe that obesity among children in the United States have been greatly affected with the widespread advertisement and supply of fast foods. Whereas the fast food ads influence the perception of the fast food consumers, making them readily available influence their prices and access, hence making large population at risk of taking fast foods. However, with the serious implications of the foods ranging from increased cases of cardiac arrest, hypertension, to heightened overweight and obesity, it is upon the consumers to make the right choice for themselves. The availability of fast foods has not only endangered the lives of American children but also put the adults at risk of chronic illnesses. However, as the fight against regulation of fast foods continues, it would also be imperative to look into the other confounding factors that lead to obesity and overweight among the young populace in America.
Works Cited
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---. “The Role of Local Food Availability in Explaining Obesity Risk among Young School-Aged Children.” Social science & medicine (1982) 74.8 (2012): 1193–203. Web.
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