Fast Food Advertising And Childhood Obesity

Improved Essays
The prevalence of childhood obesity has more than tripled from 1971 to 2011. About one in the three American children and teens are overweight or obese. Fast food marketing is to blame for the epidemic due to the fact that it preys on the innocence of children and their vulnerability to external influences. Although fast food endorsements are necessary for the survival of the industry, these advertisements are encroaching on every public space to specifically target children and teens. Thus, fast food marketing should be limited, if not prohibited, in schools and other sites accessible to this age group. It is vital to ensure the health of America’s youth. Fast food companies have an immediate goal when endorsing their products, which exploits …show more content…
According to the article “Why School Cafeterias Are Dishing Out Fast Food”, “on a recent afternoon at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, Calif., students sat at picnic tables and bit into McDonald’s cheeseburgers, Subway sandwiches and Quiznos flatbreads” (Lehmann). In other words, students were offered these unhealthy foods right inside their school cafeteria as an alternative to the pre-cooked, claimed healthy foods offered by most-schools. Students didn’t even have to travel far distances to get the food they wanted. This serves as an incentive to eat fast foods, which have higher level of cholesterol and processed chemicals. Not only are unhealthy meals served, but “liquid candy” and sugar-filled drinks in vending machines as well. Fast foods are strategically placed in areas where children are obligated to go, especially educational institutions. In fact, “the overabundance of fast food and lack of access to healthier foods” are serving as a catalyst for the health crisis that is also affecting people on the basis of their race and class (Freeman) . The superfluity of fast foods is reaching an extent of popularity to the point where healthy foods are becoming foreign to children starting at a young age and in the location they spend the most time …show more content…
For instance, the quantity of fast food advertisements on television should be limited; in schools, however, fast food restaurants should not be able to legally sell their lunches in school cafeterias. Ultimately, schools are responsible for “teach[ing] reason, [nonetheless] the purpose of advertising is to subvert reason” (Lehmann). It cannot be expected for children and teens to make wise eating choices, when what is placed in front of them is the complete opposite- frozen foods with empty calories from added sugar and saturated fat. If the exposure the youth has to fast foods is restricted, the societal problem of childhood obesity will most likely decrease. Efforts have been made in counties of California, which ban toys in Happy Meals as they cajole the children into the restaurants (McCarthy); we must use these actions as a precedent to thwart the efforts of the fast food industry that are detrimental to the health of

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