Introduction
Medical experts and fast-food companies continue to debate the role high-calorie, high-sugar food plays in childhood obesity rates. Research by multiple medical experts demonstrates direct correlations among inexpensive, easily accessible drive-through food, skyrocketing childhood obesity and sometimes life-threatening health problems. Yet some fast-food companies maintain that genetics, rather than their French fries, hamburgers and other unhealthy options, are to blame.
Fast food might be a quick and easy option for families, but a quick study of the nutritional charts shows it can be detrimental to children’s health into adulthood.
McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell, among other chains, are popular choices for busy, dual-income families and those with less overall income. Some fast-food items are available to students at school during lunchtime. This potentially exposes children to unhealthy food options during the day, and again for dinner with the family. Children consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food. On any …show more content…
Department Of Agriculture’s Choosemyplate website,“Eating healthy is a journey shaped by many factors, including our stage of life, situations, preferences, access to food, culture, traditions, and the personal decisions we make over time. All your food and beverage choices count”(Choosemyplate). In other words, food choices directly impact our health. Fast food provides little, if any nutrition, that benefits our physical well-being. Children require some calories for growth and development, but those calories should come from fresh produce and healthy snack options. For instance, one cup of blackberries contains 2 grams of protein, 62 calories and 7.6 grams of dietary fiber. Fast food has excessive salts, sugars and trans fats that deprive children of proper nutrition. As compared to blackberries, a Big Mac burger contains 25 grams of protein, 540 calories and 28 grams of total
Medical experts and fast-food companies continue to debate the role high-calorie, high-sugar food plays in childhood obesity rates. Research by multiple medical experts demonstrates direct correlations among inexpensive, easily accessible drive-through food, skyrocketing childhood obesity and sometimes life-threatening health problems. Yet some fast-food companies maintain that genetics, rather than their French fries, hamburgers and other unhealthy options, are to blame.
Fast food might be a quick and easy option for families, but a quick study of the nutritional charts shows it can be detrimental to children’s health into adulthood.
McDonald’s, Burger King and Taco Bell, among other chains, are popular choices for busy, dual-income families and those with less overall income. Some fast-food items are available to students at school during lunchtime. This potentially exposes children to unhealthy food options during the day, and again for dinner with the family. Children consume an estimated 12 percent of their calories from fast food. On any …show more content…
Department Of Agriculture’s Choosemyplate website,“Eating healthy is a journey shaped by many factors, including our stage of life, situations, preferences, access to food, culture, traditions, and the personal decisions we make over time. All your food and beverage choices count”(Choosemyplate). In other words, food choices directly impact our health. Fast food provides little, if any nutrition, that benefits our physical well-being. Children require some calories for growth and development, but those calories should come from fresh produce and healthy snack options. For instance, one cup of blackberries contains 2 grams of protein, 62 calories and 7.6 grams of dietary fiber. Fast food has excessive salts, sugars and trans fats that deprive children of proper nutrition. As compared to blackberries, a Big Mac burger contains 25 grams of protein, 540 calories and 28 grams of total