In the contemporary times, fast food consumption has almost become a lifestyle for people living in urban areas. People consider fast food as convenience food as it can “be easily eaten while watching television, surfing the Internet, working at a desk, or chatting on a cell phone” (Belasco, 2008). The fact that fast food is a ‘readily-prepared and easily-available meal’ has impacted the eating habits of today’s generations in a considerable manner. However, the easy accessibility and inexpensiveness of this particular kind of meal has consequently resulted in a number of detrimental effects for people, particularly children. Therefore, it is excessively necessary to renounce children from buying fast food. In fact, fast food must only be sold to adults.
Supporters of fast food claim that such meals are a convenience in today’s fast-paced life as they can be prepared with ease and expediency. These advocates claim that obesity is a taboo and must not be associated with eating as many people are genetically prone to become obese. However, it has been proved that fast food is one of the major reasons childhood obesity rates have increased dramatically in the recent times. As a result of obesity, children suffer from numerous health-related issues including sleep apnea, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, pulmonary diseases, and bone stress (Freemark, 2010). For this reason, it is necessary to take appropriate steps to make children avoid eat fast food. Childhood obesity is regarded to be one of the most significant pediatric issues in the current times.
Similarly, the opponents believe that schools must provide fast food as it can be easily prepared and help schools earn a steady amount of money. They believe that schools are aware of the nutritional benefits of food and provide healthy fast food. However, I believe that fast food provision in schools encourage unhealthy eating habits in children. Therefore, schools and other educational institutions that have children as the major learners must stop the selling of fast food to kids under the age of eighteen. Schools must be forbidden to sell candies, ice creams, sugar drinks, and other forms of junk food that do not have any nutritional value for children. Instead, it is the responsibility of the school administrators to make sure that children are offered physical activities and adequate nutritional food choices. In fact, it is the high time for schools to realize that the health benefits of children are put above the monetary benefits they receive from selling sugary, high-calorie food.
Opponents also believe that advertising fast food is a marketing and promotion activity that must not be banned as such bans would result in a considerable employment loss. However, I think that such advertisements must be replaced with ads of healthy and organic foods. In this manner, there will be more employments in the agricultural and food sectors of industry. In short, consuming fast food is now proven as an unhealthy eating habit as it does not provide any nutritional benefit to children. The trend of advertising fast food to children 24/7 on media needs to be changed as well. Such promotions and advertisements tempt children to crave fast food. Due to the pervasiveness of fast food industry and associated marketing, children tend to escape proper meals and go on devouring unhealthy and detrimental junk labeled as food. Thus, it must be the authorities’ responsibility to make endeavors for selling food only to adults.
In short, it is the need of the time to develop, introduce, and implement “a community-based approach to obesity prevention that enlists not only schools, but also businesses, families, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, and local government” (as qt in Rodier, 2010). Considering the increasing consumption of fast food, it is crystal clear that policies must be introduced on a large scale to prevent children from accessing and devouring their favorite treats that impose an ultimate danger to their overall health.
References
Belasco, W. (2008). Food: The Key Concepts. Oxford: Berg.
Freemark, M. (2010). Pediatric Obesity: Etiology, Pathogenesis, and Treatment. Totowa, N.J.: Humana Press.
Rodier, H. (2010). Licking Sweet Death: Energy and Information to Stop Sugarcoating Your Addiction to Processed Foods. Durham, CT: Strategic Book.
