The Tie Between Childhood Obesity and Fast Food

Posted by Dave Owen

November 4, 2009

by Dave Owen

Is there actually an association between childhood obesity and fast food? The reply will vary depending upon whom you ask. Obviously the fast food industry would like to deny such a connection. But parents will do well to consider the facts. Obesity isn’t only a problem of how a child looks. It also stands for many dangerous and even deadly health conditions. Being heavy is linked to bronchial asthma, arthritis, joint damage, cardiopathy, diabetes, many types of cancer, arthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory distress, and chronic pain. So, thinking about whether or not childhood obesity and fast food are affiliated can mean keeping a child’s health. Let’s look at this subject a bit closer.

One reason to think that there’s a connection between childhood obesity and fast food is that obesity is a modern problem. Physicians have never seen as many cases of it in the past as they do now. It looks as if it’s no happenstance that we also have more fast food restaurants today than ever before! These restaurants are on just about every street corner in the U.S. They are even inside of many other businesses such as retail stores, libraries, office buildings, and even schools. But the number of restaurants and the number of cases of children being overweight doesn’t itself prove that there’s a connection between childhood obesity and fast food.

Nonetheless, you would do well to consider the types of foods dished out at fast food restaurants. With this in mind, the association between childhood obesity and fast food may be more conspicuous. About all items on a fast food menu are very calorie-dense. This means that they provide a lot of calories for the measure of food you’re getting. Most average sized hamburgers have about 500 or more calories. Liken that to a turkey sandwich on wheat bread which might have around 200 calories. And, naturally, along with the hamburger comes fries and a soda, and maybe even a milkshake or dessert.

The association between childhood obesity and fast food becomes obvious when you think about how often children eat these types of meals. Just one fast food meal can comprise a full day’s worth of calories. A child that consumes these meals several times per week or more than one per day can mean they’re literally consuming thousands of extra calories per week.

The quantity of calories that an individual will normally devour at a fast food restaurant is an obvious connection between childhood obesity and fast food. If a child is active sufficient to burn the extra calories it might not be a problem. But a lot of children nowadays live very inactive lives, sitting in front of the idiot box during their spare time instead of than being outside playing. Even though the association between childhood obesity and fast food is obvious, the food isn’t the only perpetrator or cause to the problem. A parent had best get their child up and active in order to preserve his or her health.

About the Author:

For a free guide to healthful cooking, visit Facts About Childhood Obesity. For more information about some of the causes of childhood obesity visit Facts About Childhood Obesity.

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