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Teenagers Say No to Fast Food
Currently changes have taken place in food consumption that more people eat out. When people all over the world are looking for a quick, easy meal to grab outside the home, fast food is the common solution. Over 50,000,000 people daily in the U.S. alone eat fast food. Kids between the ages of 6 and 14 eat fast food 157,000,000 times every month(\"Ever Wonder How Many\"). When people easily hand the money over or put the French fries into their mouths, large-scale potential dangers are likely follow, especially for the children who are the very first target consumer of the fast food company. Considering a healthy life of the future generation, the Government and Congress should joint hands together to enact that the teenager under 18 is banned on eating fast food.
Firstly, fast food companies use all possible ways to lure young people into eating their food.
Above all fast food chains are everywhere, airports, rest stops, gas stations, train stations, shopping malls, department stores, amusement parts even hospitals, from the Louvre to the Great Wall of China, so that it is hard for teenagers to avoid them. Basically, Ransohoof is saying that in his article \"Fast Food\" that, \"in 2010, McDonald’s is the world’s largest fast food restaurant chain, with over 32,737 locations in over 110 countries serving nearly 50 million people each day.
Wang2 Besides, fast food companies make advertisements to lay the imprint on the brains of teenagers(Story et al.). Each year billions of dollars, compared with which, the fruit companies and the vegetables companies combined look like a midget, are spent on advertisements to promote their products and encourage people into their lifestyle. Because advertisements could launch a big impact on teenagers and can
hardly avoid seeing it: TV, internet, newspaper, public places, and moving vehicles. “Brand marketing must begin with children. Even if a child does not buy the products and will not for many years… the marketing must begin in childhood.” said Fischer.
Last but not least, fast food companies meantime also make promoting strategies, like Toys, coupons, cartoons, T-shirts, and special menu. Companies intend to take advantages of delicate emotions of teenagers, because they know sometimes teenagers just have impulse to collect all the toys affiliated to some special happy-meal, which makes them go buy it again and again until they fulfill their feelings.
Secondly, fast food does bring up some fact that we cannot deny. In addition to causing unbalanced diet, fast food causes a plethora of other ailments – obesity, diabetes and heart trouble.
Fast food is the food with such main ingredients: Oil, sugar and fat, which too much people don’t need and too few people need essentially. Food can be broken down into 5 major groups: carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals and water. The body needs varying amounts of these types of food not the same or over volume. However, fast food is three high and three low food: high fat, high calories and high sodium；low vitamin, low mineral and low dietary fiber(\"A balanced diet\"). People cannot have a balanced diet from the fast food, especially to the teenagers who is right on the very important growing stage..
Apart from that, thanks to high-calorie and super portion size, fast foods contribute to obesity and disease. According to the daily calorie recommendations of Wang3 The National Academy of Sciences, most children, teenage girls, active women, and many sedentary men need about 2,200 calories per day, while for teenage boys, many active men, and some very active women need 2,800 calories(\"Calories: How many do you need\"). We can get from the calorie counter that the Big Mac Menu counts
1623 calories and 65.8g fat, which almost equal to the whole day amounts(\"Calories in fast food\"). In the meantime fast food staff is trained to persuade people buy large portion, extra meal that your body can hardly undertake. It is obvious that frequent indulgence can make people over weight(\"Overweight Teens\"), and carrying extra pounds raises people’s risk for many short term and chronic health problems. According to the statistics, over the 20 years, clinical obesity among children and adolescents has skyrocketed from 6% to 15%, which makes obesity the most common chronic illness in pediatrics(Clarke).
Thirdly, teenage obesity can result in a number of psychological issues(Smith). Facing stereotypes and unfriendly peers can lead to deep frustration, which may set the foundation for the rest of their lives. First, teenage obesity is likely causes self – esteem issue. These teens with weight problems have much lower self – esteem and be less popular with their peers. On the country, they are more likely to be involved in bullying and as a victim suffer from others’ talking or peering. Moreover, high level depression has been found in obese children and teens. These age teenagers put a lot of weight on how other people react to them and what's evaluation others make to them. Unfortunately, obese teens receive more negative reaction.
To sum up, children and teenagers, the human’s next generation, are going through the growth stage. They need balanced diet and rational food to grow well physically and emotionally. It is responsibility of government, parents and even teenagers themselves to live a healthy life.
Wang4 Works Cited \"A balanced diet.\" purchon.com. web. 10 Nov. 2006.
Clarke，Nancy. \"Fast Food: The Health Risks for Diabetics.\" livestrong.com. web. 21 Oct. 2010. \"Fast Food Facts.\" youngwomenshealth.org. CYWH Staff at Children's Hospital Boston. web. n.d. .Fischer, Paul M. , Meyer P. Schwartz, John W. Jr Richards and Adam O. Goldstein, \"Brand Logo Recognition by Children Aged 3 to 6 Years: Mickey Mouse and Old Joe the Camel.\" The Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 266, No. 22 (1991). print. \"Overweight Teens: The Growing Problem of Obesity Among Children & Teens.\" overweightteen.com. web. n.d. Wang5 Ranshoff, Julia. \"Fast Food.\" pamf.org. web. n.d. Smith，Erin O. \"Psychological Effects of Obesity on Children.\" ehow.com. web. n.d. and Adolescents in the US.\" International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. 10.1186/1479-5868-1-3(2004). n.pag. print. 因篇幅问题不能全部显示，请点此查看更多更全内容