The amount of food we were and are ingesting when the movie Super Size me premiered in 2004 was and is horrendous. How this affects our lives and our children’s lives is even more disturbing. In each day there are at least 1:4 Americans that visit a fast food chain. Also, McDonald’s feeds 46 million people a day, about as much as the country of Spain. This means that despite all of the information that everyone has regarding the unhealthy lifestyle a fast food diet promotes, they are still eating there. Fast food can cause obesity and if left unchecked the deaths from this surpass the deaths from smoking. In order to ever get that super sized drink, fries and food out of your system you would have to walk for seven hours without a break. Imagine, if you made a day of dieting like that. The amount of time that it would take for you to burn off all of that food would be phenomenal.
When the movie was released, the Surgeon General of the United States admitted that obesity is caused in part by fast food. Then he went on to state that obesity is an epidemic. It still is, years later children and adults are affected with an unhealthy lifestyle. The soda pop, candy, and unhealthy snacks that kids have access to in their schools are a contributing factor. A part of the culture that promotes obesity. Then when children arrive at home they are usually ready to sit some more. They might go online and chat with friends, their parents might sit in the next room watching televisions and all of this leads to an unhealthy life.
The documentary highlighted the blatant unhealthy choices that Americans and others were making on a daily basis. The first Ronald McDonald was fired because they said he was too fat. Imagine that, a fast food restaurant fired an authentic looking clown that came from them because he was too fat.
Fast Food Facts
- McDonald’s feeds as many people in a day as the whole of Spain.
- Ronald McDonald was fired for being too fat.
- Schools promote the fast food culture with candy and soda machines for students.
- Fast food is dangerous to your health and to your children’s health. Obesity can cause hypertension (which leads to a heart attack), coronary heart disease, sleep apnea, breathlessness, asthma, polycystic ovarian syndrome and more. Yet, people still continue to take their children to these places. It is official obesity is now a global epidemic and was declared so by the World Health Organization.
How to stop the fast food life
- Have a meal at home
- Prepare your lunches at home and take them with you
- Have healthy snacks on hand
- Exercise daily
There are many ways to encourage your children to live a healthy lifestyle.”It is all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.” Phillip Green said this, and it is true when you think about home cooking versus fast food. First, as a family you need to look at the facts of what eating fast food can do to you. Then observe that eating healthy will ensure that you have a longer life, and a more exuberant attitude in it. The food may be fast, but it is also fatal if ingested daily. Many foods in America are not eaten at home anymore. Why? The culture is simply to fast paced and too much involved with trying to get the best the quickest. We have put our health second to making money. That is why fast food chains flourish and more Americans are diagnosed with diseases relating to or caused by obesity. A recent statistic observed that one in three children will develop diabetes in their lifetime. This is directly linked to an unhealthy lifestyle. As a parent you are the only one who can ensure that your child will learn how to eat with proper nutritional value.
How to get healthy
- Look for organic foods
- Eat as a family
- Practice portion control
- Eat three well balanced meals a day
- Use home meat slicers to have your own deli meat.
Food is a part of living, an enjoyable piece of the pie. When we practice healthy eating habits we ensure that our children will have a better life, filled with healthy experiences. Let me know your thoughts.
