“Don’t Blame the Eater” In David Zinczenko’s article “Don’t Blame the Eater” he focuses on the fast food industry and their role in the increasing health and obesity issues of our nation’s children, as well as these issues potentially becoming a serious problem that we will all have to deal with if we collectively don’t do something about it now. When it comes to the topic of fast food, most of us can agree that it is not the best source of nutrition.
It is unhealthy and can be the cause of many serious health issues with our children such as obesity related Type 2 diabetes, stomach ulcers and even heart disease, high cholesterol, sleep apnea or even cancer. We can even agree that fast-food diets are a major contributing factor to the increasing rise in health care costs. Where the agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of whose responsibility it is to keep us well informed of the contents of these foods and of their potential health hazards.Whereas, some are convinced it is the responsibility of the fast food industry and our government, and even as I sympathize with these fast food eaters, I maintain it is the responsibility of the parent to teach their children to eat healthy and provide the ways and means to do so. In this society of fast-pace, easy access to almost everything and growing numbers of single-parent households it is too easy to fall into the traps of the deceitful advertising of fast food companies, not the mention their presence being on every other corner in our neighborhoods. Where are the alternatives for our children?As Zinczenko mentions, “Drive down any thoroughfare in America and…you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants.
Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit. ” It is true; eating healthy can be a challenge and very expensive. In this economy who can afford to shop at Whole Foods or even buy a bag of oranges at Dominick’s? And yes, while the convenience of walking up the street to buy a quick, cheap meal at McDonald’s is much more appealing then the troubles of preparing a healthy meal, for health’s sake I’ll accept the challenge.I do agree that complicating the lack of alternatives is the lack of information about what we’re consuming. The government does not require calorie information charts on fast-food packaging as there are on grocery items, nor are prepared foods covered under Food and Drug Administration labeling laws.
They are more concerned with keeping costs down, thus banking in the money, than with the welfare of our children in any aspect. Look at the state of our public education system. Look at the salaries of our nations teachers.Look at our healthcare system…why do so many companies offer their employees health insurance through HMOs (Health Maintenance Organization) or PPOs (Preferred Provider Organization)? These are both network programs which require you to use certain doctors, but these doctors have contracts to accept what the insurance is willing to pay as full payment minus a co pay or deductible from the patient, thus cheaper for the company to fund. With these institutions and organizations being all about the business of making money, how can we honestly expect them to be responsible for or care about the well-being of our children?They are targeting our children! You need not even pay too close attention for it to be obvious. Just take a look at a Happy Meal advertisement and the 2.
5 million Happy Meals sold each year. As working parents, especially single parents, have less and less time to spend with their children, to cook or to monitor what their watching and eating, and throwing money at them to eat whatever they can get their hands on for a quick fill, we cannot expect our kids to have healthy diets.Do we honestly think a kid left alone to fend for himself is going to take that money, go to the grocery store, buy something healthy, go home and cook it? If we as responsible adults and parents are unable to cook our kids a healthy meal and are not home to monitor what they put into their bodies, then we must teach them the benefits of healthy eating, teach them to cook healthy meals and keep the refrigerator stocked with healthy foods. From experience, I guarantee when they get hungry enough, they’ll prepare the food, cook it and be happy to eat it.In June 2009 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an article stating “Approximately 17% (12.
5 million) of our children and adolescents aged 2 – 19 years are obese. ” Children who are considered obese are 70 percent more likely to continue being obese into adulthood. In addition, they are at greater risk for serious medical issues. Even sadder is we are feeding this crap to our kids. Those two-year-olds aren’t the ones walking to McDonald’s to purchase those foods for themselves.
Fast food restaurants have increased in number. Health care costs have skyrocketed. Childhood obesity is on the rise and, as I mentioned, fast-food, advertising and government industries are in it for the money, not the well-being of our children. Unfortunately, villages no longer raise children, at least not in America. As parents, that is our job…we are teaching our children how to be fat, not the industries making the sale.
Nobody is forcing us to buy.
