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by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: May 12, 2011

Childhood is a growing problem in the US, as it is in other parts of the world, but it is far too simplistic to lay all the blame on Happy Meals. The Happy Meal may be symbolic of the eating habits that have been adopted by parents and passed on to their children, but excessive weight gain is basically the result of consuming an excess number of calories. It is quite possible for individuals to enjoy the occasional Happy Meal and remain a healthy weight, but it is evident that many children are eating fast food more than they should.

It is parents who are choosing what to feed their children and so the fast food industry cannot take complete responsibility for rising obesity rates among US children. If parents bring their children up on a diet of McDonald’s meals and other types of fast food, the chances are they will be consuming too many calories, as well as too much salt and fat. Unfortunately, once a child has got a taste for fast food, it can be difficult to encourage them to eat the right way because eating fruits and vegetables does not give them the same high that fast food does.

If parents want their children to avoid developing a weight problem, they have to make an effort to learn what the nutritional requirements of children are so that they can take steps to meet them. It can be difficult for parents who themselves may not always have the best eating habits, which is why it a good idea for them to do some online research or to ask for help from a professional.

Not only do parents have to consider what they are feeding their children, though, as it is the sedentary lifestyles that many children have which has exacerbated the obesity problem. Most children will spend hours watching television or playing computer games, rather than burning off energy by running around in the park and playing with friends. Thus, they end up putting on too much weight because they are fed a calorific diet and are not doing enough exercise to burn off the extra calories.

Although parents are largely responsible for what they feed their children and how much they feed them, the fast food industry can make it difficult for parents to make the right decisions. Most fast food franchises have ways in which to entice youngsters to try their products, with Happy Meals offering children free toys, for instance. Once children have a toy to play with and have tasted the food, they may decide that they enjoyed the fast food experience so much that they want to do it again. They pester their time-strapped parents until they give in and buy fast food rather than cooking a more nutritious meal.

Clearly, then, Happy Meals and fast food in general do have a role to play in rising obesity among US children, but, ultimately, the food they eat and the amount of exercise they do is largely determined by their parents. It is the poor eating and exercise habits which children are learning from their parents that are really having the most impact on childhood obesity.

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