by Barbara FeliceHowarth

Created on: June 10, 2009

Can living near a fast food restaurant have an impact on your health? The way I see it, there could be two valid answers; yes and no. The way one was brought up can determine if that answer will be yes or no. Living in a big city growing up, I was surrounded by fast food yet hardly ever ate it. In fact, I didn't have Burger King for the first time until I was 15 years old and it was less than a mile away. The era you were brought up can also have an impact. The 80's child probably ate more fast food than a 70's child and a 90's child probably ate more fast food then an 80's child.

The way one was brought up: I'll start with this one first.mothers or fathers either cook dinner most days of the week or hardly at all. There usually is no in between. I noticed things like this growing up because food was very important to our family. In our neighborhood the moms cooked dinner 5 out of 7 nights. My friends and I took turns eating at each others houses. Of course the occasional pizza on a Friday night would occur but most of the time dinner was made at home. When you are conditioned to eat a healthy meal every night, it doesn't matter how close to a fast food place you are because your brain is already set to have a home made meal. All of my siblings and cousins make dinner every night because they had it made for them. If someone was brought up on fast food every night then they are likely to eat more fast food for dinner, especially if they live near by one.

Era: This makes a big difference as well, the Era in which you were raised. The older a person is the more likely they have no problem avoiding the near by fast food joint. More mothers started working in the 80's, therefore leaving them less time to cook. It's much easier to grab something on the way home or even leave money for your kids and have them walk over if the place is close enough. Most of the food chains weren't available in the 60's so I believe you don't miss what you never had growing up.

The proximity of a fast food place should not make a difference because as I stated earlier, you are either a fast food consumer or your not. There are people willing to drive as far as it takes to satisfy a craving for this type of food just as there are people willing to drive far to find a supermarket in order to make a meal. It is al in your bringing up and I will always believe this to be true. This doesn't mean that a person who was brought up on dinners at home will never eat fast food or a person brought up on fast food won't eat healthy, We follow the ways of our parents in most cases and I don't think it makes a difference how close you are I think it makes a difference on how strong willed you are .

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