Children_and_Junkfood

Junk Food and our Children Children are becoming intertwined in a complicated society which is undergoing breathtaking changes. Relationships and lifestyles are transforming to benefit the new age. Food is no exception. It seems as if it has immersed every race and every age including children who are its newest victim. Children have suddenly stepped into a world of vending machines and fast food completely unaware of the chaos they are creating for themselves. Healthy nutritious foods have been replaced by junk food! Junk food consists of anything that is tasty, quick, and convenient. Basically anything your great great grandmother would not recognize. (Pollan) The most common at-home scene is a child who returns from school and sticks himself or herself in front of the television complete with a cup of soda and a bowl of chips. That’s exactly what I did. Actually, I still do it! After a long day, the first thing I want to do when I get home is grab something to eat and watch That 70’s Show. I guess it becomes a habit. The ages between five and twelve are a time of steady growth. A time when good nutrition is at priority. Children must know that what they eat influences their attitude, behavior, and future growth. The question is, where are they going to learn this' It most likely will not be at home. The greater part of mothers and fathers with school age children are stressed, managing busy households, and are working with tiring commutes. All these lead to a situation where parents get to spend a small amount of time with their children and traditional food skills are not passed on from parent to child. (Pollan) People have forgotten that the main reason for eating is nourishment. In the not so far-off past, food was treated with importance because of its life sustaining quality. Enjoying a meal meant sharing an experience with others. In the seventies families ate together for every meal they could. Today family meals are rare. When was the last time you sat down with your family' I honestly cannot remember the last time I sat down with my family to eat and I am only twenty. In fact, even on holidays my family basically stands while they eat going from one person to another trying to catch up. In more ways than one, our culture is structured to encourage poor eating habits. Supermarkets and television commercials are broadcasting a large variety of tempting junk foods, which are often tagged with an alluring idea and are strikingly packaged. When was the last time you watched a McDonald’s television commercial' If you think that McDonalds slogan is still “We love to see you smile”, then my question for you is, have you been living under a rock' McDonalds Slogan is “I’m lovi’n it”, and trust me we are loving it! Parents see it as a way to grab something quick and as a safe environment for their children to climb through tunnels and hang out with Ronald McDonald and friends. We should be assembling an environment that protects our children; instead we are building a greatly seductive environment that is undermining the eating habits of our children. The junk food environment is virtually unavoidable. What children eat from puberty has a direct affect on their future risks for breast cancer, infertility, etc. Hypertension and osteoporosis are other diseases that seem to have their earliest roots in childhood when lifelong eating habits are being formed. Children are especially in danger because poor diets can promote obesity, decay new teeth, slow and increase growth, ill-health, and diseases that may lead to death. In the case of rapid growth, do you really want your eight year old daughter to be ashamed to play with her dolls because she looks as if she should be in high school' Most of the time these junk foods contain colors, colors like red and yellow that appeal to the eye and trigger the food receptors in the brain. Hence, McDonalds, it’s one of the many reasons they chose red and yellow. These colors are often inedible which have proven to be very harmful for the body. These foods and their colors can affect digestive systems, and the effects of it will appear after many years. Studies have found that food coloring can cause lapses of concentration in children and hyperactivity. (WebMD) So that icing your bringing in on those cupcakes for your child’s birthday, are they really a good idea' Some say yes, because of the social aspect of connecting with their children and their children friends. On the other hand, I am sure that not baking cupcakes for about seven birthdays will not harm your relationship with your child or their friends. After all, they do grow up and want nothing to do with you and while they are young, what are play dates for' Junk foods are eaten often instead of regular food, where as our essential diet should consist of plants, very little meat (Pollan) and/or snacks like carrots and broccoli. Of course, eating junk food leads to a sense of starvation both physically and mentally because the feeling of satisfaction that comes after a nutritious meal is absent. There is no replacement for the feeling that you have when you wake up and find that you are ready to take on the world which I believe is the cause of a healthy diet! Just as Martin Luther King had said in his letter to the clergymen, “there comes a time when the cup of endurance runs over, and men are no longer willing to be plunged into the abyss of despair.” In other words, let’s not wait for the scientists, and the journalists (Pollan) to tell us how to eat. There is no better time than now to build a supportive environment for fostering our children and providing them with an inheritance of good health. Works-Cited News, WebMD Health. WebMD. 24 May 2004. 02 May 2010 . Pollan, Michael. New York Times. 28 January 2007. 28 April 2010 .