Words: 717
All of these are factors in the problem, but the government can make a difference in reducing the rising issue of obesity by providing school-age children with healthy but enjoyable dating options in their schools, putting more restrictions and regulations on fast-food advertising, and requiring fast-food restaurants to show obvious and clearly stated nutritional facts. If a child begins eating healthy at a young age, then they are more likely to eat healthier into their adulthood. Most students eat in their schools cafeteria once or even twice a school day, so the healthy options for breakfast and lunch would make a great difference.
Since children cannot be forced to eat healthy, students who do not want the healthy options provided by the cafeteria can bring their own lunch from mom. Providing healthy meals to the students will help reduce Type 2 diabetes, which is closely related to obesity, in children and young adults. According to “Don’t Blame the Eater,” an article by David Zincked, Type 2 diabetes is becoming a rising problem: “Before 1994, diabetes in children was generally caused by a genetic disorder-only about five percent of childhood cases were obesity-related, or Type 2 diabetes.
Today, according to the National Institutes of Health, Type 2 diabetes accounts for at least 30 percent of all new childhood cases of diabetes In this country’ (Excellence 392). Secondly, the government should regulate fast-food companies’ advertisements. Most fast-food advertisements have absolutely nothing to do with what they are selling, and many companies’ main focus is to entertain and grab the attention of the target audience. Many of the commercials that involve big greasy hamburgers are targeted toward men, and Include men either degrading or lying to women.
In the article “Having It His Way: The Construction of Masculinity In Fast-Food TV Advertising” by Carrie Packwood Freeman and Debra Emerson, there are a few examples of the objectification of females in fast-food advertisements: “Burger King’s ale fantasy commercial, starring Hotel, refers to products on the sandwich while showing related parts of the female actresses. For example, chicken breasts equate with breasts of a woman and ranch dressing overflows like milk from a woman’s breast” (Freeman & Emerson 470).
Other commercials also show very stereotypical “male” things Like beer, sports, motorcycles and half-naked women. Fast-food companies’ should focus more on nutrition and less on entertainment. Commercials advertising food should describe what the product is, what is in it, and have a calorie- count. This would allow individuals who were trying to eat healthy the ability to make an informed decision about their meal. They would know exactly how many calories they are eating for that meal and could plan the rest of their meals accordingly.
In addition to more Information In advertising, the government should require product packaging. For most fast-food companies these days, the consumer must go on their website to find the calorie count and other nutritional facts for their products. Once there, the information can be cryptic and confusing: “For example, one company’s Web site lists its chicken salad as containing 150 calories; the almonds and noodles that come with it (an additional 190 calories) are listed separately.
Add a serving of the 280-calorie dressing, and you’ve got a healthy lunch alternative that comes in at 620 calories. But that’s not all. Read the small print on the back of the dressing packet and you’ll realize it actually contains 2. 5 servings. If Ho pour what you’ve been served, you’re suddenly up around 1,040 calories, which is half of the government’s recommended daily calorie intake. And that doesn’t take into account that 450-calorie super-sized Coke” (Zincked 393).
This example shows that even when consumers try to eat healthy at fast-food restaurants, they are actually consuming over half of their daily calorie intake. Since the customer probably thought what they had was a healthy option for lunch, they might splurge for dinner and eat a large portion of something not so healthy. This added onto the nearly 1,500 calorie lunch they had puts them well over the government’s recommended 2,000 calories a day. If the calorie count of the product was clearly stated on both the menu and packaging, the consumer would be well aware of exactly what and how much hey are eating.