Research Paper
...households in which both parents work, there's no question it provides a service. The fast-food companies have directed a large amount of their marketing at low-income communities. They are serving extremely high-fat food to people who are at the greatest risk of the health consequences from obesity. They could be selling low cost food that doesn't have the same health consequences, especially for children. The fast-food chains, with their kids' meals and Happy Meals, are creating eating habits that will last a lifetime. And by heavily marketing unhealthy foods to low-income children they are encouraging health problems among the segment of the population that can least afford them.
In a way, the future of the fast-food industry is tied to the future of America. If we continued to allow the growth of fast food restaurant, it would be very dangerous. Most kids' fast food meals are unhealthy, loaded with too many calories and too much fat and sodium, according to a report issued today by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Parents may become more concerned about what their kids are eating and reject the idea, but children still are eating fast food in their school.
Parents don’t know how much the fast food costs. Usually fast food cost over 530 calories per meal. According to the center's nutrition policy director, assessed the nutrition of children's meals from 13 different restaurant chains. They looked at all the possible children's meal combinations -- a
all the ways that an entree, side item, and beverage could be combined -- and came up with 1,474 possible choices at the 13 chains. Then they compared the options with a set of nutritional standards. The meal should not have more than one-third of the daily requirement for the average child aged 4-8, or not more than 430 calories. Fat should not be more than 35% of calories]
However, at the same...
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