I Don't Think Mcdonalds Is Contributing To Obesity Amongst Kids As Much As People Say They Are

[networker 0]

McDonalds contributing to obesity?Generally I wouldn't say that their food is nutritiouswhatsoever, and the burgers seem to get smaller every year.I'd say obesity or not they are a complete rip off with exorbitantprices, all considered.In the end Mcdonalds is a waste of time.If only everybody would stop going there.

[SaraInWasteland 0]

In the end, parents are responsible for what their children eat. It's not McDonald's responsibility to play diet police to children, just as it's not a TV network's responsibility to make sure that kids don't see what they shouldn't see. It's up to parents to make sure that their children eat healthy. McDonald's every once in a while isn't such a bad thing, but you certainly shouldn't give your child all three meals a day from McD's (or any other fast food place, for that matter). It seems as though so many parents in today's society constantly look for a scapegoat to play the blame on for their lack of parenting responsibility. They blame video games for violence, music and TV for their children having potty mouths or acting out, and restaurants for their children being overweight. I'm not a parent so maybe I don't have much room to talk but I've helped to take care of enough children in my day to know that their ability to make good decisions is less than that of an adult's. There's a huge difference between giving your child fast food every single day and letting them have it once a week or so. Also, the parents can order for the kids, and it's up to parents to choose the healthier options. Instead of the cheeseburger with fries and a Coke, how about nuggets with apple slices and milk or bottled water? Aaron Lewis was so right when he said, "Parents have forgotten how to be parents."

Edited December 27, 2009 by SaraInWasteland (see edit history)

[DodgyPhil 1]

In the end, parents are responsible for what their children eat. It's not McDonald's responsibility to play diet police to children, just as it's not a TV network's responsibility to make sure that kids don't see what they shouldn't see. It's up to parents to make sure that their children eat healthy. McDonald's every once in a while isn't such a bad thing, but you certainly shouldn't give your child all three meals a day from McD's (or any other fast food place, for that matter). It seems as though so many parents in today's society constantly look for a scapegoat to play the blame on for their lack of parenting responsibility. They blame video games for violence, music and TV for their children having potty mouths or acting out, and restaurants for their children being overweight. I'm not a parent so maybe I don't have much room to talk but I've helped to take care of enough children in my day to know that their ability to make good decisions is less than that of an adult's. There's a huge difference between giving your child fast food every single day and letting them have it once a week or so. Also, the parents can order for the kids, and it's up to parents to choose the healthier options. Instead of the cheeseburger with fries and a Coke, how about nuggets with apple slices and milk or bottled water? Aaron Lewis was so right when he said, "Parents have forgotten how to be parents."

Damn straight. Personally, I love unhealthy food. The greasier and less nutritious, the more delicious! But that's life, and I've grown to accept it- forcing myself to eat salads and soup, when I'd rather be tearing chunks of Donna Kebab from the spindle, and enjoying the melt in your mouth taste.
My point is, my parents bought me up on a mixture of good and incredibly unhealthy food. My Scottish grandmother would give me a fry up breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever I came round, whilst my mum would give me lentils and humus. I turned out fine, and could understand the importance of selective eating and health from an early age.

You're completely right Sara, parents should start taking responsibility, for everything! Fat people aren't overweight because the American government force fed them lard, they're fat because they're lazy bell-ends who'd be put to better use if they were converted into food for starving children. At the same time, I'm a great one for personal liberty. I'm with the London mayor Boris Johnson; parents should be aloud to give their kids pies over salad, as long as they don't start blaming another source for their child's weight.

On the other hand, the parents of these 5-ton toddlers should be arrested. Surely they realized there might've been a problem when their 2 year old weighed over 200lbs?! Satiating a child's needs to that level is just cruelty, and they should be punished.
People who overfeed animals: similarly. Animals have no concept of health, and a dog will happily eat until there's nothing left to eat. Nature controls this by making food sources sparse to come by, and forcing the animals to work for their meals.

[nolan 0]

Personally, though I don't necessarily believe that any particular restaurant promotes obesity, I like when places come under attack for being "unhealthy". I'm biased, however, due to the fact that I've been a vegetarian for several years, and most of the places that do come under attack tend to have very few (if any) vegetarian options to choose from. If talk about their menu being "unhealthy" catches on and spreads, however, the restaurant is more likely to implement healthier menu options (and possibly vegetarian selections, as well).

[Xalor 0]

Damn straight. Personally, I love unhealthy food. The greasier and less nutritious, the more delicious! But that's life, and I've grown to accept it- forcing myself to eat salads and soup, when I'd rather be tearing chunks of Donna Kebab from the spindle, and enjoying the melt in your mouth taste.My point is, my parents bought me up on a mixture of good and incredibly unhealthy food. My Scottish grandmother would give me a fry up breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever I came round, whilst my mum would give me lentils and humus. I turned out fine, and could understand the importance of selective eating and health from an early age.

That pretty much explains the rise of obesity in America. Since we are used to eating out on the weekends, or eating it as a treat, we see it as a delicious excuse, and everytime we do something good we feel that eating these foods is the reward. Especially some asian foods are heavy on oil, fried foods, butter, sugar, salt, and a heavy dose of spice. We seem to eat spices and salt in every food, and go and add some oil or butter since its too spicy or salty. In my culture im used to eating unhealthy, and even though we only eat vegetables, just eating pure starches and proteins that are either fried or pan-roasted is not teaching us that vegetables are good for us.

[SaraInWasteland 0]

Damn straight. Personally, I love unhealthy food. The greasier and less nutritious, the more delicious! But that's life, and I've grown to accept it- forcing myself to eat salads and soup, when I'd rather be tearing chunks of Donna Kebab from the spindle, and enjoying the melt in your mouth taste.My point is, my parents bought me up on a mixture of good and incredibly unhealthy food. My Scottish grandmother would give me a fry up breakfast, lunch and dinner whenever I came round, whilst my mum would give me lentils and humus. I turned out fine, and could understand the importance of selective eating and health from an early age.

You're completely right Sara, parents should start taking responsibility, for everything! Fat people aren't overweight because the American government force fed them lard, they're fat because they're lazy bell-ends who'd be put to better use if they were converted into food for starving children. At the same time, I'm a great one for personal liberty. I'm with the London mayor Boris Johnson; parents should be aloud to give their kids pies over salad, as long as they don't start blaming another source for their child's weight.

On the other hand, the parents of these 5-ton toddlers should be arrested. Surely they realized there might've been a problem when their 2 year old weighed over 200lbs?! Satiating a child's needs to that level is just cruelty, and they should be punished.
People who overfeed animals: similarly. Animals have no concept of health, and a dog will happily eat until there's nothing left to eat. Nature controls this by making food sources sparse to come by, and forcing the animals to work for their meals.

I am the same way. I was raised on Southern, greasy, full-of-fat-and-calories food, but my family made sure we ate it in a healthy way and got healthy options along with all that delicious Southern food. We didn't get fast food all the time, and we certainly didn't eat a lot of junk food. Also, my Grandma helped us to control our portions. She used to tell us, "Don't take too much at once. When you're finished, if you're still hungry, you can always go back and get a little more." So many parents don't do this - they get fast food several times a week and feed it to their children, give their children incredibly-oversized portions, and then they wonder why their children are overweight and have health problems as a result? Trying to blame it on McDonald's or Burger King just doesn't cut it. I can't feel sorry for parents whose children are grotesquely overweight (aside from kids who have actual health issues such as thyroid issues) because they obviously have failed as a parent by not balancing it all out. Children aren't born knowing how to control their own food intake and diet, it must be taught. When parents are teaching the right things, it becomes a huge problem. The least these parents can do is man up and take some of the blame for it instead of crying, "McDonald's made my kid fat!"

A lot of parents also forget to teach their kids about regular exercise. Being fit isn't all about food nor workouts - it's a combination of the two factors. Eating healthily doesn't do much if all you do is sit, just as exercise isn't going to help much if you're going to eat thousands upon thousands of calories a day. I'm not saying that parents need to get their kids a personal trainer, but the least they can do is trade out a movie night for an evening bike ride or a day at the park.

On your note about five-ton toddlers, you are absolutely right. I believe that overfeeding a child THAT much should constitute as a form of child abuse, just like starving your child would be. On either end of the spectrum, it puts a child's health in severe danger and any behavior on the part of a parent that endangers a child should constitute as child abuse, simple as that.

[harrison858 0]

Ever since I watched "Super Size Me," I began to eat at McDonalds less. Maybe now max is 2-3 times/month.However, I do believe that there are a good amount of idiots out there who sue McDonalds for "making them fat."Get some common sense, people. YOU'RE the one who made a choice to eat there, they didnt force you to.And its not like you eat at McDonalds once and increase your size and weight by 2. Its the people who frequently eat there, or ANY fast-food restauraunt more than 2-3 times a WEEK. 1 word: Choice2 words: Stop Now3 words: ITS NOT HEALTHY.Eating at fast food restauraunts is an okay thing for pleasure and incentive, but not for eating until you are bloated.*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*I do agree, however, that kids are being more exposed to corporations like McDonalds due to marketing targeted to lower age groups.My baby cousin is 2 years old and he can say "McDonalds" with no pronounciation issues whatsoever...Its up to the parents to decide what their kids eat. Parents need to teach their kids how to control their eating habits.And guess what people?McDonalds is a RESTAURAUNT. They need to make money, that's their role and duty in society: To feed people.You're a HUMAN, not a robot. Think for yourself! Make better choices!

[deadmad7 4]

I personally am disgusted with Mcdonalds and Super Size Me (especially the part when he throws up ={ I probably eat at Mcdonalds like 0 times a month and probably 3 - 4 times a year,,,,but i do go to other fast food places ( carls JR, Dennys ) I really would be glad to eat Pizza Hut or Dominoes. But those guys are just doing there jobs ..

[evilsmiley25 0]

McDonalds' food is in no way healthy, and it does contribute to obesity. But let me elaborate further here.

 

People are not so obese BECAUSE of McDonalds, they are obese because they have no self control. The food isn't healthy to begin with, and some people are eating there for 1 or more meals a day. It is definitely contributing to the obesity issue that America is facing.

 

I agree with you on this point, whenever I see little kids there, they always just want to play. But, you can't say the food is healthy, just because there is a small tube area (play ground). The food is still unhealthy, and fattening. That doesn't go to say that you should not ever eat there, just in moderation. Anything in moderation can be healthy for you (NOT poison, of course).

 

I do not condone people eating the food, but they should not be blaming their problems on McDonalds. It annoys me to no end, when I see people who are suing McDonalds because of their own weight problems, and lack of self control.

 

I decided to look for a case online, and here is one I found:

 

AP

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

By Michael Y. Park

 

 

NEW YORK ? Want a class-action lawsuit with that burger?

 

 

A New York City lawyer has filed suit against the four big fast food corporations, saying their fatty foods are responsible for his client?s obesity and related health problems.

 

Samuel Hirsch filed his lawsuit Wednesday at a New York state court in the Bronx, alleging that McDonald?s, Burger King, Wendy?s and KFC Corporation are irresponsible and deceptive in the posting of their nutritional information, that they need to offer healthier options on their menus, and that they create a de facto addiction in their consumers, particularly the poor and children.

 

"You don't need nicotine or an illegal drug to crate an addiction, you're creating a craving," Hirsch said. "I think we'll find that the fast-food industry has not been totally upfront with the consumers."

 

The suit does not specify the amount of damages Hirsch and his client are seeking.

 

None of the companies named in the suit were immediately available for comment.

 

But Walter Olson, a Manhattan Institute fellow specializing in legal-system issues, called the suit a blatant attempt to cash in on the recent publicity over obesity and the tobacco settlements. He also said it disregarded the idea that people are responsible for their own actions.

 

"Most people are aware if eating double cheeseburgers, it's not the same as celery," he said. "We all have appetites, but people have no trouble walking down the street and buying a different kind of food. They?re not somehow forced to keep going back and keep supersizing. Overeating is a bad habit and is one of the pitfalls of human nature."

 

So far, there's only a single complainant named in the suit, but Hirsch said at least two other clients will be filing soon in what he aims to make into a class-action lawsuit. All were regular fast food consumers who suffer from ailments ranging from obesity to diabetes.

 

The lead plaintiff, 56-year-old maintenance supervisor Caesar Barber, ate at fast food restaurants four or five times a week and blames his fatty diet for his obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol and the two heart attacks he has suffered.

 

"I trace it all back to the high fat, grease and salt, all back to McDonald?s, Wendy?s, Burger King ? there was no fast food I didn't eat, and I ate it more often than not because I was single, it was quick and I?m not a very good cook," Barber said in an interview with Foxnews.com.

 

"It was a necessity, and I think it was killing me, my doctor said it was killing me, and I don't want to die."

 

Frances Winn, a 57-year-old retired nurse, said her habit of eating at fast-food restaurants at least twice a week since 1975, caused her to go from a size 6 to a size 18, and inflicted her with hypertension, high cholesterol and a hyperthyroid problem.

 

Israel Bradley, 59, said his ritual of eating a pound of french fries a week gave him high blood pressure, diabetes, made him obese and forces him to walk with a cane. In 1993, he passed out and had to be rushed to the emergency room because of the medical problems caused by his diet.

 

"I got addicted to it," he said.

 

Winn and Bradley will both file New York state suits soon, Hirsch said.

 

The aim of the legal action is to force the fast food industry to "offer a larger variety to the consumers, including non-meat vegetarian, less grams of fat, and a reduction of size" of their meals, along with federal legislation that would require warning labels on fast food similar to those on tobacco products, Hirsch said.

 

"Hopefully it will change the eating habits of the American public," he said.

 

In December, then Surgeon General David Satcher declared obesity America's soon-to-be number one killer, and urged for there to be a healthier range of food available to consumers.

[Darkyo13 0]

i don't really have a problem with fat people but it isn't the parent's fault it's MC Donalds Food for more people geting FAT maybe some parent's don't know that their kids are going to MC Donalds and they give the money for cigars a coke or healty food etc... alot of examples...
If MC Donalds didn't have such unhealthy food they wouldn't countribute to obesity again i repeat myself it's not the parent's fault it's MC Donalds fault, they could also make Healty food to help kids stay in better health also not suffering from obesity so if you think carefuly it's MC donald's that is countributing to obesity my opinion
(srry for my bad english and if you can't udnerstand what i said ill try explain better tomorow if you tell me what you didn't understand after i sleep because i only slept 4 hours in 3 days and i can't really think at my best at how to explain myself )

What all I hear is people who are morbidly obese attack large chain food stores like McDonalds...I personally think what they get on with is rubbish, there is such thing as responsibility and free will.They go off and feel sorry for themselves and blame McDonalds because of their weight.

I may sound harsh and I know that the majority of obsese people would not blame McDonalds, but I know that there would be a large minority who would blame fast food chains because of their own weight.

I'm not fat and i am really thin..but i still think bad about MC dondalds
Edited May 9, 2011 by Darkyo13 (see edit history)

[anwiii 17]

how is it mcdonalds fault? that is absurd logic. it's the same logic parent use to blame network television because the cartoons are getting too violent or blaming the gaming industry because video games are becoming to violent.listen. everyone has choices. they can either eat at mcdonalds, or they don't have to. nobody is forcing them. if anyone is forcing anyone, it's the mom's and dad's who go to mcdonalds with their kids like the op had stated, and criticizing their children because they aren't eating the fatty foods they ordered for them. they would rather be outside playing. how is mcdonalds at fault for this?many people love mcdonalds and choose to eat there because the food taste great, it's fast food, and they are choosing to eat there by their own free will. yea, the media goes as far as enticing people with mcdonalds commercials, but that's as far as it goes as far as being held accountable for obesity.

[Indego_Media 1]

I have to agree with most of you on this post. In Australia, McDonalds even goes out of its way to contribute to healthy eating by designing menue items that are heart foundation approved and love in FAT so it is not thier fault if a consumer can not help but buy the biggest serve of fry's large full strength coke and 3 double cheese burgers on thier way home to sit infront of the TV and eat Home Delivered Pizza while drinking some more callories in the form of Beer and topping it all off with a tub of Icecream....give the Chain Food Restaraunts a break its not them its the consumer and thier lack of will power that is the issue here. I'm not sure what is happening over sea's but in OZ its at the stage where you cant even choose to do anything without someone telling you that its not good for your health today,,,,, but wait tomorrows head line news will be that there health benifits to the same food or activitiy that they told you was BAD for your yesterday.Its All about YOU!!!! and the MEDIA..... You have the choice, and you need to learn to be educated enough about your self and your world to know what's good and what's bad for you.....Hell if I'd listened to everyone that ever said what your doing is bad I'd be a Priest in the Catholic Church Right now sinning against myself and the POPE :PAnyway thats how I feel about it.....cheersJaseI'm off to Maca's right now for thier new Smokey Bacon Cheese Burger......... Heart Atack here i come.......