Childhood Obesity: The Rise In The Fast Food Industry

Americans love fast food. It is an industry that generates more than $180 billion in annual sales and feeds approximately 77 million people daily. However, due to its low nutritional value (high fat, sugar, salt, calories), fast food yields severe health consequences—including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. In fact, the rate of childhood obesity has more than doubled since the 1970’s. So what exactly makes this fat and grease appealing? The answer is both simple and complex. The rise in fast food popularity can be attributed to convenience and affordability, as well as marketing and a rise in working women. In a society that operates with lightning speed, it is only reasonable that people want to eat quickly too. From drive-throughs to delivery, dining out is easier than ever. Fast food attracts “busy” customers who desire ease and accessibility. A customer can walk in, order from a menu, and be served in under five minutes. Meals are often wrapped in paper and require no utensils, making it easy to eat whenever and wherever. Affordability is also a selling point. According to

Companies appeal to children by promoting meals with rewards—toys, which in turn targets adults. Parents, who want to please their children, give in to demands; and the advertising of a kid’s meal quickly leads to a purchase for the entire family. Marketers are also aware that people like uniformity. Therefore, fast food chains provide consistent, overall experiences: same menu, same taste, same environment, same logo and slogan. Eventually, customers associate the meal with reliability, leading many to believe it is the best way to go/motivating one to seek pleasure and safety/stability consistently. Furthermore, an increase of women in the workforce contributes to the fast food movement. Housewives are no longer available to cook healthy, hearty meals, so families tend to gravitate toward other