Fast Food and Healthy Life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fast Food and Healthy Life - Essay Example There is a big gap in the sensible amounts of food that can be consumed to the amounts of food actually consumed on a daily basis (Young, Lisa R and Nestle, Marion; 2003, p1). Food manufacturers are the biggest culprits of health mismanagement in the United States. Individual intake of food is surreptitiously promoted by packages that invariably provide more than double the quantity of food necessary for one meal. "Foodservice establishments use larger dinner plates, larger pans to bake muffins and pizzas, and larger containers for sodas and fries" (Young, Lisa R and Nestle, Marion; 2003, p2). Customers are not inclined to measure the exact quantity of food they are supposed to consume over one meal course. Normally, food is consumed on the basis of individual likes and no statutory rules are broken if the customer consumes more of a particular food he likes. Adequate portion sizes relevant for a meal marked on the labels are not seriously noted. This state of affairs happens on a very wide scale involving a huge segment of the population anywhere in the world. However, science provides information on the portions of each food that could be safely consumed. Excess food invariably adds to the calories and sooner than later leverage disease-prone organs such as kidneys and the heart with impure blood and once set it becomes difficult to root them out. "There are short-term studies showing that controlling portion sizes helps limit calorie intake, particularly when eating high-calorie foods. What is missing from the research is whether people monitor portion sizes and consistently chooses to eat recommended serving sizes, thus consuming the appropriate amount of calories for maintaining or losing weight" (Do Increased Portion Sizes Affect How Much We Eat, 2006) Obese children and fast food We live in an information age where the television is the best form of entertainment and everyone, including the children, finds endless solace glued to it with fast food packets in their hands. Little wonder then that one in every three children is obese in the United States (Leading by Example, 2010). "Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the television, computer, or video-game console. And today's busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals. From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality formany people in the new millennium" (Leading by Example, 2010). The eat-more-work-less syndrome has become a way of life that does not appear to be a threat until it strikes when it becomes a too late to take corrective action. Granted, lots of teenagers are now taking action and working out to reduce the extra calories. However, the erratic lifestyle they have been leading up to that point when they start