There is little doubt left that there is a link between fast food and obesity. Today in the US the levels of obesity have reached epidemic proportions. This problem has grown side by side with the fast food industry's meteoric rise also.
A very unfortunate part of obesity and fast food in the US is the concept of food deserts. In short, a food desert is usually a low-income neighborhood that doesn't have good access to fresh and healthy food. Fast food chains are generally very prevalent in these areas. Combine a lack of access to fresh food, a lack of income, and far too many options for fast food and you'll be facing a serious obesity problem.
Today more than twice as many adults in the US are obese compared to the 1960s. Plus now more than half of all adults and a quarter of all children in the US are obese. It is during this same period of the rise in obesity in children that we have seen fast food become cheaper and easier to buy. Also, there is further evidence that can link the rise in obesity with fast food not just in the US but around the world as well.
Since the early 1980's the fast food culture has spread like wildfire across the globe and so has the increase in obesity as well. In countries such as Japan and China where they have abandoned their traditional healthy diets in favor of fast foods the number of people being diagnosed with obesity and other associated diseases has soared.
However in such countries as France, Italy, and Spain where the spread of the fast food culture has so far been resisted the increase of childhood obesity is far less of a problem. But just for how much longer will this situation remain? But the good news is that we are being made more aware of the ill effects that fast food can have on us than ever before. This is in part thanks to books like Fast Food Nation etc.
However, what we can do as parents in order to tackle the problem of childhood obesity and fast food? What can we do to tackle the effects of fast food and obesity on our own bodies?
First of all, you could start by stopping using the more traditional unhealthy fast food chains. Instead, purchase from outlets that sell more healthy alternatives instead. There are more and more restaurants and deli opening which offer you a much healthier alternative compared to what a fast food outlet can offer you.
Isn't it about time you did something to combat obesity and fast foods? For your health, your family's health…take control of what you eat. Change the trend of obesity and childhood obesity caused in part by fast foods. Fast food and obesity are intertwined. Break that link in your own life.