Childhood Obesity in the U.S. part 2- Revised

I concerned about the relationship between Childhood Obesity and fast food like french fries or hamburgers in MacDonald. MacDonald offers consumers a special meal for children called Happy Meal comes with toys which children are attracted. I agree with the Ban of Toys on Happy Meals in California.

The first reason for the ban of toys in Happy Meals is that children want to eat more and more after eating the fast food. When my daughter was an elementary student, she used to say frequently, “I want to eat French fries.” At the begging, her purpose nagging me buying French fries might to get a free toy in Happy Meals, but it seemed to be addictive after asking me repeatedly, so I avoided buying her French fries. USA Today, a magazine, reported, “ Because junk food has been shown to have addictive qualities, information and education are keys to changing attitudes, just as with the campaign smoking” (“Toy Story:San Francisco Bars”)

Second, children are addicted to collecting toys; there are a lot characters in a series of cartoons. Children want to eat the Happy Meals with their high calories, high fat and high sodium, repeatedly to get more toys, so it risks children’s health. The ordinance, the legislative Board of Supervisor, said, “Restaurants will be allowed to offer free toys, trading cards, admission tickets, or other treats only with meals containing fewer than 600 calories, fewer than 640 milligrams of sodium, less than 35 percent of calories from fat, and less than 10 percent saturated fat”(“Happy Meals Ban: No Toys for You”).

Finally, I point out that the TV advertisements on Happy Meals in McDonald used the attraction of toys to impress children the Happy Meals even though a hamburger, French fries, nuggets and soda harm children’s health. According to Elizabeth Fuller, “Customers have bought about 20 million McDonald’s Happy Meals since they were first introduced in 1979. The most popular toys in McDonald’s history were the Teen Beanie: more than 100 million were given away with Happy Meals” (“Happy Meal Ban :”). The facts indicate that many children have been consumed Happy Meals by attracted free toys although they are unhealthy food for children.

Overall, McDonald should stop giving free toys with Happy Meals because they come with unhealthy food and have a high risk leading to children childhood obesity. However, free toys are attractive and comfortable for little kids, and the parents want to decide whether they should give the Happy Meals to their kids or not. I suggest that the fast food restaurants should provide menus replaced with low calorie and healthy meals, such as vegetables, fruits, or baked potatoes if McDonald’s wants to keep giving toys to kids.

In addition, Michael Moss, a journalist of New York Times, points that the junk food is a legalized type of narcotic which is deliberated by manipulating three key ingredients- salt, sugar and fat. According to "Salt Sugar Fat", Moss also alleges that human beings' health issues, such as obesity, heart disease or diabetes, are directly associated with the ingredients, salt, sugar and fat.

My younger daughter, seventeen years old, likes pizza. I realized that it is not only palatable, but also fatty by the combination of fats, salt and sugar. As getting older, I wouldn't be likely to eat junk food or fast food like pizza, but my daughter sometimes wants to eat them. It might be hard to her to stop eating all of them. However, knowing and considering about how much calories, sugar or salt the food we eat contains is very important to all of us. Since my daughter knew how much sugar is included a bottle of soft drinks like soda, she has never drank them even though she prefer to drink soda whenever she eats a piece of pizza. 

 Works Cite

"California Town Bans Toys in Happy Meal." N.p., 29 Apr. 2010. Web. 29 May 2015.

Fuller, Elizabeth. "Happy Meal Ban: No Toys for You!" Christian Science Monitor 4 Nov. 2010: n. pag. EBCO Publishing. Web.

Moss, Michael. Sugar, Salt, Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us. N.p.: McClelland & Stewart, 2013. Print.

O'Callaghan, Tiffany. "California County Bans Toys in Happy Meals." Time Magazine n.d.: n. pag. Web.

"Toy Story: San Francisco Bars Happy Meal Treats for Tots." Usa Today n.d.: n. pag. EBSCO Publishing. Web. 26 May 2015.