Food

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Fast food and health care are two different markets, but both serve the same consumers.  The trends toward fast food and health food have come together to create a strong opportunity for specialty outlets. In this time of fast-paced living, fast food and health consciousness, there is an ever increasing demand for nutritious, convenient, all natural food products. So, for the health of our children and nation, packing a dinner from home and eating it in the car may be the best alternative for those busy schedules. 

When a McDonald's restaurant opened in the Texas Children's it became the latest example of a growing and controversial bond between fast food and health care. More than a third of the nation's 16 top hospitals boast on site regional or national fast food franchises, according to a University of Michigan Health System and Ann Arbor VA Medical Center survey.  "I realize these hospitals need to address important economic issues such as customer satisfaction, employee retention, and financial viability, and I believe fast food restaurants in hospitals offer patients and their families a sense of comfort," says Fendrick, also associate professor of health management and policy at the UM School of Public Health.  "However, if hospitals and the medical profession are to remain respected leaders in health promotion, we should re-visit the idea of serving fast food in the very place that we care for our most seriously ill”. 

Michigan Health System research fellow Peter Cram said the high- calorie havens might send mixed messages to hospital patients, visitors and employees. "On one hand we say obesity is linked to fast food and at the same time we make it easy to get in health institutions," Cram said. A hospital's mission is to improve the health of the population it serves. We believe that when hospitals allow unhealthy fast food on their premises, it sends the wrong message to their communities.  Hospitals should be promoting good nutrition and healthy eating options as a way to prevent and treat disease. The greater the number of fast food restaurants per person or per square mile in a state, the greater the state level of obesity.

Regrettably, a drive to make citizens aware of the dangers of fast food and the link between fast food and health problems is missing. What is most interesting are the links between the food industry, product sales and advertising, obesity and the health risks associated with a poor diet.  McDonald's was accused of negligence in not making clear the potential health risks of a diet overly reliant on fast food. It must be noted however that it can not be expected of the industry to address all the health risks. People must take responsibility for what they eat and what they feed their children. If parents do not teach their children healthy eating habits, all the blame cannot be laid on the fast food industry.

Fast Foods and Eating Habits

The thing is, there are people who go to these restaurants and do eat very heavy fat-laden foods and sugar-laden foods every day. For franchisors of specialty foods, the faster Americans live, the larger the bottom line. Spurring the growth of specialty foods is the consumer trend toward healthier eating habits. According to Stanley Bresler, chairman and president of Bresler's 33 Flavors, specialty foods present "an easy entry level into the franchising business”.  Franchisors of specialty foods say the opportunities in the field are limited only by the variety in consumer tastes and spending habits. As specialty foods increasingly find a way into the daily American diet, entrepreneurs are moving quickly to satisfy every variety of dietary consumer whim. 

Children and a Healthy Diet

Children loving unhealthy foods are nothing new. If anything, the lack of appeal of healthy foods for children, make them enjoy junk food even more. Children prefer these kinds of food because they have not learned to enjoy the complexity and taste of different kinds food. They are given very simple food and eat it because their taste buds have not formed. Adults will eat different foods and try new things because they can get bored with simple food.

Adults and children who reported eating fast food had higher intake of energy, fat, saturated fat, sodium, carbonated soft drink, and lower intake of vitamins A and C, milk, fruits and vegetables than those who did not reported eating fast food (J Am Dietetic Assoc). The one area that needs to be stronger and more balanced in the discussion is the personal responsibility we have to take care of our health and diet. We need to encourage fitness and eating healthier so we can make a complete turn around of the American diet.  I believe if parents are strict with children’s diets, and allow only occasional splurges, then the children will not want to eat unhealthy food all the time.

Statistically the United States is the fattest country in the world, this is one of the most disturbing things surrounding fast food and health. Unless every person takes responsibility for his or her eating, the problem will only get bigger as generation after generation gets more and more reliant on fast, junk food. The most important message is that, with proper planning, fast food need not be junk food.

© Copyright: Magriet Du Plessis

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