The children's crusade

When I hear the word 'obesity,' I often think of that kind that is self-inflicted. And to me, self-inflicted obesity requires a lot of work. I was watching Kevin Brennan on Comedy Central the other day and he was making a joke that made me think. "How do you get so fat you can't get out of your house?" he said, "Don't you gradually get fatter? It's not something that happens overnight like Willie Wonka and that blueberry girl."

However not all obese people have the ability to realize that the food they're ingesting may cause some severe weight gain, leading to a life of living hell. There are multiple groups of people that could fall into this category of innocents, though the one that I find most alarming is the children. "Think of the children." Even Hitler did it in Mein Kampf when he wrote "the state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people." So why don't we?

Well I assume there are a couple reasons for this obvious disregard of the very 'precious treasures' that we supposedly feel an instinctual need to protect. The one which I am currently concerned with is profit- more specifically that of the growing fast food industry.

Children, especially those who are too young to prepare their own food, have little or no say in the food that they eat. While they may refuse certain items on grounds of dislike they still have little representation when mom is at the grocery store. In the past few decades as parents become busier and busier it's much more difficult to prepare a hearty meal that is not only nutritious but that your kid will actually eat. Therefore, fast food has become the ever popular breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner...and even 'fourth meal.'

Recently some alarming studies have shown that these fast food joints have just been springing up relatively close to elementary, junior, and high schools. Of course this is a great marketing technique on part of the owner, however relatively new evidence shows that these seemingly harmless- and at times even convenient greasy eateries, have been linked to obesity in school age children. With the type of menu a child is already limited to, this expansion can only be detrimental.

Brennan Davis, Ph.D., of Azusa Pacific University reported in The American Journal of Public Health that "Students at schools near fast-food restaurants had higher rates of obesity after controlling for a lot of different variables than students whose schools were not near fast food restaurants."

A bulletin on aging and health conducted by The National Bureau of Economic Research also demonstrates similar results, stating that "Among 9th grade children, a fast food restaurant within a tenth of a mile of a school is associated with at least a 5.2 percent increase in obesity rates."

A high school student whose school is within walking distance of a takeout restaurant is obviously influenced to act on their temptations. Honestly the food that cafeterias offer isn't awful, but it sure as hell isn't good. If there's an opportunity to dine away from the left-over mystery spaghetti-like pasta, chances are the kid is going to do it. Similarly, younger children often get their way when tired parents don't want to deal with a crying brat complaining that they couldn't get their happy meals. It's awfully tempting when it's right on the drive home- allowing parents to save time as well as please their children.

I personally think that although it would be somewhat unfair to simply ban fast food restaurants within a close vicinity of schools the noticeable effects should be considered when allowing new ones to open. As you can see the impact is already great, and as you can probably see even better- the toll it has taken on our children. It's important to address this issue as it will only grow ever more prominent.