Fast food for kids.

[Andyvon]

I'm 48 and I've never had children but I'm astonished at the rubbish I see advertised on the TV aimed directly at children.There are 'deals' from KFC, McDonalds, Burger King etc - and they look horrendous! To see growing children consuming 'meals' of fried chicken, chips, baked beans, 'sides' and Coca-cola, or cheeseburgers, chips, 'sides', Coca-cola amazes me. Everything is full of fats, sugars, starch and carbohydrate. There's no healthy balance of fruit, vegetables, vitamins or minerals. Do people really allow their children to eat such cr_p?

Like everything else ruining our society, most of it seems to have originated across the Atlantic. Perhaps the US accepts it's adults and children being of huge proportions, but do we really want to go the same way? When we were children the only takeaway food you could buy in the UK was fish and chips.That was a treat we had once or twice a month, other than that we had good home cooking from Mum. I tasted my first burger when I was 17 (when McDonalds opened their first foreign restaurant in Leicester Square). I was so unimpressed with the thin little 'fries' I've never touched McDonalds since. I had my first pizza when I was 22 and my first kebab when I was 24 after I had married. Yet how many 6 year olds today have never eaten a burger, pizza or kebab?

Despite promoting healthy eating, recent governments continue to allow the growth of US-style fast food outlets and adverts. New Labour announced a few years ago that this generation of children is the first not expected to live as long as their parents as a result of lack of exercise and poor diet. That's a terrible failure by this generation of parents. I really think that to feed growing children this fatty, sugary, fast food diet constitutes a very real child abuse. The children are becoming obese, unhealthy and won't live long. Let's encourage a healthy diet and send this fast food rubbish back to the USA.

[237SJ]

Nobody forces anyone to go to fast-food outlets and buy the stuff. People in the UK are obviously making the choice to do so.

[boxtops]

Yes andyvon, and this and the lack of exercise in many youngsters these days is why so many (although by no means all) are obese - it's sad to think that the next generation may be heading for diabetes and heart disease just through diet, this may turn out to be the first generation where the kids will die before their parents due to illhealth. I don't condemn this food outright, I eat it myself on occasion, but fast food is a quick and easy (and increasingly cheap) solution.

[tamborine]

Fast foods pay taxes & create work; they have their place.

My g'kids love KFC (filth) and wont eat home cooking. I only see them once a month - that's enuf for me to put up with their whims ! It takes me a month to clean up the stains on carpets from their spilt drinks. I put up & shut up else I wont see them at all.

[shaneystar2]

I'm 62 and was brought up on stodge as a child .Suet dumplings ,pies ,puds .I remember sugar sandwiches .
Hasn't done me any harm .
And if you've never had children then you haven't experienced how awfully annoying they can be when they want fast food .
It has it's place .
Yes there are some who feed their children this stuff all the time and children should have a balanced diet but the occasional take away isn't going to hurt them.
I don't feel I've failed as a parent by going to Pizzahut now and again .

[Andyvon]

No of course not shaneystar. As I said, we had fish and chips once or twice a month and there's nothing wrong with KFC, burgers, pizzas every so often. The problem comes when fast food becomes a staple eaten several times a week. Of course you didn't fail as a parent and I wasn't implying anything like that. I meant that this generation of adults/politicians etc are not doing children any good by pushing such junk at them. We don't want children smoking so advert are banned and children are guided away from tobacco.

With regards to choice and creating jobs. Advertising is very powerful and puts real pressure on parents to buy fast food, hence the cost of adverts. Fast food does create jobs (poorly paid ones) but surely the long term cost of treating the results negates any initial benefits. Otherwise, why crack down on smoking? It generated huge tax venues and created many jobs. Surely fast food is as dangerous as smoking? What's wrong with an occasional cigar? I stopped smoking after 31 years and I'm still here. There's nothing wrong with pies and dumplings shaneystar, provided you had veg to go with them. I'm not sure about the sandwiches though, Have you got any teeth left?

I do appreciate it's easy for me to make these points when I haven't got the pressure of kids pestering for what they want.

[Andyvon]

Don't get me wrong Eddie. I ocasionally make burgers exactly that way (you forgot the garlic!). It's once in a blue moon though. The point I'm making is that so many in the US seem to live on fast food and that culture is creeping over here. Do we really want obese children? Fa food diets have also been shown to cause psychiatric and psychological problems. Perhaps that explains a few things from the US but do we want our youngsters to start behaving like that?

[Andyvon]

Me again.

Yes boxtops. That's what Tony Blair said several years ago when he was advocating healthy eating with Jamie Oliver etc. He said this generation of children at school is not expected to have the same life expectancy as their parents because of lack of exercise and bad diet. He cited children going to school in the car and eating lots of junk food.

[boxtops]

Some people these days don't seem to know how to cook from scratch, IMO it was a mistake when they stopped cookery classes in school.

[shaneystar2]

Thing is in spite of the stodge we had a different lifestyle as children .We ran about .Played sport at school .We had some form of exercise every day .
Mine ran about and played cricket ,football etc .
Schools tody don't seem to promote exercise like they used to .

Nowadays they stuff themselves then veg out in front of the TV or computer .

If you take food in you also need to burn it off regardless of what food it is ..
So I used to burn off my sugar sarnies and the ones made with condensed mik .
And yes I still have teeth :-)

[Andyvon]

Don't they do cookery at school now boxtops? Surely they've made a big mistake if they don't.

The pizzas sound great Eddie. The toppings are quite healthy andthere is so much less fats, sugars and chemicals in home-made food. It's the mass-produced equivalents that are the danger.

[Answerprancer]

It's far worse in the US - Walmart is full of processed food, there are a whole bunch more chain fast food outlets eg. Chik-Fil-A, Sonic, Taco Bell fast food is cheaper and more accessible, far fewer people walk anywhere, kids are driven everywhere so are generally fatter over there. It just takes a little effort. The times I've gone over there I've persuaded my hosts to take me to specialist Asian outlets so I can get my paws on decent Basmati rice, lentils etc. Sadly the kids there are so throughly brought up (pardon the pun) on fast food, that they are less than keen to try anything different/healthy.
One difference I've seen over here, particualrly within my circle of friends, is a little more diversity - kids that are happy with hummous/wholemeal pitta, organic fruit and veg, proper fruit juice.
So my point really is that we are generally better than the US in terms of healthy eating/excercise for our kids.

[Andyvon]

You are quite right Shaneystar. You didn't mention the bike rides. We used to cycle miles out into the country every weekend and evenings and we often spent all day playing football. When I went to school just one child from 600 went to school in the car if his Dad was leaving at the same time. I was never taken in the car. The answer was always to walk and every child did. Now children are cocooned in a car with no exercise or fresh air and that's the most dangerous place they'll be all day. If they are going to be injured or killed it's in the car going to and from school.

We'll start on the School Run now! I'm pleased you've still got your teeth.

[Andyvon]

Thanks Answerprancer.

I spent seveal weeks touring New England by hire car in 1991. I loved the area and the people - but the food! If a ordered a salad in a restaurant it arrived in a bowl that would serve 12 here. I then had to eat it all before the next course arrived. If I didn't I had the managers and chefs asking me what was wrong! They told me nobody in the US leaves food on a plate unless they don't like it - then they get sued! The choice of food was so limited too - steak, burgers, fries, burgers, steak etc.

At least we don't have something called Dunkin' Donuts here - yet! All they served were doughnuts with hundreds of pssible toppings! A whole plate of doughnuts!

[shaneystar2]

You spoke to soon Andy :-)
...Krispy Kreme doughnuts are already here in the UK and I think there's a Dunkin Donut joint in Piccadilly Circus .
Not that I like doughnuts at all ......awful things :)

[Andyvon]

Noooooooooo.............

[Andyvon]

Thanks for all the answers and comments everyone.

[ummmm]

What kind of kebab are you talking about?

Shish (real lamb) and chicken kebabs are actually a healthy meal. Fresh griddled meat, lot's of salad and pitta bread. Can't go wrong...

I've never had a doner and never would.

So far this year we've had MacDonalds 3 times. My youngests favourite fast food is Ham and Cheese baguette from Subway..

[mollykins]

I'd love my dad to cook healthy meals, but I think most of his stuff is just as bad as fast food, except I do usually get vegetables (even if it is because I microwaved my own peas or did a bit of salad). But at least I make sure i cook my own healthy stuff and make a healthy packed lunch.

I'm 17 and have never had a kebab (well not donner kebabs anyway, I've had kebab skewers with stuff like vegtables and prawns on). If I have to go to mcdonalds etc I have veggie options!