This article is primarily focused on McDonald’s, but I think the point can be extended to all fast food.  There have been movies, doctor warnings and the like, but this author points out the marketing behind our eating habits and how we are setting our kids up for a lifetime of poor health habits.  Did you know that there is a children’s hospital in the U.S. simultaneously selling McDonald’s and performing stomach stapling procedures?  That was news to me.  Also, who do you think is one of the top advertising icons of the 20th century?  The answer may surprise you.

We knew that our eating habits were bad as a country, but we have not explored the origins of this behavior----at least not in mass media.  This author ate every meal at McDonald’s over the period of a month, which he names “McMonth” and observed fascinating behaviors of families and how we are teaching our children to seek out more food.  How many times have you been asked if you would like to “super size” your fries or burger?  Well, guess what?  Your kids hear them ask you that too.  This is a tough issue to deal with because these poor kids are getting pressured from all sides these days----they are supposed to get better grades, learn to read sooner, develop healthy eating habits, participate in a myriad of school activities, etc.  This article doesn’t offer answers to this social dilemma (except avoid McDonald’s) but it does make us think about the advertising our kids see.