Western Courier

I agree with everything you said. Not only is fast-food unhealthy, it can be deadly. If you saw "Super-Size Me", you know what I mean.

But fast food is not the only factor in the childhood obesity problem. Much of the food you find in American markets are made with corn syrup and trans-fat. There is a new awareness of trans fats and we are moving away from them, but the use of corn syrup in everything needs to be changed.

I'm amazed at vast amount of items using corn syrup. Just the other day someone gave me one of those Quaker Oat bars, advertised on TV as the healthy alternative for kids for a snack. The number 2 ingredient? High-fructose corn syrup!

It's a great idea to get kids involved in meal preparation and to try to eat at home as a family. Just remember to go for more fresh food, vegetables & fruit, and limit the processed items. Read the labels!

Any food can speed obesity, it's all about how much of it you eat. A good home cooked meal in some cases can be loaded with more fat and calories than a meal from a fast food restraunt. The bottom line is that you can't place the blame on one source of food. The only thing to blame is the overall amount of what people are eating. Home cooking can be a nice alternative because you do have control of how big the proportions are, and the nutritional value can be better. I personally lost 40 pounds by focusing on the amounts I ate and also making the right choices when I went through a drive-thru. Happy meals are a favorite of mine because of the small proportions. You can eat anything and lose weight, it's all about how much you eat.

I agree with everything you wrote. Also it is our responsibility for what we feed our children. You can eat foods in small portions, but it's what you eat also. Showing children what good choices are is the best way to go. Good eating patterns start at home. Lets stop blaming fast food and soda pop and look at ourselves.

The fast- food industry has successfully influenced the eating habits of an entire generation of children and today we are visually seeing the effects as a growing percentage of children are being considered obese. It is up to us to take control over the eating habits of our children rather than allowing fast- food restaurants to freely reign over them. I think we need to move towards eliminating junk- food from schools and fast- food restaurants from school zones as a means for battling the obesity pandemic.

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