Kids Battle the Lure of Junk Food

The article “Kids battle the lure of junk food” by Maureen O'Hagan touches upon a very important issue of contemporary society. This is the problem of obesity among children is especially unsettling because of the fact that they are the future of the country. The author does a really good job using opinions of different experts as well as the interviews of children and their families. If this issue is to be resolved, it has to be a collective effort of children themselves, their families, schools, communities, researchers, and marketing companies.

Modern children and youths are under a lot of pressure on the daily basis. They are often faced with the decisions that their parents didn’t have to make at the same age. The battle against junk food is one good example. On top of the constant effort to maintain good academic standing, hang out with friends, and be involved in extracurricular activities an adolescent also has to keep an eye on his/her own eating habits. This is extremely difficult as the unhealthy choices are everywhere and readily available. That is why a collaboration of many people is crucial. Starting from the breakfast at home and continuing with lunch at school and snacks in the park a child has to be offered at the very least a balance of healthy and junk food.

The wider community and the entire society also have to play a role in resolving the problem. Eating habits are formed over the years and are passed to us with our mother’s milk. Cultural preferences are very influential, making it much easier to go with the mainstream trends, rather than oppose them. With children especially, this resistance is difficult as they simply tend to mimic their parents and peers. Moreover, adults often act like hypocrites promoting healthy diet for their young, while eating junk food themselves. Finally, marketing companies and researches have to be held accountable for their actions that promote unhealthy food products. It has been common to turn a blind eye on the actions of businesses but this is a dangerous tendency. When the future of the children is at stake, adults have a moral obligation to harness their own ambitions and act responsibly.

Like the majority of serious problems, child obesity can only be solved over a period of time and in collaboration with various parties. To be more sensitive to this issue everyone has to make it personal and think whether they would like these sugar and fat rich products in the daily diet of their children.