The basic hazard of taking children out to eat is their taste of food. No matter how injurious it is for their health, kids always tend to prefer fat foods. This is their common behavior and it quickly leads to kid obesity. The latest epidemic in the western world is the malady of kid obesity. This can lead to ‘type 2’ diabetes. Another side effect of obesity is the symptom of sleep disorder resulting loss of sleep, which in turn results in loss of memory and inability of learning capacity. Alongside, there lies also the chance of higher level of cholesterol in blood leading to high blood pressure and heart attack. It has been also reported that the number of children suffering from obesity has increased almost two fold within the last couple of decades and the most disquieting report suggests that at least one out of five children in the UK is overweight. (NIH, 1).
It is difficult to make them understand that human behavior is altered by stimuli outside the mind. It is also absorbed by that same mind. This absorption must be considered when understanding the human psyche. Advertisement has a tendency to increase the need and create needs. The biggest problem with this now would be the fact that now teenagers and children have become a target audience, resulting in addiction toward images and brands in public sphere. As a result, it becomes an important element for the society and the authorities and the process of regulations and laws and regulations governing the marketing of food to children are already sufficient.
From the legal point of view of government, action has been taken with the help of WHO to regulate visual marketing related to fast food promotion to children. These are regulation related to sales promotions, Internet marketing, product placement, sponsorship, in-school marketing and television advertising. These are very important steps and these would reduce the rate of obesity among children in the long term. (Hawkes, 1). The main reason behind this assumption is that children are motivated by visual and interactive medium and any approach using these tools would influence them. Thus, by regulating them with the help of government law enforcement, the vices of obesity can be reduced in the end.
However, the problem with children is that they would never understand these. They would be easily influenced by the media injecting fast food orientation and would invariably walk into the trap. As an elder, it is a huge responsibility to derail them from this thought process. The best measure is to take them at a place where there would be no outlets of fat food counters. One such place, thankfully, is a Chinese restaurant. These foods are low on fat or spice and children can be given a good diet. They are tasty too. Once the children are introduced to chopsticks for eating in these restaurants it is possible that would consider them as new tool of fun and this would lead to distraction from their usual diet of fast foods.
This technique of influencing kids is a well-tested one on a personal level and it is suggested that people can use this tool while going out for dinner with children. This would bypass the hazard of junk foods and would enable the child to healthy food habits thus escape hazard of obesity.
Works Cited
NIH; Child Obesity; Wordon Health; nih.gov; 2002; Web.
Hawkes, Corinna; Marketing food to children: the global regulatory environment; Kabissa; 2004; Web.