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Running head: HABITS

Changing Habits
Gabriel Kolling de Oliveira
Friends University
Integrated Reading/Writing II
Joshua Paulus

HABITS

Changing Habits
Childhood obesity is one of the most growing health problems that come from the past
decade, causing concern in families nowadays. Data presented on the article of St-Onge, Keller,
and Heymsfield from 2003 shows that, "16% of children between the ages of 6 and 11 were
overweight and that an additional 14.3% were already at risk of becoming overweight."(2003,
p.1068) The changes on food composition and the high intake of fast food by are factors that can
somehow explain this case.
The dangerously increasing consumption of fast food by children is one of the many
causes of childhood obesity. The increasing inactivity allied with the advertisement on TV and
all over the internet, places where most of the children spend their time, another cause of this
health problem. TV and the internet bombard the children with ads, contributing most in the past
decade for this problem. The low price of a "meal" accompanied with a huge cup of soft drink
allied with its greasy taste make it inviting as a quick meal. For example, a Happy Meal, from
Mc Donald's, with a cheeseburger, fries, a soft drink, an ice cream, and a toy cost less than 10
dollars; but it cost 1320 calories, 47 grams of total fat (73% of the daily value), 196 grams of
sugar (65%), and 1030 milligrams of sodium (43%), according to the Mc Donald's website.
With this high number about childhood obesity, the fast food companies are trying to
change their menu. For instance, Mc Donald's started research a few years ago, and it is making
some changes in their menu, in the portion size, the availability, and the composition of its
ingredients. Adding fruits of the season for the Happy Meal and creating the "Kids" fries size, are
examples of how they are trying to change, and the decrease of sodium, calories, and fat on all
their menu make it even more real.
The article written based on the intervention made in Europe with middle-class children
prove the point that by changing their eating habits, childhood obesity can be combated, although
its same article shows that without government regulations it is impossible to fight all factors.

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This research was made with three different groups from fifteen random schools in Belgium
summing 2991 children and the conclusion from this research was that "Combining physical and
social environmental changes with computer-tailored feedback in girls and their parents can
induce lower fat intake in middle-school girls. (Brugs et al., 2007, p. 443). The groups were:
intervention with parental support, intervention without support, and control group. The result
was that only girls with parental support presented a significant decrease on fat intake compared
with the other two groups, and all the boys. However, to have an impact on the consumption of
soft drinks and water, governmental laws that restrict the at-school availability of low-nutritive
products may be necessary" (p.443)., water consumption and soft drink consumption did not
show a real change.
Both researches showed that childhood obesity is a real issue in todays society; and that
with some little life changes at the beginning it can be modified. The increasing number of
children obese made Mc Donald's start a study on its menu, to somehow make it less damaging
to the health of the children. But this change will not come only from the sellers, it must come
from the parents, and the biggest influencer, the government; this can create new regulations to
change schools menu, menus composition and everything else.

HABITS

References
(2012). McDonald's USA: Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices. Retrieved from
http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/newsroom/electronic_press_kits/mcdonalds_usa_c
ommitments_to_offer_improved_nutrition_choices.html
Brug J., De Bourdeaudhuij I.,Deforche B., Leen H., Maes L.,& Vereecken C. (2007). The effects
of a middle-school healthy eating intervention on adolescents' fat and fruit intake and soft
drinks consumption. Cambridge Journals. Retrieved from
http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=%2FPHN
%2FPHN10_05%2FS1368980007219652a.pdf&code=77f139f32696ae5674f024857fd48
85c
Heymsfield. S. B , Keller, K. L. & St-Onge. (December, 2003). Changes in childhood food
consumption patterns: A cause for concern in light of increasing body weights. The
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Retrieved from
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/6/1068.full.pdf
Strom, S. (2011, July 26). McDonalds Trims Its Happy Meal. The New York Times. Retrieved
from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/27/business/mcdonalds-happy-meal-to-gethealthier.html?_r=0