Marketing

 

   Fast Food 

 

   Fast food is a modern day phenomenon. Teenagers consume    enormous amounts of fast food even though they know it's not  good for them. What is the  attraction? “A small study  (published in Pediatrics) shows  that teenagers will over eat fast  food regardless of visual cues or  portion size”. In other words,  they can see that the amount of  food they are about to eat is too much, but will still eat  it. Everybody knows that eating too much fast food is  unhealthy, but most teenagers don't care. They  consume fast food because it is cheap, quick, delicious,  and satisfying. Asking teenagers to avoid fast food is    like asking them to save up for retirement. It’s just not going to happen. In a recent    e-mail sent by Tara to "Diet Blog" she says "As a teenager, I can tell you the reasons    I still visit places like McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and the numerous other fast food    places. Despite the fact that I’m trying to eat healthy, they're cheap, they're open    late, it's packable food, and fast food places are usually more casual".

   Fast food places attract children and teenagers with their marketing, fancy signs and    brightly colored establishments. For instance: McDonalds, with its bright yellow "M",    colorful restaurants and play areas. These marketing concepts attract people and    the low prices keep them coming back. Are we really thinking of our health when we    buy those burgers with fries? Perhaps if teenagers took the time to cook or make    snacks at home, instead of buying fast food all the time, the majority of them would    not be overweight.

   Perhaps, they would make healthier food choices if the parents were more involved    and more health conscious themselves.