Muzman on 24/6/2010 at 13:54
Quote Posted by Brian T
Why all the angst? The solution is quite clear in my opinion;
1)Eat happy meals at McDonalds
2)Go jogging.
3)Repeat.
...and eventually you'll be so laden with toys you'll get a good resistance workout?
Thirith on 24/6/2010 at 14:00
I freely admit that I like a McDonalds burger every one or two months, and at least where I live I find their fries yummier than those of any other fastfood place. I have this less-than-serious conspiracy theory going that in the late '70s they put something in the water that created a low-level McD dependency, so every now and then I get a craving for a Royale with Cheese or whatever they call it here.
Frankly, I'm fairly glad I don't have to deal with little monsters corrupted by peer pressure into wanting what all their friends get. I think I'd stay resolute and tell them where to stuff their daily Happy Meals or Pokemon or whatever else they think they need or they'll absolutely die, but I know it'd get to me and drive me spare.
catbarf on 24/6/2010 at 14:36
People love to blame anyone but themselves. It is utterly ridiculous that a 'restaurant' should be at fault for making their products appear attractive. This states outright that it is not the parent's responsibility to determine what their kid eats. Worse, that the company has to encourage kids not to choose the unhealthy option, as if the kids were the ones ultimately making the choice and the parents had no control at all!
Patently retarded.
ilweran on 24/6/2010 at 15:04
While I agree it's ultimately the parents responsibility, I do think fast food places shouldn't be allowed to market directly to children. Why make parenting that little bit harder by letting junk food companies use 'pester power' to make money?
fett on 24/6/2010 at 16:01
Quote Posted by Brian T
1)Eat happy meals at McDonalds
2)Go jogging.
3)Repeat.
Clearly you understand nothing about early onset diabetes, arterial heart disease, or obesity in general.
Renzatic on 24/6/2010 at 16:41
Then...
1. Eat Happy Meals At McDonalds. Get Toy. Have Fun.
1a. Do this in moderation.
2. Go have fun outdoors. Like jogging or capture the flag or something.
3. Repeat.
Eating McDonalds every once in awhile won't give you early onset diabetes or make you fat unless you're leading an almost unbearably sedentary lifestyle. So if your kids are doing normal active kid stuff, and aren't stuck in cubicles 12 hours a day doing spreadsheets, you won't have to worry about them keeling over from a heart attack because you gave them a McFlurry one time last week.
Or at least unless you have a genetic predisposition towards being a fat, weakhearted, diabetic...then...hell...I dunno. I guess we should all eat nothing lettuce and bean sprout all day long just to be on the safe side.
fett on 24/6/2010 at 17:44
Quote Posted by Renzatic
Eating McDonalds every once in awhile won't give you early onset diabetes or make you fat unless you're leading an almost unbearably sedentary lifestyle. So if your kids are doing normal active kid stuff, and aren't stuck in cubicles 12 hours a day doing spreadsheets, you won't have to worry about them keeling over from a heart attack because you gave them a McFlurry one time last week.
The problem here isn't McDonald's alone, but they are the leading contributer. You describe the above lifestyle as if it's uncommon when in fact it is
extremely common. Kids are in a virtual cubicle 12 hours a day. By the time they ride a bus to school, sit at a desk for 6+ hours (excepting a 15 minute recess, and P.E. one hour per week), eat crappy, sodium filled freeze dried food for lunch, ride the bus home, eat junk food, play games/watch TV for a few hours, then mom brings home KFC or fixes microwave burritos, you actually DO have to worry about them keeling over from a heart attack, or developing diabetes. The McFlurry isn't the culprit, it's the lifestyle that develops around the appeal and availability of fast food - not just at the drive through, but in the cafeteria, the grocery store, and even at most "sit-down" restaurants. It still comes down to personal responsibility, but you can see why there's a concern.
IMO McDonald's is more malicious than many other fast food distributors because they have led the charge in obscuring the content of their food, marketing to children, and opening chain stores in the most damning places imaginable (a McDonald's in a Children's Heart Hospital? Seriously?). Studies have repeatedly shown that they target lower-income and single parent families, lie to customers (remember the "beef in the french fries" hub-bub in India a few years ago?), and avoid scrutiny of their HFCS and sodium content at every turn. They represent a corporate disregard for the health of their customers, which is more disturbing since they target children.
But I still don't think anyone should sue them, and I do patronize McD's and Chik-Fil-A on occasion - usually in emergencies. The solution is for people to quit feeding their kids shit-food in general and learn how to cook fish and veggies. Queue hit the nail on the head - what the fuck is wrong with people who can't be bothered to meet the most basic need of their kids properly?
june gloom on 24/6/2010 at 18:25
Quote Posted by Queue
But, back then, the food was honestly different.
That's because McDonald's chicken was actually FISH.
Why do you think they had that "real chicken" ad campaign a few years back? Because for once, it was actually real chicken!
Renzatic on 24/6/2010 at 18:33
15 minute recess? That has to be half the problem right there. I remember having two 15 minute breaks, and a half hour recess once per day. PE was usually 45 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If schools have cut down breaks to one 15 minute recess and PE once a week, compounded by the fact that there are alot more distractions indoors nowadays than what we had, then yeah, you do have a point. Kids are probably a little too sedentary these days.
See, I'm of the opinion that fast food isn't necessarily a bad thing. Not exactly a great thing either, mind, but it's fine as long as you eat it in moderation and at least get up and about every once in awhile to work off all th excess junk you're consuming. Ultimately, I think of it as just being there. I know about what's in it, I know it isn't necessarily good for me, but it's available if I choose to eat it. Same thing applies to letting your kids do the same. It's good for a once a week treat, but it's your responsibility to control when they eat it, and make sure they get out enough so they don't become overly obese diabetics.
And the advertisements being targeted towards children, yeah, I can see where you're coming from, and why it bothers you. But to me, it isn't worth getting worked up over. They can have some famous child star screaming about toys and awesome radicalness on the TV all they want. But, once again, the final decision on whether my kids can have it or not lies completely upon me.
