The Root of Obesity is NOT Fast Food Ads
This isn't McDonald's fault; they're in the business of selling as much fast food and drink as people will buy. Any for-profit company is going to to promote its product or service by advertising, whether through print, broadcast, or in this case, a sign card on a CTA train.
It's not Michelle Obama's fault, either. She can talk till she's blue in the face, and it won't stop some idiot from buying the largest size of some food just because it costs the same or a little more than the smallest. And scarfing the whole thing down instead of saving some for later. Greed will not disappear because the government makes restaurants post calorie counts on their menus, nor will some folks' eyes stop being bigger than their stomachs.
This is about common sense, personal responsibility and self control. And there are too many people in this country who don't exercise any of those qualities when it comes to food.
Fast food advertising is nothing new. McDonald's and Burger King were hawking fast food with zeal when I was growing up in the 1960's, but my parents would have none of it. Fast food was a special treat for my family back then.
And part of "special" is "occasionally". VERY occasionally. We ate at McDonald's once a month, sometimes not even that often. Fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ala Morgan Spurlock in "Supersize Me"!? NFW. We went to formal sit-down restaurants far more often than we ever went to McDonald's.
The cure for obesity? Eat less and eat healthier. Eat what you want; just don't eat so damn much of it. Eat two cookies, not the whole bag. Eat two scoops of ice cream, not the whole carton. Push away from the table before you feel completely full. Drink plenty of water before a meal. Less beef and pork, more chicken, fish, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. You know the drill.
Exercise more. Don't drive when you can take public transportation, and don't do that if you can bike or walk. You don't have to be a triathlete or an ironman to exert yourself physically; just get off the couch and get outside and move.
And for God's sake, don't equate food with love or family or companionship or cultural heritage or financial accomplishment. It's a means of nutrition. Nothing more, nothing less. Our ancestors ate and drank based on what edible and potable foodstuffs were readily available in the regions in which they lived, not based on the artificial constructs of race or religion or "culture".
It's YOUR responsibility to look at the above ad and see it for what it is, and to raise your kids (if you have them) to do the same.
The Root of Obesity is NOT Fast Food Ads
This isn't McDonald's fault; they're in the business of selling as much fast food and drink as people will buy. Any for-profit company is going to to promote its product or service by advertising, whether through print, broadcast, or in this case, a sign card on a CTA train.
It's not Michelle Obama's fault, either. She can talk till she's blue in the face, and it won't stop some idiot from buying the largest size of some food just because it costs the same or a little more than the smallest. And scarfing the whole thing down instead of saving some for later. Greed will not disappear because the government makes restaurants post calorie counts on their menus, nor will some folks' eyes stop being bigger than their stomachs.
This is about common sense, personal responsibility and self control. And there are too many people in this country who don't exercise any of those qualities when it comes to food.
Fast food advertising is nothing new. McDonald's and Burger King were hawking fast food with zeal when I was growing up in the 1960's, but my parents would have none of it. Fast food was a special treat for my family back then.
And part of "special" is "occasionally". VERY occasionally. We ate at McDonald's once a month, sometimes not even that often. Fast food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ala Morgan Spurlock in "Supersize Me"!? NFW. We went to formal sit-down restaurants far more often than we ever went to McDonald's.
The cure for obesity? Eat less and eat healthier. Eat what you want; just don't eat so damn much of it. Eat two cookies, not the whole bag. Eat two scoops of ice cream, not the whole carton. Push away from the table before you feel completely full. Drink plenty of water before a meal. Less beef and pork, more chicken, fish, whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables. You know the drill.
Exercise more. Don't drive when you can take public transportation, and don't do that if you can bike or walk. You don't have to be a triathlete or an ironman to exert yourself physically; just get off the couch and get outside and move.
And for God's sake, don't equate food with love or family or companionship or cultural heritage or financial accomplishment. It's a means of nutrition. Nothing more, nothing less. Our ancestors ate and drank based on what edible and potable foodstuffs were readily available in the regions in which they lived, not based on the artificial constructs of race or religion or "culture".
It's YOUR responsibility to look at the above ad and see it for what it is, and to raise your kids (if you have them) to do the same.