Fast Food Versus Home-Cooked Meals

The "Skinny" on our Children:

Fast food's Nutritional Comparison to Home-cooked Meals

Are you tried at the end of your workday? Does that make you feel like going

home to cook? Four out of every ten working Americans don't cook at home three or more times a week. In turn, they pick up fast food, come home, set up the dinner plates, and say, "Okay everyone, dinners ready!". Some believe that there is nothing wrong with children eating fast food frequently, since it contains all the necessary food groups in it. Still, there are others that say children should not consume such a vast amount of fast food for this consumption can lead to many horrible health related issues; the main issue is obesity. They go on to say that there is a more healthy approach and that is feeding your family, especially you kids, home cooked meals because parents who prepare nutritionally balanced home cooked meals provide more beneficial nutrition, versus those who allow the frequent consumption of fast food. So is eating fast food, in its self, wrong or right for children?

The children's food guide pyramid, for ages two through

six years of age, says that a child should get two servings of dairy, two servings of meat, two servings of fruit, three servings of vegetables, and six servings of bread. One serving is about the size of a six year olds inner palm. (Ashworth, 2005). A typical cheeseburger from McDonald's accounts for each food group: the lettuce is the vegetable, the tomato is the fruit, the cheese is the dairy, the bun is the bread, and the burger patty is the meat. Aside from this, the French fries act as the stapling vegetable. So an all-together happy meal is figuratively a good source of nutritional value if one wants to supply their child with all the food groups in one shot. It's fast, easy, and effective! One couldn't ask for anything more!

So what about all that grease? This is taken care of with correct draining devices. Each hamburger patty is set on a "pro-drainer". These "pro-drainers" are designed to quickly and efficiently drain all excess grease from the patties. Likewise, the French fries receive the same treatment in what is called a "sub-drainer" (named from submarine). The "sub-drainer" holds he same purpose the drainer does. The only difference is that the "sub-drainer" is made to submerge in the grease to retrieve the fries, and the " pro-drainer" is made to have the patties sit on it and drain (Schlosser, 2001). Either way, these two devices are designed to lessen the amounts of grease therefore lessening the excess fat and calories.

But what if the "pro-drainer" and "sub-drainer" are not used properly? Could it still be said that fast food is an appropriate source of nutrition for children? One out of every ten fast food places prepares the fast food items correctly (Schlosser, 2001). This means that although the correct devices are supplied, nine out of ten fast food restaurants are still using them incorrectly. This incorrect use is supplying unnecessary fat and calories to the devourer.

"Many fast food employees are lazy and don't take their jobs seriously. They don't drain the hamburger patties, for example, for the total amount of time we specify. In my field, there are mangers that come to work just to say they were here and at the end of the day, collect their checks. They are not at all interested in making sure their employees are preparing the food properly. Most managers are more concerned with speed than accuracy" (Seirra Harris, Burger King Manager, 2005).

Another contributor to the unnecessary fat is the total amount of carbohydrates and sugar per serving. According to McDonald's nutrition facts, one happy meal contains 92 carbohydrates, and 35 grams of processed sugar. This processed sugar is digested throughout the body. Every two grams of processed sugar turns into one carbohydrate. Every five carbohydrates turn into extra fatty calories. Who needs the extra calories on a continual basis? Certainly not our children!

Luckily for us we can, and should, regulate just how much fat, sugar, and grease goes into our meals at home. Parents are able to shrink the possibility of childhood obesity by cooking healthy meals right from their kitchen (Surlock, 2005). These meals can be achieved by shopping correctly. When shopping for the week or month, one should