Over the past two decades there has been an irregular rising rate of obesity in children and today, year 2014 it still continues. Moglia and Kenneth define obesity as "Having a body mass index (BMI) above the normal range for age and sex in children ". Although, obesity is more common in adults, children who are obese at a young age are more likely to become overweight going into adulthood making the effects harder to manage. One out of five children in the U.S have become overweight and/or obese therefore, targeting them for a number of chronic diseases, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type two diabetes, sleep apnea, asthma attack, and heart disease just to name a few. Whilst this plays an obviously big role physically, it plays just as big of a role mentally causing depression, stress and crash diets, and low self-esteem. The case of rising rates of obesity in children is interrelated to a combination of things, namely: genetics, technology, psychological factors, sedentary jobs, and unhealthy eating habits.
One of the main factors in this issue is something that has been around for more than sixty decades and continues to upsurge. That is, fast food. These high-calorie restaurants have become a billion dollar industry, from sitting on almost every corner to the next gas station, you are sure to find a MacDonald's, Wendy's or Taco Bell close by. More than half of these fast food restaurants provide a 24 hour drive-thru service, thus making it more manageable for the customer to access. Fast-food has become very convenient to most families today, as they may not have time to prepare home cooked meals. Between working a full time job and having to care for a family, it is much easier to spend a little money for a diverse of instantly ready foods. .
In addition to these cheap, unwholesome, "ready-to-go " meals, there are items on the menu for as low as a one dollar. For instance, at McDonalds a person is able to purchase a large soft drink of their choice for only One Dollar.
