I love McDonalds, don’t get me wrong, but it is probably the most unhealthy things someone can consume it is addicting. My brother used to be obsessed with McDonalds when we were younger and he would always beg my mom to stop whenever we would pass one. He always insisted to get it every time he passed one. I could not help but wonder why it was so mesmerizing for such a young child. In some McDonalds they have the creepy Ronald McDonald playground that is attached to the side of the fast-food chain that always looked dirty to me. But for my brother, he lived for it. There seems to be McDonalds at every rest stop, gas station, mall or airport. This company has made billions of dollars off of young kids and adults needing their cheap food.

Observational studies show that children’s exposure to food marketing strongly influences their food choice. In a study that I discovered while researching this correlation, scientists tested whether there was a relationship between children’s exposure to food promotion and children’s food preferences. They concluded that the alternative hypothesis, children’s exposure to food promotion influences the child’s food preference, was correct. There have been 16 experimental studies total that have tested this hypothesis. Four of them were internet advergame and twelve of them were on television. Twelve of these studies confirmed this alternative hypothesis by children consuming more of that food after watching advertisements of it. This experiment stated that for children 3 years old to children 12 years old these advertisements played a strong factor in their food preference. There is a lack of evidence for longitudinal and experimental studies that test the long term effect of these advertisements on kids. I do not think that these advertisements for fast-food chain restaurants would have such a strong long-term effect as it does a short-term effect. It is only natural for kids to want to have any food that is advertised in front of them. For chain restaurants like McDonalds I think that its easy for them to reel kids in because they are everywhere. Their golden arches are recognizable everywhere. The golden arches are sometimes raised high above the restaurants so the customers are able to see their location from a distance and for kids to recognize that they are near.

According the studies at the Harvard Medical Center, eating fast food speeds up the aging process and shortens our life span. Although grabbing a quick bite to eat is in our fast paced societies nature, we need to realize the effects it is having on our body. It’s unjust to blame it all on the fast food restaurants, even though we usually do. We have the power to make the smarter decisions about what we consume. The question people need to ask themselves is, is it really worth it?

study :http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13668-016-0166-6#Sec1

studies:https://hms.harvard.edu/news/fast-food-consumers-get-more-they-expect-5-24-13

picture: https://memegenerator.net/instance/48161573