McDonalds can also be seen to be responsible because of their advertising. Children like McDonalds due to the happy meals and what they offer. A happy meal usually contains burger, chips, a drink and a toy. The toy attracts children and shows why the happy meal option is so popular. The price is also extremely good value for a full meal, as it costs £1.99. It is affordable, quick and the children enjoy so it is easy to see why this meal is so well known and popular. Carrot sticks and grapes are also available which gives the healthy option as McDonalds’ have been at the centre of a campaign recently to show people what goes into the food. Introducing these healthy options has displayed that they aren’t as bad as they are made out to be. However, if children have the choice between carrot sticks and chips not many at all will pick carrot sticks so it is still the same as before. After the criticism they received recently about the content of their food McDonalds’ started to sponsor sporting events like the Olympics which shows they are trying to promote a healthy lifestyle. McDonalds’ are slowly bringing in new healthy techniques to keep customers buying their meals and to carry on being one of the most popular fast food restaurants in the world.
There are also other factors for rising obesity. McDonalds’ cannot be totally blamed for the rising levels of obesity because people are not forced to go to McDonalds it is entirely their choice. Fifty years ago it would have been likely for every family to have a freshly cooked meal each day as fast food restaurants were not really around as much. But over the years with fast food restaurants becoming so popular many parents find fast food a quick, easy and cheap way to provide a meal for their children and as a result less and less families are having freshly cooked meals at home in the modern day. Another reason for the rising levels of obesity is the fact that school meals were extremely unhealthy, offering daily meals of burger and chips causing children to become bigger and bigger. However, after a campaign by Chef Jamie Oliver this is now changing. Schools are now ensuring that all meals contain healthy and nutritious food making sure children are eating the correct foods for them. Also, physical education and exercise within school is vital for children so they have a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Nowadays, it seems that less and less time per week is being allocated to p.e lessons which is leaving some children unfit. In previous years p.e has been compulsory and done at least three hours a week. This is another factor which contributes to the rising levels of obesity in the UK.
Furthermore, the government and the media can also be seen as factors which contribute to the rising levels of obesity. The government can be seen as a factor because it pays the NHS to provide treatment and rehabilitation programmes for people that are obese. The NHS pay out 113.5 billion pounds per year on health. If these people were not overweight, the government would not have to do this and the money could be invested in other more important things. The media can also be blamed because there are many adverts on television in favour of fast food restaurants. These adverts are watched by adults and children all over the world and it then attracts them to McDonalds.’ However, now these adverts are banned on children’s television channels due to the fact that children were simply becoming brainwashed b McDonalds. The banning of these adverts stopped children being able to see offers and other promotions made by Mcdonalds.
To conclude, I think that McDonalds is most to blame for the rising levels of obesity because of the food they are offering and how easy, quick and cheap it is. However, it is up to the person if they want to eat it and they are not forced to so overall, I think it is a mixture of both fast food restaurants and people themselves.
