Are Fast Food Restaurants Safe on Children?
Introduction
In essence, fast food restaurants have gained much traction in the hospitality industry over the years. The common depiction of quick and reliable meal services forms the reason as to why more Americans today depend on fast food restaurants than was the trend a few years ago. However, the question of health and safety when eating out in this facilities is a major concern; this is particularly so when parents eat out with their children regardless of age. In this regard, this outline presents a pre-amble of aspects that make fast food restaurants unsafe for children from both a social and a governance perspective.
Health Concerns
Food safety
The fact that fast food restaurants serve a sizable number of customers on the go means that food preparation is not accorded much attention due to the haste to meet demand. The possibility of consuming nearly raw or undercooked food is a major concern for children who are yet to have fully developed digestive systems. Secondly, children are highly sensitive especially with food. In this regard, children stand a higher chance of succumbing to contaminated food than adults. Besides, the haste in which fast food is prepared presents a major challenge to the maintenance of food hygiene. In principal, this is a governance concern that should be handled by relevant public health authorities.
Obesity
The American Society is currently grappling with a major health concern; this is the obesity menace that is becoming evident in not only adults but also children. The continuous consumption of foods full of cholesterol and other bad fats heighten the likelihood of child turning out to be obese. Arguably, this is a societal issue as much as it is a governance issue. To this end, while the government cannot shut down fast food restaurants to solve the Health crisis that includes early life diagnosis of diabetes and heart-related complications, a legal framework that imposes upon fast food restaurants to offer healthy foods especially to children is plausible.
Ethical Concerns
In reality, fast food restaurants present major ethical issues, especially when dealing with children. One of the issues is the level of negative awareness fast food restaurant raises through advertising on media sources. In the end, the children pick up an interest in products that are potentially harmful to their health. Secondly, the issue of safety regulations in the immediate environment within the fast foods arises. The fact that there is the movement of hot drinks such as coffee, and the presence of cutlery presents a potentially hazardous situation for children.
Rebuttal
On the other hand, with the ever-busy schedules that parents endure to feed and maintain their families, fast food restaurants serve as family time and help save time that would otherwise be consumed preparing home-based food. However, measures to improve the safety and health benefits of the fast foods are necessary especially for the sake of children.
Conclusion
In retrospect, while fast food restaurants present reliable and quick options for a many Americans, the facilities pose grave safety and health concerns for children. The risk range from health concerns related to the preparation of the food to the health aspect related to lifestyle diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Finally, the ethical aspect of advertising potentially harmful products to children and the environmental friendliness of the restaurants to the children also emerge.
