NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF FAST FOOD ON CHILDREN’S HEALTH
Authored by: Thai Thanh Tien
Submitted to: Quan Dong Pham
Ho Chi Minh City Open University
Submission date : April 22, 2025
ABSTRACT
Children’s physical health is seriously affected by fast food consumption. This essay
will dive into how the frequent consumption of fast food contributes to nutrition
deficiency, childhood weight-related issues, chronic illnesses, and hindrances to
development. High-calorie, low-nutrient fast food results in weight gain and raises the
chance of type 2 diabetes as well as heart disease. Cognitive function and behavior are
also influenced by it. To addressing this issue, it require the promotion of healthy food
choices, family education, regulating fast food marketing aimed at children. It is
essential to stabilize the fast food epidemic in order to improve children’s health and
adapt healthy eating habits.
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION
In an era of speed and convenience, consuming fast food has become a daily routine
for countless families and children. In a recent study conducted by the PUSA Journal
of Hospitality and Applied Sciences in India, the main reason children choose fast
food over healthy meals is because of the quick service. (A. Ghai, 2019) While fast
food offers immediate gratification and satisfies hunger, it poses a considerable threat
to children's health and development. In order to understand better the effects of fast
food on children's health, this essay will look at its contributions to nutritional
deficiency, childhood obesity, chronic diseases, and the disruption to children's
healthy development. Furthermore, children's frequent fast food intake causes a
severe health concern that needs urgent attention and preventative actions.
CHAPTER II THE DEFICIT OF ESSENTIAL
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), fast food is defined by
convenience and price compared to regular meals. It usually has a high amount of
saturated fats, sugar, salt, and overall calories. (Elkhateeb, 2017) Despite its
convenience for families and office workers, consuming it too much causes
significant health problems. As a consequence, in a study about fast food patterns and
metabolic disorders in 2016, the over consumption of fast food is what causes lower
diet quality, higher calorie and fat intake, and lower micro nutrient density in the diet..
Children who consume fast food regularly have a higher chance of getting obesity,
hypertension, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance at an early age. (Kaushik,
2011)
Although fruits and vegetables are essential for children’s development, children tend
to consume more fast food and fewer vegetables, which can lead to a lack of fiber in
their bodies and cause a major threat to their health. In his study, Avram (2013) found
out that 70% of the students failed to consume enough vegetables in a day. Moreover,
he points out that only 25% of them eat vegetables and fruits on a daily basis.
Children are forgetting the benefits of a healthy diet in daily life, one of which is bone
development. Researchers said that whenever calcium in the children’s bodies gets
low, their bone development will be affected. (Kun Zhu, 2012) Getting enough
calcium for children is very essential to having stronger bones, and their bone health
can be protected. Osteoporosis and bone fractures are one of the greatest problems
that children can have when they lack calcium, regardless of providing enough
calcium when children grow up. Based on the Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, the percentage of adults and children eating fast food is 37% and 42%,
respectively. Children who usually eat fast food may have an unbalanced diet with too
many calories, fat, and salt. Researchers have found a connection between fast food
and lower bone health, including bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mass content
(BMC) in children. For instance, research by Osteoporosis International showed that
children living near fast-food places have a higher chance of decreasing bone health.
In contrast, children who live in places with a lot of healthy stores nearby have better
bone health. This suggests that the type of food children consume directly affects their
bone health. Better food choices could help improve bone health.
Ultra-processed foods, which are undergoing significant industrial modification,
including fractionation, chemical alteration, and assembly with additives and
packaging, are identified by the NOVA system. (Monteiro, 2019) Packaged foods are
made to maximize profit and convenience and can replace unprocessed foods. When
children consume processed food regularly, it affects their bone health by reducing
the essential micro nutrients in their body. Based on research in Brazil in 2015,
minimally processed foods are higher in most micro nutrients than ultra-processed
foods, which have 21.5% of a 1,866 k cal daily intake. Higher consumption of ultra-
processed foods correlates with reduced nutrient levels, excluding vitamins, calcium,
and riboflavin (Saude Publica, 2015). In recent research, not providing enough
important nutrients is one of the 20 reasons that contribute to global disease. (Eur J
Pediatr, 2023)
CHAPTER III FUELING THE OBESITY SURGE
Childhood obesity is becoming a major illness in today’s world and the main reason
for this is because of the lack of necessary nutrients in daily meals. When children
consume fast food regularly, it makes the children’s bodies unable to control their
hunger and digestion, which results in excessive weight gain in childhood. (Gray,
2014). Consuming large portion sizes of fast foods can drive adolescents to over-
consumption and can lead to serious problems in children’s health, such as weight
gain, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and coronary artery diseases. Although fast food
provides energy for the children’s bodies, it is more than enough and has no beneficial
nutrients. In her study, Ledikwe (2005) found out that adolescents consume a
significant portion of their daily calorie needs in a single sitting by having an extra-
large fast food meal.
Sugary drinks that usually come with fast food meals have a high amount of sugar.
Despite having no nutritional value to their body and being high in sugar, children
still choose fast food meals over healthy ones. Because of the high sugar in blood
when consuming the drinks too much, it can worsen their health by raising their blood
sugar level. In addition, refined carbohydrates can be found in many processed fast
food meals, such as french fries and white bread. They are quick to break down and
turn into glucose, which leads to insulin resistance (Geiger, 2024). Insulin is a
hormone that works alongside glucagon in order to regulate sugar in the blood. It
facilitates good conditions for glucose storage and lowers blood sugar. Nevertheless,
it contributes to weight gain in children through its anabolic actions. High fructose
intake from added sugars can also lead to fat accumulation in the liver and muscles,
increasing the risk of insulin resistance and diabetes (Macdonald, 2016).
CHAPTER IV PATHWAYS TO CHRONIC ILLNESS
The over-consumption of fast food is the main factor of chronic illness in children. In
his study, Mark said that eating fast food frequently increases the risk of type 2
diabetes because of the insulin resistance (2005). Additionally, cardiovascular issues
brought on by elevated blood pressure and cholesterol are prevalent issues, and the
majority of children with chronic renal disease eventually pass away from
cardiovascular disease (CVD). Moreover, consuming fast food raises the chance of
getting non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), which directly affects the health of
over 30% of Americans (Ani Kardashian, 2023). Fast food consumption not only
raising the chance of liver disease but also increasing the incidence of childhood
obesity. For instance, two of the three favorite meals of children, chips and sausages,
have been associated with a high risk of weight gain and obesity. The average energy
density of the entire fast food menu is approximately 1100 KJ/100 g, more than twice
the energy density of the healthy menu; there is an excess of calories. (Ahmad, 2008)
Fast food is very dangerous to children’s health, and the frequent consumption of it
leads to obesity and heart disease. It creates an unhealthy trend in the children’s diet,
leads to high rates of metabolic disorders including obesity, insulin resistance, and
type 2 diabetes, and also leads to cardiovascular disorders, among other health
consequences (Zahra Bahadoran, 2015). All of this demonstrates how just consuming
fast food can lead to the emergence of chronic illnesses in young people.
CHAPTER V HINDRANCES TO HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT
According to Riley Williams (2023), children who usually assimilate fast food can be
affected by both cognitive and physical development by their consumption. One of
the most important effects is the impact of poor nutrition on brain development and
cognitive function. As Marina Roberts (2022) says, the development of the brain's
children, such as learning, memorizing and focusing, can be easily declined when
they grow up without supplying essential nutrition. To solve this problem, we have
the Head Start program, which has been organized by the U.S. Federal Government
since 1965 and supports children aged 3-5 from poor families to develop their
education, health and social relationships at the beginning of their lives. Besides,
dental problems and sleep disturbances related to fast food may increase by
consuming it, as Xuxiu Zhuang (2021) explains. Solar's research (2023) found that,
with an unbalanced diet, consumers will have poorer deep sleep. Bacteria and acid are
produced by eating fast food can also cause tooth decay, as Kurtovic said (2023). In
addition, the immune system can be negatively impacted by lack of nutrition.
Essential nutrients like vitamins C, D, and E, play as important a role as minerals such
as zinc, selenium and other bio-active compounds in the human body, as Huzar
(2023) found. Moreover, overconsumption of saturated and omega-6 fatty acids in
fast foods can cause heart issues, kidneys and waistlines. Modern lifestyles are also
increasing the impairment of the immune system such as pollution, bacteria and stress
exposure, as Ian A. Myles (2014) and Fátima Morales (2023) explain. Based on Kerri
M.Gillespie's research (2023), the more high-sugar fast food we consume, the worse
the bad effect it has on us, like reduced cognitive function, poor memory
performance, and a higher risk of cognitive impairment.
CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION
To conclude, while it provides quick service as a solution for families and busy
workers, fast food has an enormous impact on children’s health. It usually lacks
essential nutrients for the children's bodies to develop which can affects their bone
health and causes insulin resistance, and cognitive decline. Moreover, consuming too
much fast food increase the chance of getting obesity and have long-term effects on
children’s health. Lack of nutrition can also affect children’s brain function, sleep
patterns, and immune systems harmfully. To deal with this major problem, healthier
food choices in diets are encouraged in both homes and schools. Not only children but
also parents themselves need to learn about the amount of nutrients in each food and
its nutritional value. Furthermore, they need to know the consequences of consuming
too much fast food so they can have better choices. By choosing healthier food and
having more understanding about what we eat, we can improve children's health and
prevent our future generations from problems caused by fast food.
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