Heart disease? Diabetes? Being overweight? You probably think that this is only describing people over 60. However, more and more studies are showing that these traits are common in childhood obesity.

What is so bone-chilling is that over 31 percent of children ages 6 to 13 suffer from childhood obesity. We are not just talking about genetics either; we are talking about simply eating unhealthy. Should we automatically blame the parents for those statistics? Often times parents are not in the “know” about their children’s eating habits until they step onto the scale. It is quite frequent that students run into multiple and tempting stops, seducing them into buying such unhealthy treats. The statistics are ludicrous; however, when we take all of the numbers into account, we have to realize that it is not as unrealistic as it seems. Think about it: a McDonald’s happy meal (fries, 6 chicken nuggets, and a kid-sized Coke) has five hundred and twenty calories! According to LaTimes.com, only 33 of 5,427 meals met their state’s health standards. This baffled researchers because they could not understand why these parents would continue feeding this food to their children, knowing the morbid conditions of the food. These researchers spent years trying to figure it out, until they realized the answer was staring them right in the face. The reason why these people are so hooked on the food is because its tastes good and it is convenient.

Restaurants such as as KFC, Taco Bell, Chipotle and others are placed in areas that tempt people into choosing them at any time. Within a mile radius from MMS, there are 28 fast food restaurants, which means that each and every restaurant is just another opportunity for families and children to stop and grab a Sprite, large fry, and extra calories. Thirty two out of the thirty five people interviewed said that they, on average, eat fast food one or more times in a week. The leading fast-food choice? Only the most fattening competitor in the fast food chain: McDonald’s. With over 35,000 locations worldwide, these restaurants will make sure that you have your fair share of what they have to offer.

Childhood obesity affects children and teens beyond knowledge. In fact, more than 77% of students had no idea what the obesity rate was. The best way to prevent obesity is cutting back: cut back on the sugar, the fats and most of all the fast food!