"Happiness is just a curly fry away." Really? Seriously?
We live in a society that regularly medicates itself with food. Are you angry? Take it out on those potato chips! They won't talk back. Feeling unloved? How about melting into the arms of that delicious bowl of rocky road? As america's waistlines continue to expand (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14569615/) and our self-reported happiness takes a nose-dive, perhaps it's time we got down to the real causes of our obesity and depression and stopped thinking ding-dongs are the true path to happiness.
I try not to eat at fast food restaurants, but when my busy schedule (and lack of planning) leave me hungry and with little time at my disposal, grabbing a quick bite from a drive-thru sometimes seems the best available option. I probably grab fast food meals 2 times a month and I don't exercise nearly enough. Unfortunately, I think I may actually be ahead of the curve. Many busy families eat a steady diet of burgers and fries and it's been shown that kids are leading ever more sedentary lives. If these poor habits are compounded by negative messages they are constantly fed subtlely (and not so subtlely), what a bleak future stands before our nation.
So, what do we do to fix this? We've all heard "eat right and exercise". It's not sexy, but it's true. Maybe it takes baby steps? How about eating 1 less time at those fast food restaurants per month? Per week? Adding a salad as a meal once a month? A week? Spending 15 minutes after dinner (when the kids still have so much energy) and walking around the neighborhood as a family? Or maybe just taking the time to think about WHY we want to eat the entire row of Girl Scout cookie Thin Mints before simply ripping open the package.
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