I can still remember sitting in the back seat anxiously awaiting my happy meal with the Disney toy in it…

Our current eating habits have been developed over our lifetime time and influenced by many different factors, including but not limited to:

– Culture (family traditions, holidays, societal norms)
– Current and past socioeconomic status
– Our parents habits and how we grew up eating
– Social circles (work and friend groups, partners)

One of the biggest triggers that processed food and fast food companies have come to rely on for cravings and habit formation is MEMORY.

I’m 30 years old and literally haven’t been to McDonald’s in probably 15 years, but I still remember waiting to get that toy. Luckily the flavor response has worn off for me and it’s not a real craving anymore, but that’s not the case for everyone.

That is one of the many tactics they use to get kids specifically hooked on their food and parents to relent despite knowing it’s probably not the best option.

The others?:
– low cost
– Convenience

It’s fast, it’s cheap and the kids are happy. What more could a parent want?

Which is exactly why these places have been so successful despite the current knowledge of the fact that their “food”, really isn’t food at all.

Even as adults with the full knowledge that it’s garbage, we have CRAVINGS because we can REMEMBER the satisfaction of the ultra salty /fatty / sugary foods that sends that dopamine response to our brain.

Those memories follow us for a long time and every time we see a billboard, it pops back up and our brain has to make a decision of willpower.

The point of this post is for the parents who are trying themselves to improve eating habits, yet still swinging by Wendy’s on the way home for the kids. It’s not a judgment, it’s an education on the fact that those habits are forming NOW for them.

What kind of habits are you creating for your children?
Do they match the adult life you want them to lead or are you leading them down a path to struggle with the same things you currently are?