I think we are responsible for what enters our bodies. I think we should take accountability for what we consume and stop blaming food chains. Ideally it would be great if McDonalds could offer a BigMac combo meal with 1/3 of the calories and fat; I know this is not possible-I do know that many of these companies manufacturing, selling and or advertising these foods make the nutritional facts available to consumers; McDonalds and Subway for example have the nutritional facts available in several places within the establishment. How can we blame someone else for the choice that we make, who do we blame for buying Twinkies instead of bananas at the grocery store.

Because I have diabetes and heart disease, I took both of my teen age daughters this past year at 12 and 13 to see a nutritionist. I tell my children why and what they should eat, because I know they think I am just being a “mother” I took responsibility for my children to help them understand the importance of nutrition and exercise. Whether they absorbed the instruction of the nutritionist is a completely different story. I feel as a parent if I feed my children fast-food and contribute to obesity and health issues I should be held accountable just as I would for myself. I have made changes in my household in our snacking and eating habits, I choose to have more fruits and veggies. These are choices I had to make; marketing did not intimidate my selections.

I previously worked for a food and beverage hospitality company, I was over the engineering of the recipes for such brands as Starbucks, Burger King, Chilies, etc. – the reality is these corporations must show profits, to accomplish this they need to sell more food and sell it faster. I think to be profitable they are going to offer what the consumer wants. I do think that healthy options should be made available and marketed, the