To justify the consumption of various popular fast foods now available on the market is an impossible task. It is well known, and from a multitude of nutritionists no less, that a diet substantially consisting of fast foods is not good for the body. Most of us are quick to refer to the popular documentaries Supersize Me and later on, Fast Food Nation, as an indication of the negative effects of a society addicted to fast foods.
So why would anyone agree to sports celebrities endorsing fast foods? The impacts of their endorsements are several fold, and if the situation is as it is, a concerted effort for change can occur in a manner which can be at least in some ways beneficial to society.
First and foremost, we need to see the fact that big sporting events are costly affairs, and if we want to continue enjoying watching them, we must expect that there is someone there to pay the running costs. From a corporate sponsorship perspective, fast food companies are the perfect organizations to pay for such events: they offer a product that is relevant to the audiences’ lifestyles and they can spare the financial capital to actually subsidize a large part of the running costs. It is important to note that the size of sponsors is important; the larger they are, the easier it is to obtain a significant portion of the required capital from them, hence less effort, and consequently financial resources, are required to raise the capital from a variety of smaller sponsors.
If we are to continue the current lifestyle that we choose to engage in, the fact that fast food corporations become the sponsors for sporting events is simply a natural progression.
An interesting point to note is that these endorsement opportunities actually offer the opponents of fast food’s pervasiveness more material to utilize in their efforts to change the impact of fast food on society. It is clear that there has not been a single voice in the many conversations regarding this issue that actually agrees with full justifications of sportsmen endorsing unhealthy foods (other than that it’s healthy on the athletes’ wallets and keeps the sports they are playing on TV broadcasts). As long as someone chooses to see beyond the television screen and get on the internet, or even just read in general, chances are the vast majority of the commentary out there is against the consistent consumption of fast foods if one is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In this view, the fact that the franchise at hand chose to increase its presence at a time when people are increasingly aware and conscious of the negative health impacts of fast food simply serves to invite the wrong kind of controversy, and serve little more than to further tarnish their corporate image as a result.
We still must remember that fast foods are a product which are just like any other product or service, and that their continued proliferation are in many ways reliant on the attitudes of the consumers. Take Michael Phelps, for example, the fact that his energy expenditure is extremely high or the fact that he, like many other athletes, have detailed diet plans, is rarely considered when opponents of fast foods take part in the discussion. If indeed they are the role models we so fear our children will emulate, then surely the details of their lifestyle, aimed at maximizing their bodies’ performance, would too be copied by our children? Unless, of course, they are not really role models, but are just like any other attention-grabbing character on television, like Spongebob, or Glenn Beck. Consequently, the “role model” concern should focus on the parents who are allowing their children to copy what they see. And that has little to do with either the fast food franchises or the sports celebrities endorsing them.
Hence, it follows that if we are to maintain our current lifestyle, we have to agree with the fact that sports personalities are endorsing fast foods. Improving the health of a nation comes from a fundamental shift in our mindset; improvements are not likely unless there are widespread efforts in changing the psyche of the people. But for a nation where the concept of ‘dinner’, the meal you have right before you sleep, is many other cultures’ definition of a feast, there may still be some challenges in that area.
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