Marketing Fast Food Chains to Children For years, fast food chains have tried to market their products to children, trying to attract them . They use different types of marketing strategies to make children want their product. Parents do not realize the negative effects of their children consuming fast food during their evil phases. These companies make millions of dollars marketing to children and have no concern for the well-being of children. Fast food chains should not market to children because it has a negative effect on children's health, children are not old enough to fully understand how bad fast food is for them, and the Marketing to children is part of the reason why childhood obesity rates are high. so high. QuicklyWhen children are young, they don't know the difference between right and wrong, and they are bound to make mistakes. Children make irrational decisions without being able to think about the consequences that will occur. Fast food chains cater to children because they know that it is not difficult to convince them to buy their products. Young children don't care about calories and what they put into their bodies. Fast food chains can manipulate children into coming to restaurants and into bringing their parents. If you buy a paid toy with the purchase of a meal, it's almost impossible for a child to say no because kids don't know any better. Children don't realize the long-term effects of eating too much fast food. A team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago and Arizona State University conducted a study on the extent to which fast food chains actually cater to children. The study showed that "more than 20% of all restaurants and 31% of restaurant chains used marketing aimed at children - a category that includes advertisements featuring cartoon characters, television personalities, movie stars and sports figures, as well as displays. with children's meal toys, three-dimensional cardboard cutouts and play areas” (Charlotte 2). That's a high number of fast food chains marketing to children, and the number continues to grow. Fast food chains should not have the power to market their products so heavily to children. Fast food chains also specifically target low-income families because they are more likely to purchase fast food. The reason is the low cost of fast food and its convenience for families. The same team of researchers from the University of Illinois and Arizona State University found that "fast food restaurants located in middle- and low-income areas tended to direct their advertisements toward children more often than those in high-income neighborhoods ».,