According to the Centers for Disease Control (2007), the rate of obesity among children between the ages of six and eleven in the United States has increased about five times compared with the rate in the 1970s (Yu 87). There are over nine million children in the U.S. today between the ages of six and eleven who are considered to be obese (Yu 87). The real question is what is the exact cause of obesity in children today?
Some people believe there is a link between the advertising children see on TV and obesity. There are many factors that lead up to childhood obesity. Children and adolescents, who are obese, are usually caused by several things. Both exposure to television food advertising and obesity are highly linked with the time children spend in front of the television, the parenting style and exposure to other kids of marking (Veerman). Here are some of the factors that may contribute to childhood obesity: lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits, genetics, social factors, media, and the environment. Advertising does not contribute to childhood obesity alone and solely targeting advertising as being the only factor will not make a huge impact on this ever-growing problem ("Childhood Obesity"). Some people argue that advertising is the only link but I will explain to you the reasons that I believe work together to cause the obesity epidemic.
The first cause that I will be talking about is advertising. The television market spends 10 billion on advertising in the hopes of influencing children (Zimmerman 336). The most common product advertised on television is food ads. During Saturday morning cartoons children will be exposed to one commercial pertaining to food around every five minutes (Zimme...
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...es and lead by example the kinds of food you buy for them. If they see you buying the healthy, nutritious foods than they will most likely buy them as well. If parents are more responsible, when it comes to teaching their children how to live a healthier lifestyle, we will probably see more of a decrease in childhood obesity.
As I have explained there are many factors that contribute to childhood obesity. I don't think they the issue can be linked to just the advertising to children alone. I have told you about some of the other factors that combined together contribute to childhood obesity. They include but are not limited to advertising, convenience of fast food, genetics, the environment and one of the biggest contributions, parental influence. If you find your child heading in the direction of childhood obesity consider all the things I talked about.
From cartoon and sports to having the toys in meals in a huge display and lowered. There are even advertisements that trick adults. They are convincing, but it can all be stopped with just simple reminders that it’s not real or it’s not good to have this in your body. These reminders can help America become less obese and more health conscious and can even affect the way children think as they grow up surrounded by them. The United States is slowly increasing its awareness of the condition that it is in by companies improving foods and people paying more attention to the nutrition’s in foods. Also many food companies have died down on television advertising for kids, but it is still found in other expressed ways. While it is okay to advertise the question of is it okay to advertise to children is still not answered. It all depends on the consumers what is right and wrong and how to approach each product. Obesity from these products can be cured by hard exercise, but this is not recommended for children. It is more efficient for children to just eat healthy as they are still growing each day. So the next time an ad pops up on the screen and that little girl or boy is focused on it try to explain to them by reading the ingredients or the nutrition label why they should not eat it often. With small steps like these children
"The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity." The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Web. 06 May 2012.
Lobstein, T., & Dibb, S. (2005). Evidence of a possible link between obesogenic food advertising and child overweight. Obesity reviews, 6(3), 203-208.
There are many factors that may influence the occurrence of obesity in children. These factors can be broad and may vary depending on the individual child. Research has shown the impact genetics has had on the development of obesity in children as well as unhealthy home environments. Other external factors may include the education system and the food industry, because of their promotion of unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity in children.
According to “Burger Battles” from the Weekly Reader, obesity is defined as a person whose weight is 20 percent higher than recommended for their height (Burger Battles 1). When this condition begins to affect children lives, it is then known as childhood obesity. Within the United States of America, around 15 percent of children are considered to be obese (Holguin 3). Increasing tremendously, this outbreak has actually tripled in the amount of obese teen and doubled in children up to the age of thirteen (Burger Battles 2). One of the factors that is usually overlooked in the cause for obesity is the role of television. Not only does it reduce the amount of physical activity, the advertisements and commercials are targeting innocent viewers. In a survey completed by Gary Ruskin of Commercial Alert, the average child watches nearly 19 hours and 40 minutes of television a week (Ruskin 2). With that amount of time spent watching television, advertisements for fast food will be entering the children’s minds.
... and exercising regularly. Parents should limit the amount of fast food that their child is consuming. Parents don’t have to completely get rid of fast food, but they should limit going out to eat to once a month. Parents should pack their child’s lunch containing all the main food groups and pack some snacks so they can eat that throughout the day instead of buying snacks for the vending machines. Parents should limit TV and computer time and instead gather the whole family to play outside for at least an hour. Parents should enforce a healthier lifestyle at home so that obesity could be avoided. What children learn at home about eating healthy, exercising and making the right nutritional choices will have an impact on them and affect other aspects later on in life. Focusing on these causes may decrease childhood obesity and lead to a healthier society as a whole.
One way that advertising is harmful is advertising poses health risks to youths. In a video titled, “The Myth of Choice: How Junk-Food Marketers Target Our Kids,” narrated by Anna Lappe, it talks about how advertisers target youths. In the video it states, “...only 16% of kids get balanced food.” Foods that are advertised the most,
The rate of childhood obesity “has grown significantly in recent years and many have argued that this is partly the result of unregulated advertising to children” (Maria and Carter). Young children that watch television do not fully comprehend the importance of the subliminal messages companies are employing: cartoons and catchy songs to hook the child into demanding unnecessary products. According to Punyanunt-Carter, studies have demonstrated that “children under the age of eight are not cognitively and psychologically competent enough to discern media messages”. It is not acceptable for corporate moguls to take advantage of children, who cannot comprehend the severity of the situation. Children strive for the instant gratification they are promised from the ads they see on television, which cause children to become restless. This restlessness directly affects parents, as the constant pestering from the children is tiring for an adult and leads them to give in to the child’s temper tantrums and buy the product. This cycle of behavior causes children to see fast food as an award and not be educated on the truth of what they are consuming–both physically and
Childhood obesity is on the rise in many countries today. There are numerous causes of obesity in America, and the majority of them can be eliminated simply by household teachings. In her book Fed Up! Winning the War Against Childhood Obesity, Susan Okie explains how childhood obesity is taking over, “The growing numbers of obese children in the United States and in many other countries are victims of an epidemic just as surely as if they were infected with a virus.” The leading causes of childhood obesity include lack of exercise, poor diet, and genetic factors.
Food companies are targeting children to buy their product. According to the American Psychological Association obesity in children increases the more hours they watch television. Childrens exposure to ads about unhealthy food plays a big part in child obesity. In 2010 Hersheys roughly spent $441 million on promoting their products. (mostly on T.V)
Child obesity is a problem in America today. Children who are obese continue to struggle with many things in life that may affect them in the future. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “obesity most often develops from ages 5 to
Childhood obesity has gone from 1 in 20 to 1 in 5. Childhood obesity has more than doubled due to false advertisement in children’s television. The exposure our children received in America with junk food advertisement’s on television and online increased by 60 percent from 2008 to 2010. For children between the ages of 8 to 12; meaning 21 food advertisements a day. The food and advertising companies profit off selling foods and drinks that are labeled “diet” when in reality they contain twice the amount of sugar as before.
Obesity is alarmingly prevalent in the United States today. Defined as an overabundance of fat (adipose) tissue, obesity is one of the major leading causes of death in America. Because obesity “is one of the most pervasive, chronic diseases in need of new strategies for medical treatment and prevention”, it is a significant problem in the United States (www.obesity.org). Although obesity may be a considering challenge facing adults, child obesity is also becoming a serious issue. Affecting almost one-third of all adolescents, child obesity is caused by various sources. Though research has shown that child obesity may be passed down from parents to offspring somewhat, inadequate eating habits in conjunction with low amounts of exercise are the
Parents are not teaching children how to eat healthy. They feed them cheeseburgers, chicken fingers, and fries. Kids are not being exposed to a regular diet of health fruits and vegetables. Now some people are just naturally overweight, but being “overweight” is not the same as being “obese.” Someone who is overweight has reached a maximum weight limit for their height. When someone goes beyond this maximum limit, then they are considered “obese” (Kiess 1). Research shows that “obesity is generally defined as the abnormal or excessive accumulation of fat in adipose tissue” (Kiess 1). The increase in childhood obesity today is mainly the fault of the parent because they are unable to tell their children “no” when it comes to junk food (Kiess 104). Parents are the one buying all the food that comes into the house. They are the ones buying the sugary drinks and chips. They are the ones allowing the children to “have what they want.” Because parents are not teaching their children how to eat healthy, we will continue to see childhood obesity increase. Unfortunately, overweight children will be the ones who suffer because statistics show children who are overweight are more likely to become obes...
the child’s mind to manipulate the child into desiring their products. Through TV, cartoons and