Child Obesity and Television

1943 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Impact of media on teenagers

Television is a pastime activity in America but unfortunately it is unhealthy. More people watch television than ever before because there are more variety of TV programs now. According to the article, “ObesiTV: How television is influencing the obesity epidemic,” there are 99% household in America that owns at least one television but the average house have around three (Boulos). In fact, my households contains three television. In addition to these television in household, there are some children who have television in their room and most families have TV in their kitchen. Those families that do have TV in their kitchen, they are most likely to watch television during meals. After a long day of work, parents like to watch the news to update the latest news. For example, when my dad gets home, my family and I turn on the TV while we eat dinner because my dad likes to update on the latest news or sometimes my little sister and nephew wants to watch a new episodes. Watching television while eating meals has become a normal habit now.
One way television and technology influence the rate of childhood obesity is the eating habits. Children chooses their food based what they see on television. When children are watching television, they always constantly eating even though they actually may not hungry. Most of the time, when young people watch TV, they think they are hungry but in reality, they are not. There have been studies saying that “the food advertising has kind of an unconscious effect and just makes you want to eat more” (quoted in “Kids' TV time tied to unhealthy food choices”). When children are watching TV, their brain is focusing on the television so they are unaware of how much they are eating.
In correlation to con...

... middle of paper ...

...CBS Interactive, 08 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
"Just Give Me the FACTS!" Fast Food FACTS — Home. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Rudd Foundation, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.
Moerdyk, Chris. "Advertising Alone Cannot Be Blamed for Childhood Obesity." How Does Advertising Impact Teen Behavior? Ed. David M. Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "Adverts No Parental Substitute." www.news24.com. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
Pittman, Genevra. “Kids' TV time tied to unhealthy food choices." Reuters. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 9 May 2012. Web. 6 Apr. 2014.
"Television Watching and “Sit Time.” Obesity Prevention Source. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
Voilland, Adam; Haupt, Angela. “10 Things Industrial Doesn’t Want You to Know” US News. U.S. News & World Report, 30 March 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • Summary Of Every Nook And Currency: The Dangerous Spread Of Commercialized Culture

    507 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the article, Every Nook and Cranny: The Dangerous Spread of Commercialized Culture by Gary Ruskin and Juliet Schor (Ackley 361). Since the early 90s is when Commercialism has bombarded the society. Ruskin and Schor provide examples why advertising has an effect on people’s health. Marketing related diseases afflicting people in the United States, and especially children, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and smoking-related illnesses. “Each day, about 2,000 U.S. children begin to smoke, and about one-third of them will die from tobacco-related illnesses” (Ackley 366). Children are inundated with advertising for high calorie junk food and fast food, and, predictably, 15 percent of U.S. children aged 6 to 19 are now overweight (Ackley 366). Commercialism promotes future negative effects and consumers don’t realize it.

    Read More

  • Should Parents Lose Custody of Extremely Obese Kids?

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    "The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity." The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity. Web. 06 May 2012.

    Read More

  • Killer at Large: Childhood Obesity in America

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the documentary Killer at Large, former Surgeon General Richard Carmona remarked that “Obesity is a terror within. It’s destroying our society from within and unless we do something about it, the magnitude of the dilemma will dwarf 9/11 or any other terrorist event that you can point out…” Carmona is indeed right, with the rapid increase of obese children, America is on the fast track to producing a generation with a life expectancy shorter than their peers. One of the main factor is the media representation of obesity (Greenstreet 2008). In today’s society parents are not only worrying about televisions influence on their kid’s behavior but their weight and health, too. According to study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, that researched the role of media in childhood obesity, stated the obesity increased by 2% for every hours of television in adolescent’s ages 12 to 17. The advertisement of food and beverages present a very strong influence on the children. Most of the products being advert...

    Read More

  • Campaigning for Real Beauty: Dove® and Changing Stereotypical Body Images as Seen in the Media

    3016 Words  | 7 Pages

    Morris, A. M., & Katzman, D. K. (2003, May). The impact of the media on eating

    Read More

  • Essay On Fast Food Nation

    830 Words  | 2 Pages

    (2012). Fast Food Advertising is linked to Rising Childhood and Teen Obesity. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Retrieved: April 24, 2014 from http://ic.galegroup.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=asuniv&currPage=&disableHighlighting=true&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%...

    Read More

  • Obesity Essay

    1302 Words  | 3 Pages

    Obesity is a very complicated disease and there is no simple cause or cure. Obesity refers to the gaining of weight which occurs when the body takes in more calories than it burns. These excess calories then become fat, leading to increases in weight. There are many factors in the onset of obesity. A major factor is sociocultural factors. Society today plays an important role in how we view food and influences our decisions on meal choices. In today's society, meals are made to be quick and easy, often being high in fat, sugar, salt and calories and lacking nutritional value. Television and advertising also focus on unhealthy food choices, which appeal to children with colorful marketing and toys or games. Furthermore, society has also succumbed to a somewhat sedentary or lethargic lifestyle. Physical activity is on the decline and the relationship between reduced exercise and weight gain has been shown to be a major factor in obesity. Many jobs require sitting in one place in front of a computer for much of the day, children often sit for hours watching television or playing video games instead of engaging in physical activities or sports. This results in weight gain because people do not exercise enough to burn the calories they are consuming.

    Read More

  • Child Obesity and the Media

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    While I agree that there has been a great deal of attention given to childhood obesity in the media and by the government. This attention has actually done little on a large scale to actually curb the rise of the issue. I don’t feel this issue is a government issue, however I believe it has become one due to the scale the issue has risen to. Even with all that has been studied on this issue little is actually known regarding the true underlying predictors. (Flores 2013) So considering the scale of the issue we face with the childhood obesity issue I feel that not only does the government at all levels need to be involved in some way but that the U.S. adult population as a whole should be involved in order to help better secure this future generations existence.

    Read More

  • Advantages And Disadvantages Of Watching Too Much Tv

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    The amount of opportunities we get to eat unhealthy food while watching TV is also a reason for becoming obese. Most of us like to enjoy a snack while watching our favorite TV show, which result to a horrible mixture. You could be eating a new opened bag of chips and the next thing you notice the bag is empty. This happens because we are too focused on whatever we are watching to realize

    Read More

  • Childhood Obesity: Fast Food Companies Are To Blame

    904 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Parents Are Mainly to Blame for Childhood Obesity

    1038 Words  | 3 Pages

    Beales III, J. Howard, and Robert Kulick. Does Advertising On Television Cause Childhood Obesity? A Longitudinal Analysis. Journal Of Public Policy & Marketing 32.2 (2013): 185-194. Business Source Complete. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

    Read More

  • Parents are Responsible for their Children's Diet

    1634 Words  | 4 Pages

    Moerdyk, Chris. "Advertising Alone Cannot Be Blamed for Childhood Obesity." Ed. David M. Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Speech: Do Not Eat Fast Food

    912 Words  | 2 Pages

    "Fast Food Facts." Center for Young Women's Health. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2011. .

    Read More

  • Childhood Exposure to Television

    840 Words  | 2 Pages

    Childhood overexposure to television can cause a detrimental effect on reading skills and behavior. Bar-on (2000) states, “The exposure of American children and adolescents to television continues to exceed the time they spend in the classroom: 15,000 hours versus 12,000 hours by the time they graduate.” (p. 289) Children are more vulnerable than adults, to the influences of the behaviors that they view. The pediatrics association estimates that for every hour a child under two spends in front of a screen, he or she spends about fifty minutes less interacting with a parent, and about ten percent less time in creative play. (Carey, 2011, p. 2) Although there have been some studies that found some prosocial and educational benefits, significant research has shown there are a lot more negative effects. (Bar-on, 2000, p. 289) This paper will describe in detail the effects that can be caused from too much television.

    Read More

  • Negative Essay: The Effects Of Watching Too Much Television

    1082 Words  | 3 Pages

    To many children, TV can be appealing because they find the colorful cartoons interesting and instantly catches their attention. But, as entertaining and fun Television can be, spending too much time looking at your big fifty inch flat screen TV can eventually impact your life. It seems like if you just spend all your time sitting on the couch, you may find yourself preparing fast meals, such as a ham sandwich thrown with some potato chips on a plate or just driving to buying something from McDonald’s. But this can eventually affect your health. If we give Television too much attention it can also affect relationships with parents, siblings or a partner. It can slowly become an easy addiction to come home to, sit on the couch and spend the rest of the day watching all the shows we like. Lastly, too much Television can affect our mood which can lead to certain thinking and

    Read More

  • The Negative Effects Of Watching Television

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the physiological effects of watching television in excessive amounts is eye-strain. It is true that there are specifications for watching television; television should be 5 m. away from the eye, the room should be adequately lit, television should be placed at the same height with our eyes, etc. However, these do not prevent our eyes from getting tired if we keep watching television for a long time. Another effect is obesity, which is widely observed in people who like watching television and eating snacks everyday (there is even a term “television snacks” to refer to fast food that is suitable for eating in front of the television). television is such a powerful machine that people cannot get away from it – it is addictive. Apart from the physiological effects, television also causes psychological effects. One is a result of being exposed to

    Read More

More about Child Obesity and Television

Open Document