Advertising to Children Must Be Banned

As the author of article “Regulating Food Advertising to Children,” Margo G. Wootan proposes, “Responsible food marketing to children must address not only how food is marketed but also which foods are marketed to kids (334).” She believes that even in the absence of government control there should be some guideline for food marketing to act responsibly and not encourage children to eat foods that are harmful to their health and well-being. Because of the increasing rate of childhood obesity in the United States, the author suggests a compromise approach between marketing techniques

Children spend nearly $30 billion of their own money on junk food. Marion Nestle stated on https://www.nejm.org that, “The food companies make misleading claims and they spend massive amounts sponsoring scientist and major health organizations to influence their research and guidelines.” Yet, marketing’s recent tactics have gone way further to persuade children. Along with television advertisements, they have shifted to product placements in toys, games, educational materials, songs, movies, and much more. The IOM noted that “…by two years of age most children can recognize products in supermarkets and ask for them by name.” More children are becoming obese and diabetic before they’re old enough to make decisions about these

Commercials through television and radio aimed towards children are ethical because it helps build healthy ideals. Through commercials, children can see that doing certain things are good for you! They can see that it is what they should do. “Advertising and marketing techniques could encourage children to eat

Advertisements are everywhere. They are a major part of modern day society. Whether it be a television commercial, an internet banner, or a billboard, advertisements influence people of all ages, but they affect a certain age group much more than others. Children ranging from toddlers to teenagers are exposed to thousands upon thousands of advertisements each year. Some of these advertisements are damaging to children, while others are a positive influence. Advertisements can either be used as a tool or a weapon. Food advertisements and manipulation strategies are both positive and negative, and how companies use them decides whether or not marketing to children is ethical.

Although adults can view food advertisements critically to diminish their intended effects on their diet, Mello, Studdert, and Brennan found that children do not have this same cognitive ability (2605). They found that children under eight years of age are “generally unable to understand the persuasive intent of advertising” (2601). This means that children aged seven and under may not be able to distinguish the difference between when they are being marketed to and when they are being educated, for instance. This is likely the reason why “children who watch more television than do other children are more likely to identify incorrectly which of two foods is more healthful” (Mello, Studdert, and Brennan 2605). Studies have found that around 50% of “all nutrition-related information in television advertisements is misleading or inaccurate” (Mello, Studdert, and Brennan 2605). The food industry’s advertising practices are deceitful and harmful, yet they are not currently subject to legal

Association, kids often do make food choices based on what they see on television. Doctors who study kids have noticed that food advertised is very powerful” (39). In order to prove that idea, the author adds that children and teens who watch more than two hours of television daily are more likely to be overweight than those who do not. Due to the many fast food restaurants and advertisements available to Americans, the realization that their food is unhealthy does not occur. The United States is aware of the consequences that come along with obesity, yet rarely ever are there advertisements promoting a healthy lifestyle. It is uncommon that an overweight person is shown eating a restaurant’s food in their commercial. It will give off the wrong

Within the United States, nearly one in three children are affected by the health complications of obesity (Moore 824). This is caused by poor nutritional choices and the plethora of fast-food advertisements. With the aid of McDonald’s new toy advertisements or newest fatty burger and Burger King’s new whopper deal, advertisements have controlled children's decision and choices. Through fast-food restaurants’ advertisements for cheaper meals for families, it becomes easier and easier for families to stop by their nearest fast-food eatery to pick up breakfast, lunch or dinner in the drive-thru. Internally, humans desire for quick and easy solutions to problems and have an internal desire for everything to be fast-paced. With jobs, extracurricular activities, and kids, there is very minimal time in the day for parents to plan healthy options. Hence, dinner or even other meals becomes a trip through a drive-thru. Thus, fast-food restaurants have created a business on human’s impatiencenes and lack of time. Though it is certainly convenient, it is not healthy to create a habit of consuming fast-food. An addition to saving time, fast-food restaurants save money, which appeals to parents. As children watch television and spend countless hours on cell phones, advertisements take up a huge amount of that time. Thus, advertisements are very influential within these children. As

Children under the age of six “cannot distinguish between advertisements and regular programming” and those under eight “do not comprehend the persuasive nature of advertisements” (American Psychological Association). Children have a remarkable ability to remember content from ads that they have been exposed to (American Psychological Association). “Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising in non-nutritious food and rates of childhood obesity” (American Psychological Association). During on study researchers looked at the effect of branding, the research used children 3 to 5 years old, two portions of identical foods were given, one in McDonald’s wrapping and the other not in the wrapping, the children would say that the food in the McDonald’s wrapper tasted better (Klass). This study shows how children are being influenced by what advertisements they view. In young children, research has shown “that for every one-hour increase in [television] viewing per day, there are high intakes of … fast food …” (American Psychological Association). And with children who “watch more than 3 hours of television a day are 50 percent more likely to become obese…” (American Psychological

To ban or not to ban, that is the question in this case. I was acually watching this television show the other day and on it, there was a little boy watching T.V. when a commercial for a stuffed animal came on. Instead of hearing what the commercial was actually saying, all it showed was the stuffed animal trying to convince the little boy to get his parents to buy it. The little boy then, would not stop asking his parents until they finally got it for him. So maybe, it's not just the ads fault, it could be also the way most parents comply when their child begs for something. In this essay, I'm going to show alternative methods to keeping kids healthy and creating a better place for them to grow up in, rather than just blaming and/or banning the advertisements.

Obesity in children, who are exposed to advertising of unhealthy foods and sugar-sweetened beverages through the media. Television advertising has affected children due to their lack of nutritional knowledge and inexperience in making healthy food choices. The media which affects childhood obesity is one of the major public health issues that our country faces , due to increase weight gain and physical inactivity in children. According to the Center for Disease Prevention, overweight children are associated with a higher risk of contracting heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and many other physiological issues. If untreated, overweight children are most likely to develop obesity as adults (CDC, n.d). Overweight children spend more of their time

Raising and training children to eat fruits and vegetables can be a great start to a healthy living. Obesity is a condition that can be prevented and cured by providing nutritional information in the home, at the workplace and school. Childhood obesity can result to being morbidly overweight as an adult. The consistency of providing healthy food being in the home, school, after school programs and so forth, will be at the forefront of the child’s mind to grab an apple, instead of a snack cake. Domino’s Pizza five for five deal, McDonald’s dollar menu, KFC’s five dollar box and Applebee’s two for twenty meals are convenient contributors to getting full at an unhealthy price tag, especially if it is a daily part of your regiment. Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity. Most children under the age of 6 cannot distinguish between programming and advertising and children this young is by its very nature

Elaine Kolish, Vice President of the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), discusses the Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) that was launched between the bureau and ten leading food companies in the United States. The goal of the initiative is not to eliminate food advertising to children, primarily under the age of twelve, but to advertise products that are more nutrient dense and lower in calories, sugars, sodium, and fats. The CFBAI evaluates how and if such commercials are intended for children in addition to setting criteria as for how to limit these factors. The CFBAI is making efforts to promote and recruit more companies and agencies into exercising their ideas and changing nutrition regulation within the

This article is well written and helps support my argument that there are many more factors influencing childhood obesity, not just marketing. Significant data was provided in this article, specifically the fact that the advertisement rates at which children see food advertisements has actually decreased by percentage since 1977 to 2004. Other equally significant points are made concerning the role of parents as the gatekeepers of product purchases as well as industry self-regulation.

About a third of children in the U.S. are considered overweight or obese, and researchers believe television advertising is a significant contributing factor (4). Exposure to television advertising is basically universal and the ads present foods as desirable and attractive. Children have been shown to be far more receptive to television advertising messages than classroom lessons (3). It leaves a harder lasting impression on them because the food products are presented in a cool, fun way that attracts children. Most of the time, children would pick foods that they may not even like, simply because they think it’s the cool thing to eat and once a kid gets his mind set on what they want, it is very hard to steer them away from wanting it. Television ads for foods geared toward children are usually fun, and bright with animations and lots of cool characters that the children can relate to. This directly influences the child’s food preference and unfortunately most of these ads are for processed, unhealthy food products like cereals, snacks, fast food, and soft drinks. In the U.S., there are few restrictions on food ads, but that's not the case in the U.K., where junk food can't be marketed on children's television (4).

Food advertisements, if focused at the right people and in the right places, are a complete success. These features, some of which are commercials, seduce society into buying food that we necessarily do not need. Many advertisement companies, especially those about food, are directed to children because they know that if you grab the kids you have their parents. While brands are using fun cartoons like “Trix Rabbit” and “Toucan Sam” (Green, 2007, p. 49) supermarkets are taking these items and placing them right in front of the children, at their level, advertising the “Fun foods” (Elliot, 2008, p. 259-273). They do this so the kids will use their, “pester power” (Scholsser, n.d., p. 2) to get what they want. A series of studies have been performed on children and television advertisements. An article states, “These studies have generally linked children's television viewing to negative health effects” (Korr, 2008, p. 451). Amongst these negative effects is a higher level of childhood obesity (p. 451). Similarly, in another study performed by a group of researchers, kids were asked to explain the television commercials that they remembered the best. The answers given were then compared with their diets. Interestingly, the items those children remembered best, chips, sweets, and sodas were a huge part of what they ate (Hitching & Moynihan, 1998, p. 511-517). However, some authors argue that television producer’s, even though their