Parents are and should always be concerned with the growth and development of their children. Responsible parents protect their children from dangerous things that could have a devastating impact on their bodies. This includes actions such as touching a hot stove, running with scissors, and eating food off the ground. Parents are often compared to bears. A mother bear will go out of her way to ferociously protect her cubs. Human parents, however, are not living up to the standard. Children are still getting affected by very subtle chemicals that many people know and love- food dyes. By excluding food dyes from grocery lists, Americans can keep the impacts of food dyes on children, such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), in the public spotlight to inform consumers of the negative effects on …show more content…
A strong link has been discovered between food dyes and ADHD. Over 40 years and dozens of studies, almost all have signified a link. This includes a study by the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, or UKFSA, which was apparently enough convince the majority of a three-country kingdom with over 64 million people to create a law that would encourage companies that use food dyes to stop. In this study of 3-, 8-, and 9-year olds, scientists gave one group of kids a drink loaded with food dyes, a second group with drinks with moderate amounts of food dyes, and a third group, a drink with natural colors. The study found that the 8- and 9-year olds were affected with increased hyperactivity (the beginning stage of ADHD) by both the first and second drinks, while the 3-year olds were only affected by the first. In a study titled "Meta-Analysis of
Some interesting questions were brought up that I was thinking of as well, questions such as, shouldn’t some of these additives be banned from usage in the foods we eat or shouldn’t they carry warning labels for users who do not know the dangers of these foods? I believe they certainly should be banned because we lived without these chemicals in our foods long ago, and we used natural flavors and colors in the previous years of humanity and according to research and studies the chemicals in the foods we consume today have obviously proven to trigger and increase the chance of getting many disorders. While reading The New York Times one of the studies mentioned and brought up was the selection of several hundreds of kids, and some kids were in a control group that received some special treatment by basically being given an additive-free placebo drink that looked and tasted the same and all of the children in the study were evaluated for inattention as well as their hyperactivity by their parents, teachers as well as a computer test and in this study neither the researchers nor the subject knew which drink the children had consumed. In conclusion of the study the researchers discovered that the kids were significantly more
I think artificial food dyes should be banned. Food dyes, even in low concentrations, pose health risks. Multiple studies have shown that food dyes can cause hyperactivity and some types of cancer.3 The FDA has stated that a safe amount of Blue 1 food dye is 12 mg per kilogram of body weight each day.4 According to this
Rowell and Laramine (2006) proved that violet media does lead to children having violet behaviour; USA is a great example as Americans spend three to four hours on television and
In the United States and in most of the world food dyes are exceedingly common. In addition to this, they have been brought into question as being dangerous for human and environmental health. From general observation and knowledge about this topic I knew that Red #40 dye (Allura Red AC) is at the height of this controversy. After some initial research, I discovered more information on Azo dyes, their effect on the environment, as well as wastewater treatment used to decontaminate water containing these dyes. This led to my interest on the topic of Electrochemical Advanced Oxidation Processes (EAOPs) as a fairly recent solution to environmental issues regarding contaminants in water. I was curious to see how these processes work, as well as
Whose fault is it? Every day children are sucked into marketing ads and techniques created by multi-million dollar companies. Is it right for companies to target children who cannot think for themselves? Or should parents and guardians be at fault for their child’s engagement with certain foods or product. Multi-million dollar companies have the power to change the world with their advertising of certain products, however, responsible parents also have the power to change their child’s life.
An innocent child is standing in a candy store and looking at all his favorite options from which to choose. He slowly reaches for the bag of M&Ms, and he does not know what all the chemicals in that bag will cause him. The M&Ms have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) causing carcinogens in them called food dyes. These food additives help the food products stay vibrant and eye catching but America’s youth does not know what the consequences are when you eat these products. Children think they are nice and colorful but they do not know what lies behind the wonderful rainbow of colored M&Ms in that bag. That is why The United States needs to ban food color additives to make our nation healthier. The main points on food dyes are the problems they cause, the counter argument against them and the steps the country can take to solve these problems.
The increase of ADHD diagnosis has raised many concerns among doctors in the United States. In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported new data that showed the number of children diagnosed with ADHD grew by 22 percent in a four-year period Brown University, (2013). The information from the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) raised questions and concerns about the growth of ADHD diagnosis. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also stated that the percentage of children with a diagnosis of ADHD continue to increase in the United States. This information was provided by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) to inform the public and raise awareness for ADHD. Researching the growth of
If you knew your hamburger was made of ammonia-treated “pink slime” would you still eat it? Probably not, right? Sadly, that’s still a problem many kids around America have to deal with almost every afternoon in their school’s cafeteria. This is just one of many reasons that schools should invest in better tasting and healthier food for kids. This change could reduce obesity rates in young kids and lead them to better eating habits in their futures. Better food will also give schools better profits and better reputations that make more people want to go to the improved schools. It is also scientifically proven that good food at school can help improve test scores. This change would allow kids to stay more alert, take less sick days, and stay
However, 22% of 92 children that are diagnoses with ADHD are wrongly diagnosed (Lilenfield & Arkowitz, 2013). Many of these false diagnoses and other harmful side effects could be avoided if synthetic food dyes were eliminated from our food and cosmetics. Synthetic food dyes have been shown to cause hyperactivity in some children; as well as, proven to cause some types of cancers in rats and/or mice. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) should ban the use of all synthetic food dyes in food and cosmetics
Since the early 1990’s the use of stimulant medications had tripled for patients who have been diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD is a highly genetic, brain-based syndrome that has to do with the regulation of a particular set of brain functions and related behaviors (add.org, 2017). According to several sources on the World Wide Web, the increase in ADHD diagnoses has increased significantly. Identifying the trends with parents, teacher and providers is now more important than ever. There could be a possibility of over medicating children who may or may not have this disorder. It may not be beneficial to prescribe children this powerful stimulant as their brains are still in developing stages in
Some major causal variables that have been identified are categorised as neurological factors, toxic reactions, genetic linkages and environmental factors. However, most of the available evidence found, points to neurological factors, which are imbalances of neurotransmitters in the brain, and genetic variables as the primary causes of ADHD. The environmental factors and toxic reactions (such as lead exposure and food additives) are considered very minimal causes of ADHD. The search for causes of ADHD continues. There are many variables which are biological or thought to have an affect on biological functioning.
In a meta-analysis combined by a group of researchers, results found that soft drinks—a product with an immense amount of sugar—are associated with increased body weight (Vartanian, Schwartx & Brownell 2007). Certain behavioural issues have also been shown to have an impact on weight gain. A 2013 suggests these findings as study boys aged 10-17 and girls aged 10-17 who were diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, abbreviated as ADHD, have a higher chance of being overweight than children in the general population (Holtkamp K, Konrad K, Müller B, Heussen N, Herpertz S, Herpertz-Dahlmann B, et al. (2004). There are emotional factors like depression and certain behavioural aspects that may influence an onset of obesity in the
There is presently much controversy regarding the idea of unhealthy foods and how companies shamelessly market these products to children. Individuals in the food and beverage industry constantly promote the belief that they are actively involved in providing society with important information concerning what is healthy and what is not. Moreover, most promote their products as having no negative effects on individuals who consume them, as doing otherwise would surely reflect badly on their businesses. It is generally known that children are vulnerable because they have very little experience in filtering information and food companies take advantage of this by introducing diverse methods to promote their products even with the fact that it is likely for children to get sick as a consequence.
Throughout the years, there has been an incredible amount of speculation as to what ingredients are being put into the food we consume. The same food manufactured by major food corporations that can only be approved by the FDA. There are many techniques that these food corporations can use in order to gain consumer loyalty, but the main focus is the way their advertising works. Along with these advertisements, comes a target market as well. The food industry is constantly in speculation because there are always new foods that corporations want approved to sell. Some of these businesses are part of the fast food industry and others are international food companies that sell their products around the world. As adults and parents, we need to
In today’s society, the food and beverage industry is faced with an ongoing ethical dilemma because they are far more concerned with making money than providing a good, safe, and healthy product for consumers. The biggest victims in this unethical marketing scheme are children. Children are the least informed and most influenced of all potential consumers (5). Although children usually don’t directly purchase these products themselves, their desires strongly influence their parent’s decision on what to buy and what the child will eat. Most products geared towards children are unhealthy, processed foods that are high in sugars and low in nutritional content (6). This has led to a rise in childhood