Hannah Carpenter Advertising

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

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

“A recent examination of the nutritional content of food ads during children’s programming found that 72.5% were for high-calorie, low-nutrient products; 26.6% were for high-fat or high-sugar products: and just 0.9% were for low-calorie, nutrient-rich products” (Powell, Schermbeck). Even web sites promote unhealthy food products which create a bad perception for a healthy lifestyle for kids. Gaming web sites particularly, market poor-nutrient foods targeted for children. Research has shown that food advertising companies have strategized an effective selling plan towards children. Companies rely on features that appeal to children: happy, colorful, vibrant, exciting and fun. There are very little food product advertisements promoting fruits and vegetables. These influences shape children’s nutritional knowledge, eating practices and weight status. All in all television exposure is linked to diet misconceptions. The misconceptions have a domino effect on children’s food preference and choices which then poorly effects children’s unhealthy weight status.

We don’t want children to watch certain shows or movies that won’t be appropriate for them so we tend to divert their attention to movies or shows that would be more suitable to their age. Edmunds and Dennison’s (2008) study suggested that there are certain contents really choses their targets. They have mentioned that shows and advertisements easily targeted children. “Marketing to youth appears to be successful. Most data suggest that children’s food preference, short term consumption, and usual dietary intakes are influenced by television advertising” (Edmunds and Dennison 2008). I think that television shows of today and certain products that they demonstration can easily divert the attention of the child and it would force them to crave that product. In a study conducted by Zimmerman and Bell (2010), they viewed a time-use diary data to compare and contrast the association of childhood obesity and television. They conducted their study to children ages 0-13 years of age. They also collected data based on the BMI scores of the children and if the number of hours they were watching commercials or advertisements to the actual show that they were watching. Based on the results that they’ve gathered they’ve concluded that by simply watching television it doesn’t really contribute to childhood obesity but by watching television advertisements on the other hand, it had a different impact on children and the way

According to a news report on MSNBC “TV ads contribute to childhood obesity” by News Correspondent Tracie Potts (2005), “the Institute of Medicine said television advertising strongly influences what children under 12 eat”. This quote suggests that children are easily influence by what they see on television and it reflects in what they eat. Animated characters that all children readily know are used to promote unhealthy food choices, such as junk food or fast food. It has become the norm for fast food companies to advertise to the younger crowd promoting toys in kids' meals or bigger portions for the teenage population. Kids are more concerned with getting a toy than they are at eating a healthy meal full of fruits and vegetables that their growing bodies’ need. Parents are giving into their children about fast food or junk food, because they don't want to seem like bad parents or have their children throwing a fit in public; so instead of cooking a meal at home that is healthy and nutrition packed, they settle for the quick option of fast food or junk food which is loaded up on fats and sugars. Many parents as well do not know the food pyramid and what exactly their children are to be eating on a daily basis, and this result has caused our nation to be on the rise with children who are considered obese, not only due to their weight, but mainly due to their BMI. Body

s children is that more is better: super-sized servings of French fries and soda, gigantic buckets of movie popcorn (with free refills) and king- sized candy bars (Dillon, 2009, p. 16). According to Harris (2012), one-third of the kids in the United States are overweight, yet fast food chains continue to target them and provide them with unhealthy food without telling them what they are actually eating. In all the studies that I read all the researchers used BMI (body mass index) to the probability of advertisements raising kid’s body fat there is a correlation suggesting that lower cost of fast food make it more accessible to young kids. Although not all the studies agreed on how much responsibility ads hold they all agreed that part of the

In conclusion, TV advertisements obviously play a vital part in childhood obesity. Unhealthy foods that have been advertised on television truly affect a child. Children will learn anything that shows on TV. Most of the researches prove that children that spend less time on television have a lower possibility to become overweight and obese compared to children who spend more time on television. Research shows that food advertising affect children’s food selections and food purchases of parents.

One of the most alarming impacts that advertisers may not realize or just choose to look past is that these advertisements that demean women especially the ones that over sexualize women have a harsh impact on young and budding minds. Shockingly these impressionable minds find it alright to conduct themselves indecently around women believing that if such big brands portray women in such a light then it must be justified.

This article talks about the role that advertising plays on obesity. We as Americans are overwhelmed with advertisements everyday and, “everyone concerned with creating and selling knows: advertising does work”. There is no doubt that obesity is on the rise among kids who are directly targeted by

Children are hit with advertisements for food, candy, and sugary drinks on the television, the Internet, in magazines, and at school every day (Nestle 28). The fast food industries realize that gaining children as customers at a young age most likely makes them a life-long customer (Nestle 28). Sadly soft drink companies unapologetically name 8 to 12 year olds as marketing targets (Nestle 31). Clearly these companies are targeting younger kids so they buy their products in the future so their businesses strive in the future years. The amount of money spent on marketing directed to children and their parents rose from $6.9 billion in 1992 to $12.7 billion in 1997 which is pretty crazy (Nestle 31). As the media gets more and more popular every year the more money companies spend on advertising. Then, coincidentally, the obesity rates keep getting worse and worse not in just America but across the world. Market researchers break down the elements of advertising down to package design, typefaces, pictures and most of this content is likely to get boy and girls of varying age to want to purchase products (Nestle 31). Simple marketing tricks like those can catch a child’s attention and get them wanting those meal toys or other things that catch their attention. Another reason why advertisements lead to obesity is that nowadays kids and adults are sitting in front of a television or computer for

Unfortunately, these ads are usually detrimental. Almost ¾ of all food advertised to children is considered to be unhealthy (“The Impact of”). There are next to no advertisements for foods such as fruits or vegetables, but there is an overflowing abundance for junk food ads. These ads subliminally influence the children to eat those unhealthy foods. In a study by Jean Weicha, PhD, it was shown that an an hour of television causes 7th and 8th graders to consume about 167 more calories a day (qtd. in“Direct Link”). In addition, it was found that the children who watched the most tv also consumed the most junk food (“Direct Link”). This jump in junk food consumption is why kids that watch more than three hours of tv a day are 50% more likely to be obese than others that watch less than two hours (“The Impact of”). With how easy it is to be obese in our society, it seems downright reckless to increase their odds by 50%.

Advertisers have been marketing food to children on television since the first television broadcasts started. The effect of their marketing non-nutrient dense food to children has not had a positive result. The Federal Trade Commission’s report, Advertising to kids and the FCT: A regulatory retrospective that advises the present, reports that 50% of overweight kids become overweight adults. The report also states that 80% of obese adolescents will become overweight adults. “According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of overweight children ages 6-11 has more than doubled, while the rate for adolescents has tripled since 1980” (FTC, n.d.). According to a data brief from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 16.9% of U.S. children and adolescents in 2009-2010 were obese (Ogden, 2012). The data brief also stated that adolescent obesity rates were higher than obesity in preschool-aged children. Among adolescents, boys experienced a higher rate of obesity (18.6%) than girls (15.0%).

Television commercials, store advertisements, and ads on the internet all help to promote unhealthy foods. Wherever you go nowadays, there are always advertisements for food, some are healthy foods, however the majority of them are unhealthy. Researchers don't know yet what affect the promotion of unhealthy foods and then exposure will have on kids at a young age, therefore an experiment was conducted, and its predicted that the promotion of unhealthy foods at a young age will lead to increased consumption of unhealthy foods later in life.

Children’s exposure to TV ads for unhealthy food products (i.e., high-calorie, low-nutrient snacks, fast foods and sweetened drinks) are a significant risk factor for obesity.

The writer Heidi Murkoff once said, “As obesity creeps into preschools, and hypertension and type II diabetes become pediatric problems for the very first time, the case for starting preventive health care in the cradle has become too compelling to keep ignoring.” What Murkoff shows is that obesity is turning into an issue, especially among children. The book Salt Sugar Fat by Michael Moss demonstrates how food corporations use advertising to persuade people, especially children to buy their foods. Lately, obesity has been hitting the United States in incredible numbers. Children who are overweight are more likely to be obese when they get older; therefore, they are at a higher risk of developing all the health issues that obesity causes. Diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease are only some of the many diseases that a person can face by being obese. Fast food advertising has a huge impact on childhood obesity and it is a great contribution to the problem; however, the FTC should be able to reduce advertising to children.