How Media Affects Our Health Choices

According to Ann Marie Paulin in “Cruelty, Civility and Other Weighty Matters”, the mass media are discriminating against overweight people, which creates a society where being fat is looked down upon. Paulin argues that, “the media are notorious for getting things less than accurate” (243), therefore we shouldn’t believe how they depict fat people on tv, magazines and other media sources. The author believes that not all overweight people are like, how the media portrays them, but rather their lifestyle is influenced by the culture we live in. She claimed that, “Sugary or fatty foods are often available in grab and go packages that are so much easier to take to work or eat in the car than making a healthy snack” (245). She believe there are evidence to show that humans are naturally attracted to unhealthy foods, but society continue to manufacture them to make people eat more (243-249). I agree with Paulin about how the media need to stop fat shaming because it’s not only making people feel bad, but it is promoting obesity.

The rise of the U.S. health club industry can be traced back to the 1980s and 1990s when the majority of health clubs emerged. By 2004, this $14 billion industry claimed 41 million members. Although the health club industry operated in a perfectly competitive market, several prominent key players gained large market share, including Bally Total Fitness and 24 hour Fitness. This perfect competition encouraged entry of smaller emerging firms into the industry. In 2004, the health club industry consisted of 26,000 clubs in the U.S. Of this growing market,

Mass media is one of the main approaches used in health promotion and its lack of success may be due to its oversimplification or segmented view of health and well-being.

Mental health has been a topic of discussion and has held a stigma around it for numerous years. Society at times has viewed it in a closed minded view due to generational aspects and lack of understanding. With the lack of education on mental health, the society, cultures, and communities often times more than not stereotype and discriminate against those with mental health disabilities. The population, of which I have discussed previously, is a population with one of the most negative attitudes against them. Media and society views these individuals as psychopaths, sociopaths, and being insane with some people even go as far as indicating these individuals should not be living. With Antisocial Personality Disorder, media has portrayed these

Apart from the economic and institution driven implications of obesity on the Canadian federal system, the issue of obesity also targets the social circle of Canadian media, culture, values and global reputation. If the federal government does not take an active step in the stop against unhealthy eating, bad life style choices and obesity then the problem will continue to escalate. Public policy can be used to bring awareness to issues that effect and benefit many. There was an important study documented in the European journal of public health that suggests, “one in three obese children might not have been obese in the absence of advertising for unhealthy food on TV. Limiting the exposure of children to marketing of energy-dense food could be part of a broader effort to make children 's diets healthier”(Veerman 1). This shocking statistic is directly linked to the normalization of obesity and an unhealthy diet that the media has continued to promote.

“Access to food, mass media, and contemporary busy lifestyles play role in poor food choices” (Edelman & Mandle, 2010).

As an aftereffect of the availability of television and radio, all people and classes have been introduced to a distinctive sort of media. The Internet has yielded a significantly more up to date media resource. Media oversights, bowing, lapse and inclination in the United States is something perceived by various outside the USA and is systematically recognized more inside the US. Regardless, those issues have made it astoundingly troublesome for the typical American national to get an open, target point of view of an extensive number of the issues that incorporate the United States and since the United States is so effective socially, fiscally, politically and militarily around the world, they are included in various issues. A positive piece of the media's inclination has been that it has empowered change in people's perspective of races in a valuable manner, exhibited people to distinctive social orders, made people aware of normal needs, and the needs of people far away. The most adverse piece of the media is that it controls what individuals overall sees and gets some answers concerning. The cases for positive effect there are pictures of benefit and wellbeing that affect us to endeavor to start to work out or eat better or to be more beneficial when to the work region. When you go to destinations like Tumblr, there are various pictures of wellbeing people in the midst of their workouts or them with healthier dinners. These photos urge people to eat healthier and to be more dynamic, upgrading their lifestyles and wellbeing. Case for contrary effect everyone agrees that fast food chains and therapeutic brands have an adverse effect on individuals overall. One could imply that this is what grandness looks like; or that one should eat this trash support in light of the way that it tastes extraordinary while one just gets fat and undesirable. (www.enotes.com)

The health club industry has continued to see an increase in the amount of health clubs/fitness centers. Since 1992, the United States has seen the number of health clubs increased by almost 40 percent, from 12,635 to 17,531 facilities. It has also seen an increase in membership by almost 60 percent, from 20.8 million to 32.8 million. What this all means for Fun 4 Life Fitness Center, LLC is that the market is ever growing which translates to more competition. Most fitness centers offer a variety of services to address the needs and convenience of the customers. Some of these services includes personal trainers, facilities with state-of-the-art equipment, and programs that cater to mostly every demographic.

Fitness is in. The percentage of people belonging to health clubs and gyms has doubled over the past 20 years. More growth is expected, fueled by an aging Baby Boomer generation in search of eternal youth and the reality that regular exercise can prevent or control diseases that are driving health care costs relentlessly upward. The 24/7 fitness opportunity is the newest model of fitness centers today.

Media coverage contributes to how childhood obesity is framed and stigmatized in Canadian society. The media contributes to changes in popular culture, which can affect how the dilemma of childhood obesity is viewed and addressed. Several forms of media, including campaigns, social media, and the news help to construct popular opinions when looking at the issue. The views provided by different media platforms and organizations help to frame the problem of childhood obesity, and address the problems associated with the dilemma.

Pure Gym, the UK’s Budget gym giant, launched in 2009 by Peter Robert with the pioneer of an affordable, flexible and high quality fitness operator in the UK. By starting with four sites in Leeds, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Edinburgh, Pure Gym has completed the expansion of further 94 gyms from Aberdeen to Southampton. Not to mention, the acquisition of LA Fitness and its 43 fitness clubs has enhanced the opportunity of affordable fitness centres to people across Britain, particularly in London and the South East. The nature of business lies within five market characteristics involving heavy technology and web use, gym-only proposition, ability to operate club with a single person, scope to operate 24/7 and costs minimum of 50% lower than average industry price

It was found that at each hour of TV watched by a 5-year-old child their chances of obesity would rise by 7%. Whilst studying 8000 children who had watched 8 or more hours per week, all age 3 it was found that by the time all those children were aged 7, every single one of them were at higher risk than average of obesity. (Pediatrics, 2011). Television on its own shows from 4400 to 7600 fast food commercials a day. Those statistics don’t include what is shown in magazine, billboards and so on. The number of health promoting adverts shown is 165 a day its no wonder today’s children are at higher risk. Speaking of which, the number of children under 5 effected worldwide by obesity found in 2013 was an astonishing 42 million. Its predicted that by 2025 this number will rise to a huge 70 million. (Bupa,2016) The media has fooled people the way never use overweight or unhealthy looking people In adverts, how often do we see obese people on our televisions? Especially when we are trying to be sold something. More often than not in movies fat people are portrayed as unattractive and unpopular and the laughing stock. Society seems to find it difficult to sympathise with obesity as a disease as many see it as self-inflicted issue. (Teaching tolerance, 2016). ) it was found that by 2006, obesity was responsible for 10 percent of media

What media sources affects your life the most. The sources I believe affects mine the most is television. The T.V. has gotten where all shows is cussing ,violence,and P.D.A. Television has a very bad impact on my life.

Psychographic profile for customers most likely to use the gym’ s services: (Min. 200 words required)

Like many people my age, media is a huge part of my daily life and is prevalent in all my memories. Media such as photography brings to life memories I otherwise would have forgotten, while the internet allows me to connect with others from across the world and gives me access to resources like Khan Academy to aid me in school. Media also has more negative impacts, such as interfering with family time. Whether its effect is positive or negative, media has influenced my life since the start and this reflection helped me realize that.