Introduction: Over time our minds have changed again, and again about the idea of “advertising to children”. In just the past few decades, there has been a major increase of obesity not only young adults, but children as well. The scariest part of American 's gaining weight, is that our youth has been gaining more weight than any other age group within our country. The way we are able to calculate how healthy or unhealthy a certain weight is, is by using a body mass index scale (BMI). We use this tool to determine the healthiest range for our body type by plugging in our height and weight. Since the early 1980 's to now, nearly 15% of children have been diagnosed with obesity in the United States alone. This information is extremely …show more content…
What parents need to keep in mind is that, these children are very young and they need their nutrition before they need sweets. I have opened up a child 's lunch box myself, peering in and noticing that they have a total of 4 food items.
1.Nutella filled sandwich dripping with Nutella.
2.Hershey 's chocolate bar with peanuts.
3.Honey Glazed Honey bun.
4.Chocolate covered almonds.
This was all within the same lunch box! Once again we ask why our children are obese? Gene 's? Parents? Either way, what is making these children want to eat the way that they eat?
Verdict:
Every day these children can be seen in front of a television, or an electronic device. Within the last 15 years the internet has really made a difference in our lives as well as how our society interacts. Children in 2015 are more exposed to advertising and the media, than they were just in 1990. Within this short amount of time, the media have really changed their main focus to be children. Flipping through cartoon channels you can see several fast food restaurants advertising to children.
Television Advertising to children: Over 65% of the adult population in the world will tell you that they are visual learners. The same goes for our children. If you were to flip through channels and see a fast food commercial more than likely they are advertising unhealthy foods, high in trans fats, as well as foods with unnatural added sugars. Over 70 percent of
Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the United States in the past three decades. In 2012, roughly 17% or 12.5 million children and adolescents are overweight or obese” (“Childhood Obesity Facts,” 2014). According to the Centers of Disease Control and
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and tripled in adolescents in the past 30 years,” (“Childhood Obesity Facts”). The monumental question that researchers seem to be asking is why the increase now? Childhood obesity has become a paramount problem in the United States in recent years due to various social, biological and technological factors that ultimately requires immediate assistance in order to promote a healthier lifestyle for children as they transition into adulthood.
In the United States, Healthy People 2020 tracks children aged 2 to 19 that carry a BMI greater than 95% per the Centers for Disease (CDC) pediatric growth chart. The goal is a target rate of 14.5%, with a current improvement of 10% over the baseline. There are disparities related to gender, ethnicity and race, therefore this is very important public health problem and for the future of our country and health care of our citizens. Obesity is of epidemic proportions so there was a plethora of information found at South University’s library site of which will be reviewed in this paper.
Childhood obesity is a greatest public health concern in our nation because it has an immediate and long-term effect on morbidity and mortality later in life. Experts in this epidemic suggest that there is an immediate need for an action and leadership that is required to intervene this disease (Reilly, Methven, McDowell, Hacking, Alexander, Stewart, & Kelnar, 2003). According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data for 2011 and
Since 1980 the rates of child obesity have more than tripled which has caused a growing pandemic of childhood obesity in the United States. Out of all the young children and adolescents within the age group of two through nineteen about 12.7 million are obese. That is the equivalent of about 17% of America’s population that is suffering from childhood obesity. Childhood obesity is too prevalent in all American households. Childhood obesity is detrimental on a national scale, since it has been growing at a steady rate in the United States of children not reaching the daily-recommended physical activity, the absence of a balanced diet with overconsumption of eating, and more critically the increase of type 2 diabetes.
Childhood obesity has become staggering in the United States. Children are considered obese if they have thirty percent amount of body fat or more and is measured by body mass index (BMI). Body mass index conveys the correlation of body weight to height. If a child’s BMI is at or exceeding over the 95th percentile, meaning if their body mass index is greater than 95% of other children that are the same sex and age, they are obese. Doctor Jeffrey Levi, an executive director of the Trust for America’s Health Organization and an advocate of the public health system, has declared along with his associates that childhood obesity rates have tripled since the year of 1980 (8). This committee oversees health issues like obesity and obesity-related diseases. In the year of 1991, children were 10-15% obese nationally, whereas today more than 25% of adolescents ages two to nineteen are considered obese. In our nation, there are many potential causes that contribute to obesity. A child’s socio-economic status, physical position, and eating habits shape the obesity stratum. Genetics have very limited impact, but behavioral and environmental factors augment the chances of a child reaching obesity. According to the Center of Disease Control, “the portion of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012…the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period.”
The obesity rate in America has become a major national health issue over the last several decades. Increasingly alarming statistics have garnered national headlines. Current statistics place 68.5% of the U.S. population in classifications ranging from "overweight" to "super obese." Approximately 35% of all U.S. adults currently fall under the label of "obese".(Ogden, et al., 2014) Potentially more alarming is the prevalence of obesity in adolescents. U.S. youth are becoming obese at earlier and earlier ages. One out of six children ages 2-19 are now obese and fully one-third of adolescents are overweight or obese. (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & Flegal, 2010) Between 1980 and 2000, obesity rates among adults doubled and tripled among adolescents. (CDC.gov)
Obesity is an epidemic that affects millions of People around the world and it continues to rise. A particular concern is the rise in childhood obesity throughout the United States and it has become a national epidemic. Obesity is a threat to the health of many children as it has doubled in children and has quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. According to survey on childhood obesity, 2014, “an estimated 80% of obese adolescents continue to be obese into adulthood, so the implication of childhood obesity on the nation’s health are very huge”.
The past several decades have seen an escalating trend in the rate of childhood obesity. Obesity results from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and inadequate physical activity. Childhood obesity has continued to be a major issue in the public healthcare system, and has more than tripled. Obesity has increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 20% in 2014 among children aged 6 to 11. During the same 30 year period, obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 increased from 5.0% to 18.1%. With that said, America is experiencing a very serious health issue concerning its youth.
Obesity is more than a cosmetic concern for Americans; it is a very serious health concern. It doesn’t just impact the way Americans look, this serious condition can change the course of our lives, and not for the better (American Heart Association, 2005). Childhood obesity is a national epidemic that is affecting our children and adolescents of America at high and alarming rates. It occurs when children are exceeding the normal weight for his or her age and height. Up to one out of every five children in the U.S. is overweight or obese, and one and three are obese, and this number has continually to rise (Benaroch, 2012) for over 30 years. Since 1963, kids and teens overweight issues and medical conditions are increasing at an alarming rate and unfortunately some of the same overweight and obese kids / teens become overweight / obese adults with serious health issues. Overweight kids have a 70–80 percent chance of staying overweight (American Heart Association, 2005). The most common causes for children being overweight and obese is genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of all these factors.
During the 1970’s, about 5% of American children between the ages of two and nineteen were considered to be “obese”. Over the past several decades, that percentage has risen to a whopping 17% - a change that is seemingly minute. It may only appear as a 12% increase, however, that 17% translates to 12.5 million children and teens burdened with the challenge of obesity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity is defined as having a body mass index that exceeds the 95th percentile (U.S. Department of Health). In other words, the average between the mass and the height of an obese child is greater than that of 95% of all other children. As in any medical issue, the biggest concerns for childhood obesity stem from the potential risk factors that can result. Some of which include diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and even death. Thus, many have sought out the root cause of the issue as well as the most effective solutions. Childhood obesity, promoted by a processed diet, increasing portion sizes, and limited access to healthy, affordable foods, is an epidemic plaguing a vast number of children within the United States and will continue to do so if left to fester. Nonetheless, this ailment can be remedied through an extensive understanding of proper nutrition, dedication to maintaining dietary excellence, and emphasis on prevention.
The average adult watches close to 1,500 hours of television each year; the average child watching just over 3 hours daily. This accumulates to the average child watching over 20,000 commercials each year (Singer 447). Fast food advertisers have also known children should be a separate, focused advertising market since the 1960?s and that often, the restaurant choice is made by the child, and then paid for by the adult (Singer 449). Because ?[children] lack the ability to differentiate between commercial and non-commercial content? they are vulnerable to the advertising of these companies (Lancet 2064). Moreover, by fast food chains convincing the youth worldwide that their food is the best tasting and the most fun to eat, they are creating a subconscious attraction to their company with the child. People that grew up with fast food advertising have a subconscious connection to the restaurant that they ate at as a child. This discreet bond also quickly penetrates children?s minds, and affects their decision to choose a meal.
Unhealthy advertising is shown almost anywhere. The most popular way is on Tv commercials. Younger children are usually the main targets because they usually watch a lot of
Obesity is a nutritional disorder among American children and teens. Obesity occurs in 17% of the world’s population (1.3 billion children worldwide). If children do not change their customary ways of living, and continue their injurious diet, there will be a major increase in the percentile of annual obesity rates. Childhood obesity
The reason why many children are becoming overweight and obese is because the children are engaged in a more westernized style of eating which includes eating foods loaded with fat and sugar while low in fiber (Siegler, DeLoache, Eisenberg, Saffran, & Leaper, 2014). Children that are overweight or obese would be more likely to have trouble managing their weight throughout their lives and run a higher risk of harmful decisions to manage their weight including starvation, smoking, or surgery (Siegler et al., 2014).