The Myth Of Choice: How Junk-Food Marketers Target Our Kids

In today’s media obsessed society, youth is greatly influenced by advertising. For example, Marketing to kids gets more savvy with technologies is how they ,“Online games like Webkinz show ads on the site draw youth to buy the product or just to look at it for ‘money’”. Because this tactic works, the ads are an excellent at make youth to talk about this and be annoyed. In Facts about Marketing to Children, it says, “Children pack 8.5 hours of media a day’, is what the Facts about Marketing to Children says.” Because children are on the media so much it is easy for marketers to advertise and get children to buy the product. “ Anne Lappe says that when her daughter grows up, and goes to a movie, the character might have a soda or fast food.”

Advertising companies that produce commercials of food are taking an effect of teens healths. Anna Lappe discussed this situation in a video called, Real Food Media Project - Mythbusters Ep.2, she says, “... By the time Ida graduates from middle school one in three of her classmates will either have diabetes or on their way to getting it…” The children of this world are being affected by the foods that they are eating, these children are eating harmful products that can affect their health later on in their life. Another statement Anna Lappe discusses in her video is, “... only 16%...” of these kids are eating fruits and vegetables.

Fast food has a harmful effect on society because it can cause obesity. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry believes obesity “Overweight children are much more likely to become overweight adults unless they adopt and maintain healthier patterns of eating and exercise.” (parag. 1).The causing and treating of obesity is complex but it is the most recognizable disease. Consistently eating fast food and a poor can lead to obesity in anyone. The risks of obesity include an increased risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, fast food “Studies have shown that over the past four decades, consumption of food eaten away from home has also risen alarmingly” (parag. 8). This means that fast food is high in fat, sugar, salt, carbs, calories, saturated and trans fats. This type of eating leads to a higher body mass index or gained weight. Children and adolescents are at a

Fast food advertisements can be found around the world, on newspapers, television, and even online. Children, teenagers, and parents have seen marketing focused on fast food. While adults may think little about such blatant advertising tactics that are solely designed to attract new customers, how are kids affected? People across the United States worry about the ever increasing obesity rates amongst children in recent years. A common explanation is the spike in popularity of fast food. Most kids and teenagers have eaten fast food at least once in their lifetime. But why has fast food gotten increasingly popular recently? Fast food has always been known to be very unhealthy, but kids still consume it anyway. The culprit: fast food advertising. In modern times, the majority of kids living in the United States have access to the internet or television, where they are easy targets for advertising. To prevent the nation from growing up obese, fast food companies should end all ad campaigns targeted towards children and focus advertising strictly on adults. These advertisements cause kids to consume fast food more often, to eat an unhealthy diet, and to grow up in a culture dependent on fast food.

Most advertisements aimed at teenagers are effective, but usually are not ethical. Most marketers have many ways of gathering information on teenagers spending habits and what is most important to teens. With this information they’re able to create advertisements that will appeal to most teens and create profit. Many people argue that some or most of these ads aren’t ethical because they will create a problem or insecurity and then give the solution to that problem in the form of their product.

One of the main effects marketing take effects on youth is they're health. According to the documentary The Myth of Choice: How Junk Food Marketers Target Our Kids. 1 in 3 kids each day eat fast food, causing cancer, obesity, and diabetes type 2. This shows that if advertisers don't care about kids health or they're oblivious to the affects. And it's most likely not going to change. Also from the documentary, The Myth of Choice: How Junk Food Marketers Target Our Kids. It states “engineered to target parts of your brain that want fat and sugar”. Junk food companies hire scientists to like it said, target the parts of the brain that want your body to have that type of stuff. So is basically addicts you to the food so you'll always want to have

In a 65-year span, an average American spends around nine years watching television including 975 days of watching just commercials that is two million ads altogether. Parent are wondering what most of those commercials are regarding too? They are mostly businesses that are targeting kids to eat fast food or influence their parents to buy a product like a toy. Parents think that they can just turn off the T.V.? Yes, folks are correct they can shut down the T.V., but there are way more advertisements than just commercials so many that it is hard for even ad savvy parents to keep it away from their children. Marketers will try anything to get the kid to buy their products, or they will put a logo on everything that they can. How do they target

According “Eating More; Enjoying Less” from Pew Research Center by Scott Keeter, there are many different statistics that play a part in the consumption of fast food. According to the Pew Research Center and the research by Keeter, “fifty million Americans are served daily in some type of a fast food restaurant” (Keeter).According to Food Safety News, a study is completed by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington and Bill Marler reports on this research information saying that “the IHME identified the top ten risk factors for health loss in 2010 and the number of deaths attributable to each one” (Marler). During this study, the IHME found that diets are the number one leading cause of death. High blood pressure, high body mass index, physical inactivity, high blood sugar, and high total cholesterol all also follow closely behind on the list of risk factors, according to the IHME. Marler claims that fast food leads to every single one of these risk factors in one way or another, and that “fast food kills more people than smoking, alcohol, and illegal drug use all combined” (Marler). Austin Bryn worries that diseases and sickness will develop at a much earlier age and will cause problems for many kids as they are not getting the nutrients their

From viewing McDonald’s dollar menus on the freeways to admiring at the latest iPhone 7 promotions, there is no doubt advertisements have interfered with our lives. While the elderly is beginning to reminisce on the carefree lifestyles they had, adolescents are suffering from the excessive advertisements(ads) that appear on a daily basis. With superfluous advertisements in every direction, a civilian’s attention is easily captivated.

As a business grows, it only makes sense to expand; supply must meet demand after all. The issue many Americans face, including myself, has to do with convenience. Our quest for the easy way out has put us in the position we are today, and we are teaching the youth to do the same. Teaching the youth to follow on the path of those before us, will not stop this epidemic. Fast Food is no longer affecting a small portion of society, it is now affecting the world. Fast Food chains are located in every business hub, tourist destination, and metropolitan area in the world. According to the World Health Organization (2015), international obesity rates have doubled since the 1980s. The lack of nutritional knowledge and bad habits passed from generation to generation, have made this an international crisis and a crucial social issue (Whitney 2002). There are several ways to come back from this crisis, we need to call on the government/state, be conscious of the examples we set, limit advertising, and keep an eye on our

Advertising can lead to teens and kids making poor choices. 200 Billion dollars are pulled from the average teenage pocket every year from items that are advertised. For example 1 and every 3 people get some kind of diabetes before the age of 20 due to unhealthy eating. Almost every fast food restaurant has some kind of advertisement to lure people. Over 90% of fast food is unhealthy and can cause things such as cancer or diabetes. That's why I think Advertising can lead to kids and teens making poor choices.

It would seem this question has been on the tips of our tongues for some time, and still we've yet to come to a definitive answer. In the following paragraphs I will attempt to illustrate a portrait of American advertising and the harmful affects it has on our youth.

Why does advertising exist in the first place? Why have them around if some or the majority of people will just walk straight by then without taking a second glance? Well, you may think advertisement isn't a big deal, but advertisements have a bigger effect on society than you think. Our society of youth is being exposed to plenty more advertisements than ever before because they’re everywhere. Whether at school, online, or wherever you are you can see an advertisement. It's Just like you can't escape them. Now that advertisements went beyond the limits of television, there are more and more ways advertisers target children. Three different ways that advertisers target children are by placing them in schools, putting them in electronic

The population of America is becoming more aware of the importance of good nutrition. Ironically the people are becoming increasingly less healthy. In the 1960's the nation ate healthier but knew less about nutrition. The foods that the teenagers consume today contributes to the increasing weight and decreasing health of the nation. Many outside factors determine the eating habits of teenagers today.

Advertising today focuses on specific targeted demographic groups. There is a direct focus on marketing products to young consumers. This age group sees the commercials, but does not really understand the directed message. This can have an adverse effect on the way children interpret and understand the message being presented to them. 'The average American child sees more than 40,000 commercials a year, and advertisers spend more than $12 billion annually marketing to them?double the amount of 10 years ago.' (APA-1) Children watching television are exposed to every channel running commercials that are sending out a mature message to an immature audience. There needs to be something done to