Advertising and it's Effects on Childhood Obesity - Essay Example

Advertising and its Effects on Childhood Obesity Affiliation with more information about affiliation,research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Advertising and its Effects on Childhood Obesity Introduction: One of the most significant public health problems faced by the United States is obesity and overweight, especially in children. Obesity in children is normally caused by the lack of physical exercises, wasting most of the time sedentary entertainments, unhealthy eating habits and so on. Advertisements promoted by cartoon channels have always influenced children a lot, and still continue to do so. This makes the young, easily excited children, to crave for extremely low nutritious and high-calorie food. But even the television channels cannot be blamed as they do not intend on ravaging the minds of these innocent children. Children just seem to like every advertisement aired on their preferred channels, and stay glued to them for hours together. The connection between childhood obesity and commercials on television is very strong, although it is subtle and not easily surfaced. Eating junk food, confectionery or fast food can lead to obesity in humans, and this is especially so in the case of children, to whom physical activities and healthy diet at early stages of life matters a lot. The majority of television advertisements are a combination of elements that the child craves for. The animations, the colors and the overall impact these elements create, are ample enough to stir up the desire in children, to lay their hands on those things at that exact time. Thus, they become victims of the allurement with which such images entice their innocent minds. Advertisements carry some peculiar traits as listed below that are capable of influencing children’s mind: 1) The advertisements have amazing and interesting sound and visual effects. 2) Most of them are dramatized and animated. 3) Some of the advertised products carry along with them an offer of free toys. 4) The ads introduce items in highly adorable, colorful packages with bright pictures Young children are easily hooked when a product is displayed with the endorsement of role models or cartoon characters that they literally worship. For children who are not keen about cartoons, there are advertisements that portray peers of their own age, which is something that no child can resist following. Children lack maturity in evaluating these conversations and voice-overs. Therefore, advertisements achieve success in their mission of penetrating children’s most basic desires. On the flipside, a child who has to grow strong with lots of physical activity gets relegated to the menial position of a couch potato and in the bargain compromises his or her potential for proper development and becomes obese. Considering the case of children that fall in the age group of 6-11, 22% of Mexican American kids are found to be overweight, 20% African American kids and 14% of non-Hispanic White kids also fall under the same category. “The childhood obesity epidemic is a serious public health problem that increases morbidity, mortality, and has substantial long term economic and social costs. The rates of obesity in America’s children and youth have almost tripled in the last quarter century. Approximately 20% of our youth are now overweight with obesity rates in preschool age children increasing at alarming speed. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of obesity has more than doubled among children ages 2 to 5 (5.0% to 12.4%) and ages 6 to 11 (6.5% to 17.0%)” (The impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity, 2011, Para.1). The aforesaid statistics subtly illustrate the impact of lack of adequate physical activity in children, which basically stems from the reality that instead of playing around, they stay glued to the TV screen, immersed in the display of colors and images, guided by hollow promises. The effects of advertisements on children have both negative and positive aspects. On the positive side, advertisements make children more creative, whereas, on the other hand, it may persuade children to live in an imaginary world as well. The obesity in children is enhanced by the advertisements as it makes the children lazy, besides creating in them a liking for unhealthy food articles. Ads also engage the interest of children and confine them to a sedentary position, depriving them of any scope for physical activity that is essential for healthy development of muscles and toning of body. The advertisements of hazardous products like tobacco and drinks may also mislead children as they are the most curious and want to try out something new every time. Kids are more easily prone to such extremities as they have a way of responding to what they see by directly imitating it. The advertisements force the children to develop a liking for products that may not be healthy to eat and they force their parents to buy them. “When trying to assess the precise nature of the effect of television advertising on children’s knowledge, attitudes and values, it is important to realize that, first, the actual effects of TV advertisements on children will largely vary according to a number of mediating factors that operate in direct relationship to the advertisements” (Gunter & Fumham, 1998, P.143). Advertisements make children believe in things that are not real and cause them to fix their attention on certain products that may cause obesity or other health problems in the long run. For example, considering chocolates, it is easy to notice that the advertisements regarding chocolates and such products are mostly based on fiction, which take the child to an imaginary world and they become enticed, always craving for it, whether they actually want it nor not. Long term consumption of such products finally entails damage to the child’s health. Eating confectionery, especially chocolates, increases the chance of obesity in children. Most of the children facing this serious health issue are prone to less physical activity. “The number of children with obesity in the United States has dramatically increased in recent years, and this may in part be due to the persuasive nature of food advertising (Strasburger & Wilson, 2002).” (Gunter B et al., 2005, P.5). Obesity in children is a major problem that the modern world faces. Though media ads may have some good elements in creating awareness in children, more dominant are the negative effects as they promote junk food items that contain lots of fats and sugar, such as chocolates, cheese, cookies and so on. These advertisements of snacks and chocolates lead to an increased demand for them from, which causes obesity in children. Besides, the appeal of ads in terms of their colorfulness and dramatics make children sit for hours together glued to the TV screen, which deprives them of the inclination to indulge in physical activities and make them lazy. This also leads to obesity. Reference List Gunter, B. & Fumham, A. (1998). Children as consumers: a psychological analysis of the young People’s market. Routledge. Gunter , B., & Oates , C.,& Blades , M.(2005). Advertising to Children on TV: Content, Impact, and Regulation . Routledge .Retrieved July 25, 2011, fromhttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=jHFCx0FPrZ4C&pg=PA7&dq=bad+effects+of+advertisements+on+children&hl=en# Metroka-Kirkham , K .Texas Christian University. College of Communication (2008).The Childrens Television Act and program-length commercials: Current interpretations and implications for the future . ProQuest. Retrieved July 25, 2011, fromhttp://books.google.co.in/books?id=EwLXCzl6VuEC&pg=PA16&dq=Advertising+and+its+effects+on+childhood+obesity.&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Advertising%20and%20its%20effects%20on%20childhood%20obesity.&f=false The impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity, (2011). American Psychological Association. Retrieved July 25, 2011, from http://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx Read More