Obesity has been defined by the World Health Organization as a condition that involves an excess accumulation of fat. An individual is considered to be obese if they have a body mass index (BMI) equal to or greater than 30. Individuals suffering from obesity increase their risk for various health problems such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. According to former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona obesity poses the biggest threat to public health. Also, the American Medical Association reports that in the year of 2007 mortality rates were higher for obesity than those rates combined of AIDS, cancers and accidents. It has been reported that obesity rates have increased by 50 percent per decade since the 1960s. Facts such as this prove that obesity is a large epidemic, which is still on the rise, in the United States. Doctors have become so concerned with the increasing, and quite alarming, rates in obesity that they have focused their attention to solving this problem. Research and doctors have linked this large increase in obesity rates to the developing media. Access to various media sources such as television, computer, iPods and videogames has become easier and made of more use over the past few decades. However, this increase in use of media availability has contributed to an increase in sedentary lifestyles. Rather than going outside and playing for an hour, children are sitting in front of a computer screen or television for countless hours. For reasons such as this, and many more, the developing media has played a large role in the obesity epidemic in the United States.
The media plays a large role in advertising everything from cereals and snacks to laundry detergent and deodorant. Advertisements serve a purpose of trying to get the audience to buy the product. Over the past few years, more and more advertisements have been directed towards promoting unhealthy food choices for children. Research composed by the Kaiser Family Foundation, “a non-profit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the U.S.”, discovered a correlation between media targeted towards children and childhood obesity rates. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, during the period in which childhood obesity has increased at such alarming rates, too has media targeted towards children. On average, children will spend 5 ½ hours a day using media sources—television, computer, video games. This is the 2nd activity children dedicate most of their daily living too—the first being that of sleeping.
A child is exposed to 40,000 ads a year on TV and most of these ads are promoting candy, soda, or unhealthy snacks. Advertisers use fun colors and characters to attract the children to these unhealthy snacks, thus leading them to ask their parents to buy them that particular product. For this reason, many researchers have found that these advertisements may be leading to unhealthy food choices and weight gain in children. Distributions for advertisements break down into 32% directed towards candy, 31% cereal and 9% fast food. Research on advertisements during Saturday morning television programs for children found that a child can be expected to be exposed to a food commercial every five minutes. Since the 1980s the advertisements of high fat and high sodium foods during these Saturday morning hours have nearly doubled. Ironically, as these commercials have increased, too have the rates of childhood obesity. Studies composed on children from grades 7-12 discovered that those individuals who ate fast food more frequently also watched TV more often. Shocking studies revealed that 70% of children between the ages of 6 and 8 were hindered with the misconception—from advertisements—that fast food was more nutritious than a home cooked meal. Facts such as these represent a strong link between the media’s influence in childhood obesity rates.
Doctors know that there is a simple cure to this obesity epidemic—a change to a healthier diet and addition of exercise. However, this cure has become more difficult with an increase in both the use of media sources by citizens and advertisements of unhealthy foods throughout the United States. According to Obesity and the Media it may seem ridiculous to assume that advertising can cause someone to become overweight. People have a decision of choosing what they want to eat and what they do not want to eat. However, advertisers use sly methods to hint at not only what people should wear or how they should live, but also how to eat. Children get the idea from fast food advertisements—which can be found on TV, billboards, internet sites and many other places—that the food is healthy for them. Younger children even begin to link the fun characters such as Ronald McDonald or Colonel from KFC with their decision making in what to eat. As they continue to do this they generate an idea that the food is good for them and continue to eat it—contributing to the escalating obesity epidemic.
A studied composed in 2004 by the American Psychological Association (APA) found that there is a link between children changing their food eating habits based upon what they see on TV. According to Dr. Brian Wilcox—who worked as a head of this study—“Such advertising of unhealthy food products to young children contributes to poor nutritional habits that may last a lifetime and be a variable in the current epidemic of obesity among kids.” A peer-reviewed article by the journal Progress in Pediatric Cardiology entitled “The role of television in childhood obesity” too found the same information studied by the APA. Progress in Pediatric Cardiology states that the increase in advertisements directed towards children marketing high fat, sugar and calorie foods have changed children’s preferences of foods. This study has also found that children are likely to snack while watching TV. These snacks children are eating tend to be more unhealthy and high in calories rather than fruits or vegetables—something rarely advertised on television. Cross sectional studies have proven that a dose response relationship exists between media exposure and obesity. In children between the ages of 12-17 a 2% increase in the prevalence of obesity was demonstrated for each extra hour of TV viewing. This trend was also noted in preschool children with a 6% increase in prevalence of obesity for each additional hour of TV viewing. Larger studies have revealed that over 60% of obesity incidence can be contributed to too much TV watching. Also, children who have a TV in their bedroom and watch more hours of television per week are more likely to be overweight than those without a television set in their bedroom. Not so ironically, as the childhood obesity epidemic has increase, too have the percentages of TV sets in children’s rooms. Increase TV viewing has been linked with increase meal frequency, snacking and caloric increase. It has been found there was a 167 caloric intake increase for each additional hour of TV viewing. Facts such as these reveal that television viewing has a strong influence upon unhealthy eating behaviors. These eating behaviors eventually contribute to this overwhelming increase in childhood obesity epidemic rates.
Although studies have revealed a weak correlation between physical inactivity and extensive television watching, a small relationship does exist. Typically media use involves that of sedentary behaviors. Whether it be playing videogames, watching a television show or surfing the web most of the time is spent sitting down on a couch or chair. Sitting down, watching TV, and snacking on unhealthy snacks all combines to contribute to the obesity epidemic. According to Progress in Pediatric Cardiology television viewing is a sedentary activity thus promoting a sedentary lifestyle. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that a telephone survey of parents with children between the ages of 4-6 found that those children who spent more than two hours watching TV spent an average of a half hour less playing outside. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, “The fact that most studies have failed to find a substantial relationship between the time children spend watching TV and the time they spend in physical activity may suggest that the nature of television viewing—that is, how children watch and what they watch—may be as or more important than the number of hours they watch. This statement supports aforementioned material that what children are watching is strongly influencing their eating habits. However, this does not mean to forget about physical inactivity. A report in 2002 by the National Association for Physical Education in Higher Education states that children are more often choosing to participate in “sedentary leisure-time activities”. More than half of the adolescent population is failing to meet recommended physical activity guidelines. This report states that television watching is associated with less time spent in performing moderate-vigorous physical activity. Also, the media has not been found to promote physical activity for children. In fact, children Saturday morning programs depicted characters participating in physical activity less than 10% of the program—equivalent to 2 minutes. Information such as this correlates with the idea that an increase in media use has influenced physical inactivity—contributing to increased obesity rates.
An ABC documentary segment with Michelle Obama highlights the importance of getting children up and moving. Michelle Obama’s program “Let’s Move” – which promotes healthy eating and an active lifestyle for both children and the parents of children—has just celebrated its year anniversary. This documentary highlights what she hoped to achieve with this program. She also discusses the role television has played in decreasing physical activity rates in children. Furthermore, she links this use of the media to childhood obesity rates. With her program she hopes to lessen this growing epidemic around the United States. However, it has been noted that Michelle Obama has made use of the media to stress the importance of eating healthy and being active. It is not uncommon to find the First Lady on commercial breaks on Disney Channel promoting her program and what children should be doing to lead a healthy lifestyle. Her initiative has represented a positive influence the media can potentially have in lessening obesity rates. The link to this documentary is provided here—'Let's Move' on Childhood Obesity Segment.
An NPR segment with First Lady Michelle Obama, Margo Wootan—a director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public interest—and Dr. Darcy Thompson—assistant professor of pediatrics at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine highlights the link between advertising and obesity. Dr Thompson is noted for stating, “I think research shows that there is a strong link between the impact of advertising, particularly food and drink advertising, on children’s food preferences, their food request, the request they make to their parents and the beliefs that they have regarding food. And all of these together have an influence on the prevalence of obesity in children today.” This statement helps to further the belief of a link between advertisements and obesity rates as it pertains for the aforementioned material. The First Lady has stated within this interview that she believes the media plays a large role in childhood obesity. Dr Thompson reports that fast food and sugar drink advertisements are played much more during after school hours than in school hours. This proves to be a tactic to attract more and more children to these unhealthy foods. A YouTube video entitled “Media’s Heavy Impact on Childhood Obesity” helps to further highlight the influence of the advertising media world on childhood obesity rates. The link to this video can be found provided below:
This video helps to highlight the constant role the advertising media has played in the food that children chose to eat. Sly tactics attract children to food that they believe is healthy, when in actuality it is not.
The UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital helps to support these ideas provided in the YouTube video and NPR segment. According to the UCSF television continues to dominate children’s free time and the media takes advantage of this with the constant exposure of children to high-sugar and high-fat foods. They also state that media use “displaces” physical activity. UCSF states that displacement includes the abundant use of the media that other activities become replaced. This idea incorporates TV watching interfering with the amount of time children should be spending being physically active. Greatschools.org reports that children between ages 8-18 spend on average 44.5 hours a week with some sort of media source as opposed to 8.75 hours exercising. Also, a preschoolers risk for obesity increases by 6% for every hour of TV watching. Within this TV viewing, 80% of the commercials are for fast food, candy cereal and toys. Clearly, the media has put much time and effort into attracting children towards unhealthy food choices.
Facts such as those mentioned above pose the idea that the media has had such a strong influence in the alarming childhood obesity rates. Although it may not be correct to say using the media causes obesity, it does make sense to link the two together. Research backs up the idea that the developing media can be linked with increased childhood obesity rates. It is not just ironic that as media availability and use increased so did obesity rates. It is proof that a link does exist. If children are not encouraged to go outside and remain active or eat healthy foods, the rates are going to continue to increase. Parents must help children in making the correct decisions and children must learn how to balance their media exposure and physical activity. The media has played a large role in the current obesity epidemic in the United States and without some sort of change, it will continue to develop.
Clocksin, Brian D., Doris L. Watson, and Lynda Ransdell. "Understanding Youth Obesity and Media Use: Implications for Future Intervention Programs." QUEST 54 (2002): 259-75. Print.
Dennison, Barbara A., and Lynn S. Edmunds. "The Role of Television in Childhood Obesity."Progress in Pediatric Cardiology 25.2 (2008): 191-97. Print.
"Experts Say Ads Make Kids Fat : NPR." NPR : National Public Radio : News & Analysis, World, US, Music & Arts : NPR. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
GreatSchools. "Physical Health: The Media Link to Obesity, Risky Diets - Health & Nutrition | GreatSchools." GreatSchools - Public and Private School Ratings, Reviews and Parent Community. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
"'Let's Move' on Childhood Obesity Video - ABC News." ABCNews.com: Breaking News, Politics, World News, Good Morning America, Exclusive Interviews - ABC News. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
Obesity and the Media | Patient Education." UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital. 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
O’Connor, Frances. Obesity and the Media. New York, NY: Rosen Group, 2009. Print.
"The Role of Media in Childhood Obesity." The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Feb. 2004. Web. Apr. 2011.
"YouTube- Media's Heavy Impact of Childhood Obesity." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 24 Apr. 2011.
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