Children and obesity - Essay Example

Children and Obesity There are many factors that contribute to childhood obesity but overeating is, bya large margin, the most apparent direct cause. Socioeconomic conditions and genetics are known to play a nominal role in the motives children eat more than they need but, by a large margin, most overeating is a due to inactivity. It is not a coincidence that the numbers of obese Americans began increasing in the 1960’s, when television programs became children’s babysitter. The inactive nature of watching television encourages ‘unconscious snacking’ and in combination with the appealing advertising that makes less than nutritious foods attractive to impressionable young minds have resulted in generations of ‘couch potatoes.’ A strong association exists between obesity and the amount of time people spend watching television, regardless of their age. This extensive problem, known as the ‘couch-potato syndrome,’ is the result of eating large quantities of snack foods such as cookies, potato chips and cupcakes that are high in fat content and calories while watching television, playing video games or sitting at the computer. Eating snack and fast foods combined with a lack of exercise are the main controllable factors concerning child obesity. Though attempting to accurately determine just how much television America’s children view per day is not an exact science because outcomes from studies of the subject vary widely, it is generally accepted that children spend most of their spare time, when not in school, sitting on the floor or couch watching television. Channels such as Cartoon, Disney and Nickelodeon, designed to cater specifically to younger child, make efforts to supply quality programs that do not include some of the sexual innuendo, drug use, and violence featured in the prime time shows which make parents feel more at ease. However, “children continue to be exposed to a great deal of highly sophisticated, influential and enticing advertising even on these networks, introducing concepts that are not necessarily conducive to a child’s well-being and has proven to have a negative effect upon a child’s nutritional choices.” (Kaur, 2011) Television commercials which promote foods frequently misrepresent their products nutritional value to impressionable children. “Health experts believe that constant promotion of high-calorie food is contributing to the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States by encouraging preferences for junk food and contributing to poor eating habits” (Byrd-Bredbenner & Grasso, 2000). As children view their favorite programs, they are tempted by yet more types of ‘junk food’ embedded with the show. They then swiftly and noisily tell their parents of the new item they ‘must have.’ The parents then, more often than not, purchase the product. It’s a continuous cycle facilitating what has become epidemic of childhood obesity. All too often children are satisfied to sit and snack instead of going outside to play and burning up calories. Studies concerning behavioral effects of television advertising have discovered that it is a considerable factor in determining the particular items, especially food products, children request. Although it was acknowledged from early on in the evolution of television that advertising would produce the majority of the operating income for television programs. During the 1960s advertisers started producing commercials targeted expressly toward children who may not have money but have great influence on the parents who shop for food. This was a brilliant method of adding to their consumer base. Acknowledging that children cannot have the same comprehension ability as adults, at least 60 psychologists have expressed their concerns to the American Psychological Association (APA) pertaining to television advertisements to children, referring to several countries that have enacted laws regulating advertisements to children. These countries include Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Greece. According to these studies, “children eight years old and younger do not understand that advertisements serve a different purpose than other television programs. They completely believe what the television tells them so advertising to them is ‘like shooting fish in a barrel.’” (Cooper, 2004) Advertising to children intentionally takes advantage of their youthful innocence and naivete, something that, in any other context, is “illegal and unquestionably immoral” (Kunkel et al, 2004). In 1971 only 4 percent of children 6-to-11-year-old was obese; by 2004, the number had ballooned to 18.8. During this same time period, the figure increased from 6.1 percent to 17.4 in the 12-to-19-year-old age group and from 5 to 13.9 for children aged 2 to 5. These alarming numbers are just referring to obesity. A full third of all children in America are considered overweight. A stunning 90 percent of overweight children presently have more than one preventable risk factor for heart disease. Hypertension and high cholesterol top that list. Teenagers are more than ever being diagnosed for Type 2 diabetes. “Health experts warn that the current generation of children may be the first in American history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.” (Kluger, 2008) Humans, as are all animals, are hardwired to not just eat until satisfied but to gorge because subsisting in the wild means not knowing when your next meal will be or when the next famine will strike. It’s instinctual to store up calories when you can, even if that famine does not come. “We're not only programmed to eat a lot,” according to Sharman Apt Russell, author of Hunger: An Unnatural History, “but to prefer foods that are high in calories.” Moreover, the better humans became at producing or hunting food, the easier has become to gain excess weight. “If you're a settler, you eat a lot of buffalo in part because you need a lot of buffalo at least after burning so many calories hunting and killing it.” (Kluger, 2008) But what are the effects when eating no longer requires more work than walking to the refrigerator or, at worst, driving to the nearby grocery store? Children and adults are suffering from the answer to that question. The best method of losing weight is to eat less food, eat low calorie foods, minimize television viewing time and exercise frequently, very easy sounding. Yet, it’s not easy, far from it. Why are economically disadvantaged women and by extension their children more liable to be overweight? High calorie, high fat foods tend to be less expensive than healthier foods for a variety of reasons. In addition, poverty causes stress which is an emotional reaction. This leads to eating, an outlet for emotions. Food is the ideal therapy for stress induced emotions. It’s relatively inexpensive, legal, readily accessible and naturally intertwined with human emotions in several ways. People eat when sad, bored, and stressed. “Studies have also shown that a correlation exists between substandard economic circumstances and obesity rates, particularly in the case of women.” (Gawande, 1998) Children of poor households are at increased risk for obesity. In many cases the best meal they have is at school and until relatively recently have been no healthier than meal choices at home. Lifestyle choices such as overeating, typically while sitting in front of the television on contribute to weight gain for children. The ‘couch potato syndrome’ is treatable though. Research has demonstrated that obese children lose weight when they watch less television. If the ‘fat by birth’ the poor spent more time playing outside these children would lose weight too. The issue has finally addressed at the federal level with the “Let’s Move” campaign headed by Michelle Obama who is encouraging schools, restaurants and parents to help children to be healthy. Through the Affordable Care Act chain restaurants are required to display calorie counts on the menu. Childhood obesity is a preventable condition that is harming children. If anything else were harming children as much the public would not allow it and should not allow childhood obesity. Works Cited Byrd-Bredbenner C & Grasso D. “Commercials During 1992 and 1998.” Journal of School Health. Vol. 70, (2000), pp. 61-65. Cooper, Garry. “TV Advertising is Bad for Children.” Associated Counselors and Therapists. Hermosa Beach, CA: (June 4, 2004). July 22, 2011 Gawande, Atu. “Why Money Won’t Buy Fat” Slate (1998). July 22, 2011 Kaur, Harsohena, MD. “The Couch Potato Syndrome: Television and weight gain” Pediatrics for Parents (2011). July 22, 2011 Kluger, Jeffrey. “How America's Children Packed On the Pounds” Time Magazine Health (June 12, 2008) July 22, 2011 Kunkel, Dale; Wilcox, Brian; Cantor, Joanne; Palmer, Edward; Linn, Susan; & Dowrick, Peter. “Report of the APA Task Force on Advertising and Children Section: Psychological Issues in the Increasing Commercialization of Childhood.” American Psychological Association (February 20, 2004). July 22, 2011 < http://www.apa.org/pi/families/resources/advertising-children.pdf> Read More