Food Marketing Related with Obesity - Essay Example

Food Marketing Related with Obesity Childhood obesity has grown to become one of the most serious public health problems that are directly linked to the increased morbidity and mortality rates with significant long term social and economic costs. The last quarter century has seen the tripling rates of obesity among the American youths and children. It is estimated that 20% of the youths in the US are overweight. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report, “the prevalence of obesity among children between the ages of 0 to 5 and ages 6 to 11has more than doubled to 12.4 from 5% and to 17 from 6.5% respectively. Among the teens from ages 12 to 19, obesity prevalence has tripled from 5% to 17.6%. Childhood obesity exposes the youth and children to becoming obese in adulthood and attracting poor health from diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. The American Psychology Association associates the increased rates of childhood obesity to increased food advertising. In the US, it is estimated that almost $2 billion is spent by the food and beverage industry annually towards marketing the beverages and food to the adolescents and children. The Institute of Medicine report advanced that the food and beverage advertising have effects on the food choices, diets, food purchase requests, and health of the children. According to Bouchard (62), “the food markets and its impacts have been established to vary by ethnicity”. For example, in America, the food marketing is more prevalent in the Latino and Black communities. Research indicates that every day, the Black children are exposed to twice as many high calorie advertised food commercials as White Children (Bouchard 62). The food products that are marketed most to the Blacks are the low nutrition high calorie foods and beverages. The Latinos are the main target for the marketers as a result of their relative spending power and population growth. It has been established that nearly 84 percent of children targeted marketing on Spanish-language TV promote food stuffs having low nutritional values. Within a three year period between 2010 and 2013, the research revealed that the overall advertising expenditures by the fast food restaurants on Spanish TV had increased by 8 percent. Moreover, the low income Latino neighborhoods bear nine times more outdoor sugar drinks and fast food advertising compared to the high-income White neighborhoods (American Psychology Association par 4). The modern day children from between the ages of 8 and 18 are exposed to various types of media, which they often consume simultaneously. “It is estimated that the children spend an average of 44.5 hours weekly in front of the televisions, computers and game screens” (American Psychology Association par 5). Such a large portion of time exceeds those committed in other activities, and is only comparable to the time spent by the children while sleeping. Studies have established a correlation between the increased advertising of non-nutritious food stuffs and the increased rates of childhood obesity (Bouchard, 105). According to McGinnis (72), the six year old (and below) children are considered quite vulnerable to such advertisements because of their inability to distinguish between programming and advertising, with those under the age of eight not able to comprehend the persuasive aim of advertising. Various sources have therefore rebuked the advertisements targeting these groups of minors, terming them exploitative. The vulnerability of children is further enhanced as a result of their remarkable capacity to remember content from the advertisements to which they have gained exposure to. In children, product preferences have been established to take place by as little as a single exposure to commercials, with repeated exposures serving to strengthen the impact further (McGinnis pg 75). The product preferences definitely influence the product purchase requests by the children, with such requests highly determining the purchasing decisions made by their parents. According to the American Psychology Association, “obesity among children and youth increases the more they watch the television”. The exposure of children to the television advertisements that promote unhealthy food products such as the low nutrient snacks, those high in calories, the sweetened beverages and the fast foods are in themselves a potential risk factor for obesity. Studies on very young kids have established that for each hour spent in television viewing daily ensures the higher intake of fast foods, red and processed meat, sugar sweetened beverages, and overall calories at 48.7kcal per day. The daily addition of only 150 calories ensures the gaining of excess weight. Other studies have demonstrated that those kids spending over three hours daily on television are more likely to be overweight compared to those who spend less than 2 hours per day (Bouchard, pg 109). Food and beverage advertising aimed at children have been established to influence the preferences, diet and requests of the children. “Even though the food and beverage industry put up regulations on their marketing to children, little has been achieved in relation to improvements in the promotion of healthier foods such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, non-fat or low fat milk, and other dairy products, poultry, lean meats, beans and fish to the children” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention par 7). It is estimated that about three in every four foods that are advertised to the children fall in the category of unhealthy food that adds up to the obesity epidemic. On the children shows, food advertisements make up fifty percents of them all. The advertisements are almost wholly dominated by the unhealthy food products. According to the estimates by American Psychology Association, candy and snacks make up 34%, cereals 28%, fast foods 10%, dairy products 4%, fruit juices 1%, and fruits and vegetables having 0%. Children of 8 to 12 by age have the highest exposure to the adverts (Stern & Alexandra, pg 110). Children of this age group thus bear the highest risk being that they are getting into a critical developmental stage in which they establish food habits, have more room to make decisions regarding their food choices, and have some money they spend on their enjoyable foods. Stern & Alexandra (113) notes that there are various impacts of the food advertising and the resultant obesity on the mental and behavioral health of children. In other industries, advertising has been criticized to objectify women and girls thus leading to eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, low self confidence, low self esteem, and depression. Many adolescents especially the teenage girls notably have various concerns about their body image and get involved in unhealthy weight control behaviors to combat obesity and overweight. The unhealthy weight control measures have been established to co-occur with obesity and include behaviors such as skipping meals, fasting and vomiting, eating very little food, the use of diet pills, diuretics or laxatives. Weight bias exposes the children and youth to marginalization especially from their peers and teachers making them vulnerable to bullying and teasing. The weight related stigma is highly linked to suicidal thoughts, low self esteem, and depression (Bouchard, pg 102). According to the Federal Trade Commission statistics between 2006 and 2009, children directed marketing declined by about 20%. However, a large portion of the food that is advertised to the children is still considered largely unhealthy. The voluntary Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI) adopted in 2014 remains the most significant self-regulatory effort. It has stricter guidelines set to limit the amount of calories, fats, sugar, and sodium foods that are marketed to the children. While these measures were widely applauded, they still exhibit some shortfalls in terms of low nutritional value beverages and foods to the young populations. The CFBAI also promotes the guidelines on what generally comprises food marketing to children. The CFBAI has been urged from various quarters to implement a stronger set of marketing definition and strengthen its policies further in those jurisdictions where the children are vulnerable to the junk food marketing. The schools have been identified as an essential venue in which to limit the junk food advertising that is targeted at children. Even though the schools have the capacity to restrict the food marketing during school days, less than 20% of public school districts in the United States as of 2013 had implemented the wellness policy to address food marketing, with only 50% of the districts having prohibited the marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages (McGinnis pg 78). Companies within the food and beverage industry still continue their marketing courses to the school children through various techniques be it through the scoreboards, signs, branded fundraisers, posters, scholarships, corporate incentive programs and the provision of education materials. In conclusion, the childhood obesity rate is currently at its highest with children continuing to be persuaded through marketing to consume the foods that are high in calories, salt, sugar, and fat. The food and beverage industry has committed and utilized almost every technology at their disposal to promote their brands into the young populations. Companies have merged internet and television advertising, mobile marketing, product placement, brand licensing, premiums, in store advertising, cross-promotions, in school and viral marketing in the creation of omnipresent marketing campaigns suited to exploit the children vulnerabilities (Stern & Alexandra, pg 114). In this industry, the sophisticated and incessant marketing is tailored to attain the desired results of influencing the brand preferences, diets, and purchase requests of the children. The result is, however, devastating for the children, families, and society at large. From this marketing, the skyrocketing rates of childhood obesity have grown to become a public health crisis. The overweight children are vulnerable to a number of health problems such as diabetes, cancer, and heart diseases. The effort by families and societies to manage these adverse conditions usually translates into high costs and a burden to the budget. Works Cited American Psychology Association. “The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity.” American Psychology Association, Web. 9 Nov 2015 Top of Form Bouchard, Claude. Physical Activity and Obesity. Champaign, Ill: Human Kinetics, 2000. Print. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Childhood Obesity Causes and Consequences.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Web. 9 Nov 2015 Bottom of Form Top of Form McGinnis, J M, Jennifer A. Gootman, and Vivica I. Kraak. Food Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006. Print Top of Form Stern, Judith S, and Alexandra Kazaks. Obesity: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2009. Print. Bottom of Form Bottom of Form Read More