Commercials usually show the use of food as a measure of entertainment and not to satisfy hunger. Rarely would we see an overweight child in these ads, and that sends the message that "inappropriate use of food has no impact on health and nutrition" (Trahms, C.M., & Pipes, P.L., (ed). (1997) Nutrition in Infancy and Childhood. United States: WCB/McGraw-Hill) Therefore, the consequences of media and television advertising are unavoidable, and that is because those advertisements are specifically designed to target those little children who are so vulnerable to "crafted messages of consumptions". (Trahms, C.M., & Pipes, P.L., (ed).
Parents have to share the blame for unhealthy food choices their children make. Some kids will usually complain to their parents like “I don’t like vegetables” so they give them cookies. Some parents stick with healthy choices and only allow unhealthy foods on special occasions like birthdays and holidays. I feel that special occasion treat is something a school should consider. Many of the older kids will be able to relate to the issued of healthy foods, because they will be able to understand the outcome of unhealthy choices.
I believe that many teenagers do not have sufficient fibre in their diet, the older age group will be more health conscious of their weight and health, the lower range of target audience will be attracted by the golden star shaped cereal and its fun shape. Pest Power is used by all children within the target range so using an eye-catching and persuasive marketing campaign would be necessary in order to hook the buyer. Their parents would mostly agree that it is healthy; it is free of sugar and any artificial additives, whilst adding necessary vitamins naturally to a child’s diet. In addition it would make a good alternative for children
There are always companies trying to offer a better price to schools constantly and they are giving into these unbeatable prices without even thinking about the consequences (Junk Food). These foods are so cheap because they are manufactured and processed so that the company can produce as much as possible and as cheap as possible. This means that the foods given to the students are not up to its nutritional best and this is the main reason students are eating so poorly. Instead, McHenry County schools can begin to start buying their foods from local farmers and other companies that are local and are more nutritional. Vending machines can also be implemented with other things other than just chips, cookies and other junk foods like that.
In the article “Roadside Restaurants in the Automobile Age” by John A. Keith, he says, “McDonald’s targets children through advertising, toy promotions, playgrounds, and contracts with school districts they can influence the tastes and preferences of this most impressionable growth market.” Creations such as the “happy-meal” and Ronald McDonald make people nostalgic for McDonalds because they remember it from their youth. Alternatively, some people argue that food corporations are not responsible for obesity in the United States. For example, if a business provides adequate information about its food products, it is obvious then they have fulfilled their ethical obligation. Consequently, consumers are less likely to seek restitution through
Food distributed by the National School Lunch Program contains some of the same ingredients in fast food... Yet this is how the government continues to "help" feed millions of American school children. (Heron 11)" I believe that if you receive money from the U.S.D.A. that schools should invest in a kitchen to serve freshly salads, fruits, and vegetables or as a minimum take a step into having a healthier school diet and lunch. If students would have known that fast food ingredients were found in our school lunches.
Society may have a part in making the children obese, but it is solely the parents who fail to guide the children properly that make them obese. Parents should recommend healthy food choices for their children, because they are the one who are buying the food. “According to a survey done by ACNielsen, only 1% of parents blamed manufactures, 7% blamed advertising on TV, 9% blamed the child, 10% blamed fast food companies, and surprisingly two-thirds of parents blamed themselves” (Iannelli 1). Parents must set an example for their children, how can they expect their children to eat healthy and exercise if they are not doing it themselves? Back in the day before microwaves, it would take parents an average of 3 hours to prepare dinner, but now it is mostly prepared in less than 15 minutes.
Queen V Change your Ways or Get Sued In David Barboza’s article “If You Pitch It, They Will Eat” he makes a great argument when talking about how fast food companies are making their way into schools, how lawmakers are trying to ban or sue them for doing so, and how they are aiming their products towards children. Many of these claims are similar to this:” We don’t sell children guns, alcohol, or drugs, but we do allow them to be exploited by food companies” (13). This is one accusation that might be disagreed upon by people. Some might say that it isn’t the food companies’ fault that it is indeed the parents because they allow their children to eat this food, and it’s not like these corporations are making people buy and eat their products.
That’s why it’s easy to imagine the industry throwing its weight behind a soda tax. School lunch reform would become its cause, too, and in time the industry would come to see that the development of regional food systems, which make fresh produce more available and reduce dependence on heavily processed food from far away, could help prevent chronic disease and reduce their costs. Recently a team of designers from M.I.T. and Columbia was asked by the foundation of the insurer UnitedHealthcare to develop an innovative systems approach to tackling childhood obesity in America. Their conclusion surprised the designers as much as their sponsor: they determined that promoting the concept of a “foodshed” — a diversified, regional food economy — could be the key to improving the American diet.
Ludwig and Nestle expresses, “Research links frequent consumption of highly processed foods to weight gain and increased risk for diet-related diseases” (1809). The fast food chain is considerably increasing the epidemic of unhealthy eating even after research. The fast food chains use toys and cartoon characters to provoke the children to want to eat the meals to consume a toy or prize. As for my experience, taking a friend child to Mc Donald’s, I was surprise to see that I can choose for her apple slices as a healthy snack. As of my surprise a few moments after if you don’t ask for the apple slices in line which I did not that is when the employees automatically give the child