Marketing Junk Food to Children Part I: Junk Food and Childhood Obesity

The issue of marketing unhealthy food alternatives to children is an situation that affects most families today. Controversy about this subject is being spurred on by the epidemic of obesity among children and adolescents in our country. In the United States each year, an estimated ten to fifteen billion dollars is spent marketing junk food and fast food to children. Much of these products that are advertised are the worst of the worst as far as food choice that children can make. Due to our busy lifestyles, parents are relying more and more on fast food to feed their families each night. Children who are viewing commercials for various food products are making an impact on their families food choice by vocalizing their wants as well. In today's connected society commercialization extends beyond just television ads, children and adolescents are being assaulted from all angles with advertising for junk foods. Currently, there are not many laws on the books with regards to marketing towards children. However, as this issue is starting to garner attention from the media, the government is starting to look into what should be done to protect future generations of children from being subjected to incessant advertising of unhealthy products.

What is junk food? This seems like a simple question, but in reality it's not. The basic definition of junk food is food that has little or no nutritional value. Looking further into it we learn that junk food is generally food that is high in fat, sodium, sugar, and other refined starches. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has developed the Food Guide Pyramid, which shows what proportion of foods humans need in their diet for a healthy lifestyle. (Facts on File 2002) Viewing the food guide pyramid, it is clear that fats and sugars are not meant to be a large part of a healthy diet. The very top of the pyramid shows these products and it is noted that they should be used sparingly. Much of the food that is sold in fast food outlets, contains large amounts of fat and salt and little to no vegetables, fruits or whole grains. A typical meal served to children in a fast food restaurant contains a cheeseburger, french fries and a soda. At McDonald's, for example, this meal would contain 640 calories, 24 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat and 940 milligrams of sodium. This is nearly half the fat content that a child should ingest in an entire day. The recommended daily sodium intake for children ages four to eight is 1200 milligrams, so ingesting 940 in one meal will cover over 80% of this. In addition to these poor nutrition stats, this meal does not provide a very much in regards to vitamins or fiber. The overconsumption of foods such as these is a major contribution to the obesity epidemic in the United States.

Being overweight is the state of being over ideal body weight and Obesity is the state of being well over ideal body weight. The generally accepted definition of obesity is when a person has a body mass index (bmi) of 30 or higher. In 1997, Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said of obesity that it "has become the second leading cause of preventable death in this country, resulting in 300,000 lives lost each year." Obesity in children is a growing problem. In just the short time between 2003 and 2007 childhood obesity rates grew from 14.8 percent to 16.4 percent. (Dotinga 2010) This article also demonstrates the connection between children from lower-income families being more susceptible towards becoming obese or overweight. The prevalence and relative low prices of fast food restaurants contribute towards their inclusion in the diet of low-income families. Children who are obese are significantly more likely to be obese as adults. Being obese is a leading cause of many serious diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, cancer and arthritis. In children especially, obesity is more than a health problem. Bullying of overweight children is a significant problem and can cause children to grow up with low self-Esteem and poor social skills. Dr. Julie Lumeng, an assistant research scientist at the Center for Human Growth and Development at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor conducted a study in regards to the connection between obesity and bullying. This study found that being overweight increased the risk of being the target of bullying by 63 percent. Obesity is caused by many factors, but the overconsumption of junk and fast food is a significant contributing factor. In the next article in this series, we will look at how junk food marketing affects junk food consumption in children.

Sources:

Dina L G Borzekowski,Thomas N Robinson,& Tony Peregrin.(2001). The 30-second effect: An experiment revealing the impact of television commercials on food preferences of preschoolers.American Dietetic Association. Journal of the American Dietetic Association,101(1),42-6

Dotinga, R. (2010). Child obesity rates going up. Medline Plus, Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_95897.html

"Junk Food in the 'Food Guide Pyramid' (sidebar)." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 29 Mar. 2002

Lumeng, J. (2010). Bullies target obese kids. Medline Plus, Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_98305.html

Moore, E. S. (2006). It's child's play - advergaming and the online marketing of food to children. Retrieved from http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/7536.pdf

"Youth-Oriented Advertising: Statistical Update." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 23 Mar. 2007. Web.