Everybody has been exposed to advertisements for tempting foods while they were children, and often these advertisements persuaded the mind of the child into thinking they must have the treat on the television.The figures associated with this brand of advertising and the dangers that correlate to the success of this advertising have caused an epidemic in American children. The epidemic seems to stem not from the actual advertisements, but from the American lifestyle, which spurs the creation and abundance of such advertising.The facts about advertising unhealthy foods to children demonstrate that the problem is rampant and does not appear to be minimized in the near future.
The facts drawn up by the International Association of Consumer Foods Organization (IACFO) are staggering, and portray a problem that stems from corporate profits and nothing more.The study conducted first suggests that an epidemic of unhealthiness is indeed tearing at the fabric of society. The main body conducting research into the appearance of obesity and bad health has always been the World Health Organization (WHO).For example, “the WHO has reported the rising incidence of obesity and chronic disease such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes among the population worldwide.
” (Dalmeny, et al)Many of the current consumer foods advocates and corporations would point to the fact that it is not their product that is making people obese, but in fact it is other factors that mainly contribute to the problem. However, the WHO disputes this claim. For instance, the WHO has created a link between the high fat consumer foods and many diseases such as obesity and cardiovascular problems. (Dalmeny, et al)The WHO has successfully presented the problem of an obesity and disease epidemic and has also contributed this condition to the consumer foods that are advertised to children. The populace should begin to believe that the corporations selling the food and the advertisers marketing the food to children would adopt different strategies when faced with such a problem, but this is not the case.
The WHO further suggests, “these concepts have not led to a change in policies or in practice.” (Dalmeny, et al) The study conducted by the WHO, and documented by the IACFO clearly demonstrates that a problem exists and the entities responsible for the problem have done little to nothing in offering a solution.The next step in addressing the advertising of unhealthy foods is to determine the extent that such advertising becomes prevalent in the American culture. One key statistic adopted by the WHO is the ratio of spending to prevent harmful eating compared to the spending to promote harmful eating.The figure derived by the WHO is for every one dollar spent by the WHO to educate children on harmful eating habits, the consumer food corporations spend five hundred dollars to advertise their unhealthy foods.
(Dalmeny, et al)This figure illustrates the enormous battle that the WHO is facing against the corporations that advertise to children. It is also evident that the advertising is directly marketed toward children, and it appears the consumer food groups are not hiding this fact.ConclusionThe marketing of unhealthy foods to children is a problem, but it is in the American lifestyle where the root of the problem exists. A total lifestyle change is needed before advertisers of low nutrition high fat foods decide their money is best spent some place else.
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