How Junk Food Advertisements on TV Target Children and Lead To Childhood Obesity

Junk food ads target children

For my ePortfolio post, I am going to research how junk food advertisements on TV are leading to childhood obesity. There are a great deal of food advertisements that incorporate aspects that appeal to children, such as toys or prizes, and thus, persuade kids to want to eat certain foods. Unfortunately, a majority of these advertisements are for high-calorie, low-nutritious foods. Children learn to associate these foods with positive things, like the action figure they received in their McDonald's happy meal. However, they are unaware that consuming these junk foods has negative effects on their health and can lead to obesity.

Studies have been done that show a direct correlation between the increased marketing of junk food to children and the rates of childhood obesity. For example, a study by the University of Michigan found that children who regularly watched TV commercials consumed more junk food than children who watched commercial-free television. In addition, the children who regularly watched TV commercials had a distorted view of healthy portion sizes and choices. The foods that were advertised the most included sugar-sweetened beverages, sweetened cereals, prepackaged snack foods, fast foods, and convenience meals. These foods contain high amounts of sugar, salt, and fat, which lead to weight gain if consumed in excess amounts.

Overall, junk food advertisements are targeting vulnerable, innocent children who don't understand the harms of eating these kind of foods. For my ePortfolio, I am going to research more about how exactly junk food advertisements influence the choices that children make when it comes to eating. In addition, I will discuss a specific example of a company that tried to convince kids to eat a "fourth meal" in their advertisements.

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