Food Messages And The Media

Food marketing and advertising to our Nation’s children  An average child watches about 10,000 food advertisements a year in America  4 out of 5 advertisements include sugary cereals, snack foods, candy, soft drinks and fast foods.

 McDonald's spends about 1.4 million dollars a year on advertisements worldwide  Children are mislead by these advertisements including TV, internet, video games, board games and coloring books.

 A 15 billion dollar marketing business competition; just to name a few: General Mills, Kellogg’s, Coca-cola, Kraft and Disney to spark the child’s interest to buy their products.

 The food choices advertisements are being manipulated by the marketing techniques.  Snack foods out number healthy food promotions 11 million to 1

Who benefits from obesity  Food industry  Food producers  Candy companies  Networks

How can we change this Parents may limit children’s TV and computer time Watch commercial free programming such as PBS Encourage other physical and mental activities Include children in household chores

Parents make the time to pack a nutritious meal to eat on the way instead of fast food Eat with the children Encourage healthy choices by taking children for grocery shopping Stop shopping for junk foods

If the parents need to stop at a fast food restaurant, they can choose a healthier meal like a chicken salad or a grilled chicken sandwich instead of a fried one Parents need to educate themselves and their children about their food choices

Schools can change this by promoting healthy lunch choices at their cafeteria Vendors may fill their machines with water, juice and fruits instead of junk foods Schools may also mandate a nutrition course or have the teachers talk about nutrition often Schools may add physical education to their curriculums

Couch and Mouse potatoes  Children age 7 and below cannot distinguish between what is real and what is fantasy in the media  Out of 11 million internet users, 39% are under 13 years of age

 Couch potatoes hear the messages like we will be right back after these messages and watch those fancy food commercials  Couch potatoes are less physical active so their bodies require less calories

 Couch potatoes spend less time with the family, are less nutritionally educated  Couch potatoes often look for convenience so they grab a bag of chips or candy than taking a food to prepare of eat a healthy meal