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... weight problems. Advertising and marketing are both powerful tools in influencing childrens eating behavior. The average child sees over 20, 000 commercials every year, which is about 60 a day. During childrens programming, 40 percent of the commercials shown are for food, only 4 percent of which are for healthy foods (Gallo). Advertisers know that children are very susceptible, and they use tricks to get children to want to buy things that they do not need and that may not be good for them.
They use images of cartoon characters to entice children to buy their products. A recent survey of American children, shows that 96 percent of children can correctly identified Ronald McDonald (Gallo). The only character that received a higher score was Santa Clause. In supermarkets, products that appeal to children are placed at a childs eye level.
In 1999 approximately 12 billion United States dollars went to advertisements for children. The fast food industry is becoming increasingly more powerful. Many parents have come to relay on fast food as a cheap fast way to get dinner for their children. In Albuquerque there are about 430 fast-food restaurants. This ration to about four to one over the amount of schools in this geographic area. Over 90 percent of children between the ages of three and nine visit McDonalds every month.
Happy meals make up 60 percent of McDonalds total sales (Gallo). In 1998 the top five most heavily advertised companies of all product categories were McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wendy's, and KFC (Allison). A recent survey done by Nursing Faculty of Midland College shows that almost 100 percent of children who are overweight consume fast food several times a week, While only about 82 percent of normal-weight children consume that much fast food (Cross). Verna Barrow, the moderator of the study, says that schools lunches are also to blame for childhood obesity. Schools must provide lunches for many children on a budget.
As a result many schools contract fast-food chains for school lunches. In 1996, 13 percent of schools using federally subsidized meal programs were serving brand named fast food. Schools are required by law to serve a percentage of healthy food. However, 42 percent of children throw out their cooked vegetables and 30 percent throw out raw vegetables (Young). Many schools do not allow children very much time to eat lunch. Most schools only give students about twenty to thirty minutes to eat lunch.
As a result some children prefer to buy their lunch at vending machines as a way of saving time and money. Another reason that child may have a weight problem is because their parents may have incorrect ideas about childrens health. Same parents of overweight or obese children choose not to pursue treatment options because they are under the misconception that their child will grow out of their weight problem and do not want to risk hurting their childs feelings. Everyone can recall being teased as a child. Children who are overweight are prime targets for bullying.
Many overweight children have a hard time making friends at school and are teased by their classmates. As a result, children with weight problems may suffer from depression and have low self-esteem, which can leave emotional scares that can last years after the weight is gone. Some of these children find themselves in a toxic cycle of social isolation, emotion withdrawal, depression, inactivity, overeating, and more weight gain (Tarango). Treatment of childhood obesity could be seen as a public health preventative effort focused on a group at high risk of developing adulthood obesity.
Treatment of childhood obesity is different than treating adult obesity because it occurs in the context of growth and development (Schmitz & Jeffery). Treating childhood obesity can be complicated because of the risk of increasing negative eating and exercise habits associated with the development of eating disorders and risk of social isolation while in treatment. The World Health Organization (WHO) Report, Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic (1998), suggests three settings appropriate for prevention and treatment of childhood obesity: primary healthcare, family-based interventions, and school-based interventions. Primary health care interventions would include programs based in a medical care setting, that focus on dietary changes, activity changes, education about nutrition and exercise habits, behavioral modification training, and family involvement (Schmitz & Jeffery). School-based program could be successful because the large amount of contact time with schoolchildren, the existing organizational, social and communication structures and the ability to reach a large percentage of children in the population at low cost (Schmitz & Jeffery).
One or two meals are eaten at school 5 days a week. School based interventions on obese children include behavioral modification, nutrition and exercise education, parental involvement and peer support. Obesity cannot only cause physical health problems but may also cause mental health problems. Obesity is seen as a moral failing, and obese children are seen as unmotivated to change. During my research of society and obese children, I ran across many stories that told of the harmful side effects that children teasing each other could have on a child. One story told about a boy named Evan, who was overweight by fifteen extra pounds.
Besides being teased on the bus and the playground, he quit Boy Scouts because of the frequent obese jokes made. A few years back, a story made national headlines when an overweight tenth grader from Georgia stood up in class and cried out I just cant take it anymore! He then proceeded to shoot himself in full view of his peers, who has teased him incessantly about his size. Another teenager, Brian was shy and obese. He was often a target for cruel jokes.
Freshman students made fun of Brian all the time, and he got beaten up a lot. It was obvious the taunting hurt, and students had made fun of Brian's weight and how he looked since he was in seventh grade. The last thing Brian said before killing himself was also "I'm tired of it!" A young boy in Florida also who had been taunted about being overweight hung himself in his family's backyard to avoid the start of a new school year. These are just a few of the stories. I found many stories about children who had been taunted all through theyre schooling years, which finally snapped and killed themselves in high school. This seems to be the common trend, since teenagers have more control and access to dangerous weapons, and the means to kill themselves by ways such as hanging.
Society does not realize that they cute little kid who is obese in kindergarten, could eventually kill himself years down the line from being called fat. Society problems stemming from obesity continue on throughout these childrens lives. Obese people are treated the way they do, in the United States, because from young childhood, people are taught that obese people are not normal. Those people that turn out to be overweight are taught that they are different, and not in a good way, because of nothing else, but their weight. Americas society is built on the theory of looking good. Movies, television shows, commercials, magazine ads, and other people tell children hundreds of times a day that thinness is good and obesity is bad.
Obese people are also subjected to discrimination in the education system from elementary school through college. Public and private schools often reinforce the negative stereotypes associated with obese people. Positive obese role models are virtually non-existent in school textbooks or literature. School personal often undermines the self-esteem of obese students, and instructor prejudice can translate into lower grades. Studies have shown that teachers describe overweight children negatively, while thin children get positive marks. (Cross) The study also confirmed that kids learn scorn for overweight people sooner than they become critical of their own bodies. "Boys denigrate obeseness across the board, but they can be especially merciless to obese girls. The more television boys watched, the more likely they thought the obese girl was going to be stupid, lazy, greedy and not have many friends (Cross).
More thin high school graduates enter the college of their choice than their overweight peers with equal grades. Also, obese people are not hired as easily or promoted as quickly. They are also paid less, and charged more for employee insurance coverage. Obese children are taunted and discriminated against daily. If they do manage to grow into healthy well-adjusted adults, then they also face the challenges of discrimination of being an obese adult. While an unfair practice, society has shown that people should be thin, and the media does not accept obesity.
Some changes have been made, and society is a little bit more accepting in the twenty-first century to obese adults. It is ultimately though, the obese child who suffers in the silence, while being taunted and bullied daily. Children, which are obese generally have less athletic ability and may be more likely to be made fun of by the other children. This abuse at a young age may cause permanent self-esteem problems throughout a persons life.
Providing a positive role model for a child is one important step to decreasing obesity in children. Most children will model their parent's lifestyle and behavior. Parents need to take a more positive role in their children's life by turning off the television and video games and doing more physical activities with their children. "Parents can involve kids in planning family hikes, bike rides, sports or outings to the park. " (Tarango). Sending time doing physical activities with children will not only help the children but will also be good exercise for the parents.
Another important step in decreasing obesity in children is to teach them good eating habits. Eating the right kinds and amounts of food is very important to reduce the amount of child obesity in today's society. Parents should realize that it is possible to prepare quick and healthy foods almost as ease as stopping off on their way home from work and picking up fast food. Cutting back on unhealthy snack foods and soft drinks is another important eating habit which will help to reduce obesity.
Children will always want to eat snack food during the day. Parents need to provide nutritious snacks for children to eat between meals such as fruits and vegetables instead of candy and potato chips. Consumption of soft drinks by children should also be cut back. One way to accomplish this is by providing alternate drinks such as water, juice, or sports drinks and keeping the amount of soft drinks in the house to a minimum. Taking a positive interest in a child's life is also important.
Having a healthy sit down dinner with the whole family is a good time for family involvement. It can provide an opportunity for parents to talk with their children. More positive parental roles will help to reduce the number of obese children in today's society. "Childhood obesity is a family issue, and we shouldn't just target the child. Improving the eating habits and activity levels of the entire family is necessary" (Barrow). As seen from the above study, there are many reasons why children become overweight, and many threats of this condition. A parent cannot change his / her child's genes, but it is possible to change the environment a child lives in to help reduce the chances of the child to become obese.
Failure to address the problem may have serious consequences for the individual in the areas of health, social acceptance, psychological adjustment and overall productivity, well into the future. Unfortunately, this is a growing national health problem, which is affecting our entire society. As a nation we need to address the serious problem that childhood obesity presents to Americas youth, now. References: Allison, D.
B. , & Saunders, S. (2000). Obesity in North America, an Overview. Medical Clinics of North America, 84 (2) Retrieved October 18, 2003, from web Gallo, A. E. (1990). The Food Marketing System in 1989. US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, 603.
Schmitz, K. H. , & Jeffery, R. W. (2000). Public Health Interventions for the Prevention and Treatment of Obesity. Medical Clinics of North America, 84 (2), Retrieved June 25, 2002, from web The World Health Organization (1998).
Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic. Retrieved June 25, 02 from web US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service (1995). US Trends in eating away from Home, 1982 - 1989. Statistical Bulletin, 926. Young, L. R. , & Nestle, M. (2002).
The Contribution of Expanding Portion Sizes to US Obesity Epidemic. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 246 - 248. Cross, Rachel. Personal Interview on Children Problems. October 10, 2003. Nursing Faculty of Midland College, TX.
Associate Degree Nursing. / 915 / 678 - 2020 Barrow, Verna. Telephone Interview. October 6, 2003. Nursing Faculty of Midland College, TX. ASSE Area Representative in Midland College. Tarango, Crystal Sunshine.
Personal Interview. October 7, 2003. VS-M Sort Health International Company. Endocrinology Assistant. Dallas, TX.
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Research essay sample on World Health Organization Childhood Obesity
