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Extreme Food Advertising
Is Advertising to Blame for Obesity?
Johnnie Star Taulbee
9/11/2013
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I. Introduction
In American Society today, it is not hard to notice that there is an obesity problem.
People of all ages are falling victim to this problem but more children and adolescents are being
targeted. Americans are being targeted by the slew of food advertisements one would witness
during their many hours of watching Television (TV). That is why today’s question would not be
“Does food advertising influence obesity?”, it would be more accurate to ask “How much does
food advertising influence obesity?”, because it certainly does.
II. Background of Obesity
What is obesity? Obesity means having too much body fat. While most believe obesity to
be the same thing as being overweight, it is not. Being overweight simply means a person weighs
too much and this can be due to extra muscle, bone, or water, as well as from having too much
body fat (A.D.A.M). Although these two terms do not have the exact same definition, they both
mean that a person is over the ideal weight that they are supposed to have.
How is obesity measured? By using the body mass index (BMI), doctors are able to tell if
a person exceeds the ideal weight for their age. The BMI is defined as weight in kilograms
divided by height in meters squared (Chou, Rashad, and Grossman). Although the BMI is used,
it does not take into account some factors when dealing with certain individuals and that is when
the term overweight is normally used. The BMI takes into account normal differences in body fat
between boys and girls at various ages, however, it does not directly measure body fat. Athletes
are a good example to use when comparing obesity and overweight because even though the
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BMI will identify them as overweight, they do not have excess body fat, which would cause
them to be obese (N.M).
What causes obesity? Over eating is not the only thing that contributes to obesity,
although it certainly is a problem in America today. Other than excess eating, however, excess
alcohol consumption and lack of exercise can lead to obesity. Another factor is that not every
person is the same. One person might be able to consume large amounts of food and never gain
any weight while another might consume only a small amount and be larger. This is not always
the individual’s fault though. The body is a complex system that tries to help keep an organism at
a healthy weight level, and sometimes that complex system does not work normally (A.D.A.M).
Of course when people in America today do not plan for healthy meals on a regular basis, have
more sedentary jobs than people in the past, and do not set aside time for exercise or simply
cannot afford the time to, they will tend to be more overweight.
Although some Americans think that obesity is having a slight overweight problem, it is
not. A part of being obese is being overweight but underneath the surface obesity can cause
many more complications and problems. Each year obesity-related conditions cost over 150
billion dollars and cause an estimated 300,000 premature deaths in the US. Many of the health
effects associated with obesity include: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, joint
problems, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and psychosocial
effects (S.H.C).
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III. Effective Marketing
Of course, obesity does not just happen over the course of one night. Over the course of
their life, the average American will spend more than four hours each day (or 28 hours/week, or
two months of nonstop) TV-watching per year (Herr). While watching television, however, the
average American child will watch nearly 5,000 food advertisements per year while teenagers
will watch over 6,000 according to the data compiled by the nonprofit health organization Food
& Water Watch (Gottesdiener). By using such tactics as cartoon characters, cute “jingles”, and
bright colors, the food advertisements are able to draw in the children’s attention and keep them
interested. There have been multiple studies conducted from around the world and each one
seems to show the same results about the advertisements, they are specifically designed to get the
children to want their product.
A study conducted in Britain shows a wonderful example of the methods food
advertisements use to influence children. This study monitored 91 hours of children’s
broadcasting on four terrestrial and satellite stations. Of the 828 advertisements viewed, half of
them were for food products and 60% of those were promoting breakfast cereals and snacks. The
ads had been reported to be using significantly more animation, stories, humor and the promotion
of fun/happiness/mood alteration (Lewis and Hill). The food ads viewed obviously dominated
what the children were watching and were designed in a way to engage the viewers’ attention
and elicit an emotional response from them.
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A study conducted in Sydney, Australia also showed how food advertisements are
targeting children specifically. Over the course of one week, 390 hours of Australian advertising
data broadcasted during children’s viewing, over 15 different stations, along with 346 hours of
confectionery and fast food restaurant ads, over three different stations, were analyzed to
determine whether or not food ads played more during children’s programs or adult’s programs.
It was determined that confectionery ads were three times as likely and fast food ads were two
times as likely to be broadcasting during children’s TV programs than during adult’s programs.
They also discovered that half of the advertisements viewed were promoting foods high in fat
and/or sugar (Neville, Thomas, and Bauman).
Based on those two studies, it is obvious that food ads are targeting children and
adolescents. By designing the advertisements in certain ways, with animations, bright colors, and
cute songs, and then broadcasting them over children’s programs the ads are able to draw the
children’s attention and make them want whatever item is being promoted. Most of those ads
are showing foods high in fat and/or sugar which are unhealthy for the children but they do not
understand that at their age. All the children understand is that they want the product that they
just saw on their favorite TV show.
IV. Sedentary Lifestyles Combined with Food Ads
Today, more people lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle. What is a sedentary lifestyle and
what does it have to do with Food advertisements and obesity? First off, sedentary lifestyle is the
term used to describe a lifestyle that has no or small amounts of physical activity. People will
spend hours of their day sitting at their computer, watching TV, playing video games, driving in
their cars, or sitting down at work. These kinds of activities are not necessarily bad; however,
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when done in excessive amounts with no time for physical activities set aside, it can lead to
obesity which can lead to a multitude of other health problems such as the ones mentioned earlier
in this paper.
A population-based survey was conducted in 1991 by the Behavioral Risk Factor
Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS randomly dialed phone numbers located within 47
states and the District of Columbia receiving 87,433 respondents aged greater than or equal to 18
years of age. 58.1 percent of respondents were classified as sedentary and 29.8 percent reported
no leisure-time activity. The results did not differ by sex with 57.7 percent for men and 58.5
percent for women (C.D.C). The Third National Health Examination survey (1988-1994) also
indicated that 20 percent of US children aged 8 to 16 participated in two or fewer vigorous
activities per week (Chou, Rashad, and Grossman). Without exercise, one would not be able to
keep up a healthy lifestyle. Exercise not only helps one maintain a healthy weight but it also
improves mood and boosts energy.
When talking about sedentary lifestyles, one should put emphasis on how much the
average American will spend watching TV. It should also be taken into account how many food
advertisements are shown over the course of the multitude of hours one spends on the Television.
With the average person watching two months of nonstop television per year (Herr) and seeing
over 5 to 6 thousand food advertisements (Gottesdiener) within that year, there is a legitimate
reason that people are obese and overweight. Of course the food advertisements cannot be
blamed 100 percent for the obesity problem, they do have a large sway within the public and
what and where they decided to purchase their next meal.
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V. Multiple Studies Show
As mentioned before at the beginning of this paper, there have been multiple studies
conducted around the world to show the effects that food advertising has on obesity.
The first study examined actually used a mathematical model to estimate the potential
effects of reducing the expose of 6 to 12 year-old US children to food ads. The model predicted
that by reducing the exposure to zero, the prevalence of obesity would lower from 17.8 percent
to 15.2 percent in boys and from 15.3 percent to 13.5 percent in girls. The study also suggested
that one in seven or perhaps up to one in three obese children in the US might not have been
obese if they were not exposed to food advertisements promoting unhealthy foods (Veerman,
Van Beeck, Barendregt, and Mackenback).
Three similar studies to the mathematical model also showed similar results, helping to
prove that the model is indeed accurate. The first study showed that children aged two to 11
years of age see an average of 11.5 minutes of food-related ads per day, the second study found a
dose-response relationship of about 0.6 percent increase in weight gain per extra hour of
television watched, and the third study showed that, in a group of nine year old children, if the
time spent watching television was reduced from 15 to nine hours per week, after a seven month
period, the BMI of the “intervention group” was about .45 lower than that of the control group
(Veerman, Van Beeck, Barendregt, and Mackenback).
Another study examined was conducted in Singapore. Over the 98 hours of broadcasting
recorded, on free-to-air stations, 1,344 advertisements and sponsorships were found. Of those
1,344 ads, 33 percent happened to be for food. Unfortunately, only 38 percent were considered to
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be healthy while 57 percent were not. Candy, confectionery, and fast food ads made up 46
percent of the total ads and it was determined that more unhealthy ads were shown during the
weekends rather than the weekdays (Huang, Mehta, and Wong). By broadcasting unhealthy food
advertisements on the weekends, while the children have the freest time due to the fact that they
do not have to be in school, the companies are assuring that the audience they are targeting will
indeed see what they have to show.
VI. How Can Obesity Be Reduced?
Although there is the possibility of reducing obesity it cannot be wiped off the face of the
earth completely. There are different actions that can be taken to help prevent obesity in the first
place, but that does not mean that every person will listen to advice given to them and change
their habits completely. Reducing the obesity problem currently present in America will take
time.
A large portion of maintaining a healthy weight falls to the individual. However, the
government is also trying to take baby steps toward helping prevent obesity. Taxes have been
placed on soft drinks and multiple states require that restaurants post calorie charts on their
menus (Woodard). These steps are tiny, however, and will not stop obesity. Individuals have to
take an interest in their own health. Instead of buying a soft drink, high in sugar, water should be
purchased. Instead of not caring about how many calories are consumed in one meal, check the
provided charts next time.
Preventing overweight situations in the first place would be beneficial to Americans.
Simple, easy steps taken around a household could easily help to ward of the problem of obesity.
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Changing eating habits and eating more healthy items like fruits and vegetables, setting more
time aside for exercise, and reducing the time spent on the television or computer are wonderful
examples of such steps. Of course to be able to eat more healthy that would also require the
household to shop healthier. By having apples and carrots around for an afternoon snack instead
of chips or snack cakes, one’s daily calorie intake will be lower. It is also a good idea to have
water, milk, and juice in the fridge instead of sugary sodas and although a small amount of juice
is healthy at times, do not excessively drink it for it has sugar mixed with it as well. It would be
best to drink more water than any other beverage because it has no sugar or extra added
ingredients such as artificial food dye and is required for the body to function properly.
Eating healthy will prevent obesity, however, it cannot be the only step taken. As
mentioned before, exercise is a wonderful method that can be used to help prevent obesity. There
are a plethora of different activities that one can engage themselves in, both indoors and
outdoors. For people who prefer to stay indoors instead they could dance to their favorite music,
do yoga (which could be done outdoors as well), lift weights, run on a treadmill, or simply
stretch. For those who prefer the outdoor activities they could jog/run, walk around the block,
climb trees, go swimming, or maybe even jump rope.
The less exposure to food advertisements, the better off a person is. Without hours and
hours in front of a television, an individual will view a significantly smaller amount of food ads
which is one of the main influences of obesity. When doing the indoor/outdoor activities, one
will not have the time to watch TV. Of course they could take a break and watch a small amount
of TV but their day will not be majorly filled with the food ads. That is another reason why
people should put more time aside for physical activities than they should put aside for watching
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TV. If a person is dancing around their room to their favorite song or jumping rope in the front
yard, they would not be exposed to the many hours of food advertisements that was shown on
TV while they were busy having fun. Watching television is not the only way a person can have
fun, while one exercises they will have fun and maintain a healthy lifestyle at the same time.
VII. Conclusion
Obesity is a growing problem, not only in America, but all over the world. In some
places, the amount of obese children and adolescents are doubling and even tripling. The main
reason that this epidemic is occurring, however, is due to the slew of food advertisements that the
children are viewing. While other reasons such as largely sedentary lifestyles and little to no
physical activity are also to blame for the problem, food advertisements contribute the most.
While a child watches TV they are bound to see up to 6,000 food advertisements per year alone
(Gottesdiener). With a large portion of those advertisements promoting unhealthy food, it is no
wonder why more and more children are becoming obese.
By using catchy tunes, mostly animated characters, and bright colors, the companies are
able to draw in the viewers’ attention and make them want their product. Multiple different
studies throughout the world have been conducted and analyzed to show the effects of the food
ads on the consumers. By using brilliant methods to draw in the consumer the advertisements are
effectively able to sell the product being promoted to all different ages. Most advertisements
greatly influence what children want their parents to purchase for them or where they want to go
out to eat. The ads do not just affect the children, however. Adolescents and adults are highly
influenced as well but they were also exposed to the advertisements when they were younger.
Although the commercials change their “jingles” or their characters throughout the years that
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they are aired on television, they still send out the same basic message: buy our product. Whether
the person viewing the commercial knows the food is bad for their health or not, they are still
more than likely going to buy the product at least once.
Obesity can also cause other health problems. Although obesity in itself is a health
problem, it can lead to more serious problems such as: high blood pressure, diabetes, heart
disease, joint problems, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, cancer, metabolic syndrome, and
psychosocial effects (S.H.C). Each and every one of those health problems could cause an
individual’s life to be harder, not to mention the stress and pain it could cause family members
and friends, and could eventually cause death.
Obesity can be prevented though. By taking the necessary steps, such as keeping fruit and
vegetables around instead of unhealthy snacks, and drinking more water instead of soda, little by
little the obesity problem can be brought under control. It will not simply happen overnight, but
over time with reduced TV-watching hours and more time spent doing physical activities the
terrible problem of obesity will be reduced.
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Works Cited Page
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Huang, L., K. Mehta, and ML. Wong. "Television Food Advertising in Singapore: the Nature
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Woodard, Larry D.. " Home> Money Ronald McDonald Fallout: What Role Does Advertising
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