Cook 2
Charles Cook
Professor Carlisle
ENC 1101
30 April 2018
Food Advertising Effects on the Youth
Major food and drink companies in America have recognized the youth as their dominant market target. This being the case, children are targeted by money hungry food companies and advertisers. Some advertisements trick the consumer into thinking they’re investing in a healthier lifestyle, when the advertisement is made to trick you into thinking something is healthy when it really isn’t, even while avoiding legal issues with mislabeling. Advertisers are making most of their profit from young consumers therefore they study the patterns in which they spend their money, so they can have an idea how they will spend their money as adults. Body type and size are related to genetics but there are other influences like the advertising market and one’s environmental influences. Today, people are increasing in weight because of poor food choices such as fast food and other foods loaded with sugar, preservatives, and GMO’s. Children are enjoying foods with too many calories and tons of sugar, as well as meals filled with preservatives. To add to the epidemic, they giant portions of their unhealthy food at meal times. All this poor dieting as well as lack of exercise all add to the increasing obesity problem here in the United States of America. Many advertisement methods are used to target children, like ads on the television or online ads that appeal younger kids such as toys with meals. For example, a toy included in a happy meal at McDonald’s. Food marketers attract children by using the fact that young children have a tough time differentiating reality and fake reality. They use this idea to portray a distorted reality through an advertisement, which is not morally right to many people. Fast food advertisements have pushed children to eat their food and in turn becoming overweight and experiencing emotional strain because of that. The American Psychological Association said, “Advertising by other industries often objectifies girls and women, contributing to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, low self-esteem, and depression.”
Many children, especially girls in their teenage years, have low self-esteem about their bodies. It seems as if everywhere you look an advertisement is ready to manipulate children with what appears to be delicious foods associated with fantasies or kids shows on television. For example, fast food restaurants have instances of using skinny female models in their advertisements eating their product, like a cheeseburger. This kind of ad tricks the consumer into thinking that they can look as good as the model and maintain a healthy body shape while including whatever product being advertised, in this case a cheeseburger from Carl’s Jr., into their diet. This ad displays a false reality and we must nourish our bodies. We use the food we eat as fuel for energy, vitamins and minerals that keep our body functioning well and healt...
