The Influence Of Media On Childhood Obesity

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Little Big People This generation of children are more enlisted in video games and watching TV rather than going outside and going to the park to interact with other children. Children have become lackadaisical and should engage in physical activity rather than stay inside isolating themselves. “The CDC says that childhood obesity has nearly doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents”(Obesity In Children). This has led to the epidemic of child obesity that is becoming a national problem. Fortunately, there are lots of solutions to help this upsetting issue, including nutrition/lifestyle changes, motivated ways to exercise, and less electronic usage. Although many children are overweight, they did not intend to be this way, …show more content…
Unfortunately, there are factors that influence your decision making that you have a little less control of if you see them or not, media ads. “ The media environment is an influential element in the obesity landscape, in both negative and positive ways”( Ernie Hood Health Doctor). Nowadays, Americans watch so much TV and see so many different commercials and billboards each day that tell them what is good to buy , what are the new diet tricks that you should try to lose weight in a week. Media is one of the most secretive ways to lure people and especially children, into thinking they want to eat something just because the ad shows them they will get a toy with their meal and now suddenly they are hungry. “A recent study out of the university of British Columbia confirms that viewing such images directly impacts childhood obesity rates” ( Deirdre Imus Health Doctor). How do we isolate ourselves from the ads and media if it is everywhere? Although you cannot ban all ads,that would cause the economy to fluctuate, this is another thing that is put upon the parents to monitor. Limiting a child’s time watching TV or playing video games or just sitting at the computer can help children because if the parents tell them they are limited to a certain amount of time doing that they will have to find something else to do that is alternatively more active than sitting on their butts. Setting some ground rules that will help children to stay away from the TV will contribute to their healthy lifestyle. This will in time get the obesity rates back down and increase the population numbers and lifespan of more Americans throughout the