The Influence of Media on Teenagers Diet free essay sample

The Influence of Media on Obese Teenager’s Diet Introduction Media influence Food product choice is overwhelming as well as TV commercials and print advertisements that want to sell their food products to us. Who to believe? How to choose? Do you trust what is shown to you? Obviously, it’s up to each of us to decide what we eat but if we’re constantly bombarded with images of food every time we pick up a magazine then we’re going to be swayed in what we choose. The advertising of snack and so called junk foods to young people  is being blamed for an obesity epidemic in the United States and elsewhere. Is advertising to blame? Are there other factors going on? How does advertising, for example, work to target young people? Many parents report that they base their decisions about selection of fast food, snack food, and new breakfast cereals on their teens preferences, and parents cite TV as an influence on these preferences. We will write a custom essay sample on The Influence of Media on Teenagers Diet or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Teens are a vulnerable population for a lucrative market, and advertisers in the media often target specific campaigns directly at them. Statement of the Problem â€Å"Television and magazines have been shown to have considerable influence on teens choice of foods that leads to obesity†. Kids today are bombarded with marketing everywhere they go. They see advertisements on the radio, TV and the Internet, in magazines, on school buses, and even in the classroom through news programs produced for schools. In fact, child-targeted advertisement exceeds $15 billion per year. Most of the food advertisements are for fast foods, breakfast cereals, snacks and candies that are high in sugar, salt and fat and nutritionally inadequate. These are the common problems mostly encountered by parents in maintaining healthy diet for their children, especially teenagers nowadays. These are all cause of media influence on their diet. This research will study all the necessary facts and information that associates media on teenager’s diet. Significance of the study As the title implies, this study aims to define why and how media influences teenager’s diet, more particularly with their food choices. Because good nutrition starts at the early stage of our life it is important that we can solve early the possible causes of nutritional impairment which is often cause by lifestyle. This study will focus more on teenagers because most of the time, they spend their eating hours outside their home without the supervision of adults. Moreover this study will be beneficial to students and their parents in defying media as a threat to teenagers’ health and what methods  of persuasion  are being used to sell products and to promote  brands to the youngest viewers. And importantly this will educate us about the marketing strategy of food industries in exploiting us to their appealing advertisements and help us to have enough knowledge about food analysis. And lastly as future nutritionist, this short term study will able us to understand the teenager’s diet and this gives us opportunity to be a positive role model when it comes to making nutritious choices. Scope and Delimitations of the Study This study was delimited to the observation, questioning, investigation; analysis and evaluation of media impact, aimed to know its effect on obese teenagers’ diet. Furthermore, the study was confined to getting the responses of parents and student respondents. The study involved the students of Fatima University and some High School along Valenzuela. We included parents- respondents and make extra effort to interact and to go through the investigation process. We also observe shoppers on groceries and ask them how they come out with their decisions what to include in their shopping cart. We also asked the participation of our group member, Princess Domingo to be the subject on our case study, and observe how food advertisements affect her diet. Hypothesis 1. That food advertising affects eating behavior of obese teens. 2. That brand preference on food affects food choices. 3. Watching while snacking increases risk for obesity and other nutrition related diseases. 4. Nutrition marketing is used on labels of foods that are high in saturated fat, sodium, and/or sugar. 5. Food manufacturers link diet to obesity risks in advertising and labeling. 6. Shoppers onsider food advertisements on choosing foods they will pick on groceries mostly leads to obesity. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK * Television * Magazines * Newspaper * Internet * Billboards * Restaurant’s leaflets * Risk for diseases * Low self esteem * Poor performances on physical activity * Insecurities o Obesity FIGURE 1 The paradigm illustrates that media such as television, magazines, newspapers, internet, billboa rds and restaurant’s leaflets are factors that influence obesity in teenagers. And obesity resulted to health risks, low self esteem, poor performances on physical activity and insecurities.