American Tutor

The underlying base of the number one problem in the health field in schools is childhood obesity. The scope of this fatal problem lies beneath the artifact of the way food is marketed to young adults and how schools take this matter into consideration. The history behind this issue has been an ongoing ripple of effects that have not yet found a well-established solution. The reason behind as to why there has not been a solution to this issue is because every time there is a new meal plan that is advertised to kids, there is always a catch to it. Most of it is to be blamed on our society and marketing. As quoted by Michele Simon in Appetite for Profit, “young children have not yet developed the cognitive ability to even realize they are being marketed to; they cannot understand what’s called “persuasive intent” (118). For the most part, a mature adult has a minimal amount of self-control when it comes to eating or making decisions; evidently, how is it possible for a young adult who has not even yet hit their growing spurt supposed to control themselves or better yet, make wise decisions when it comes to making healthy choices.

The benefits to be gained from solving this problem are infinite happiness, health, and more energy. Children are known to have the most energy, especially during their growing process. By making unhealthy choices because of untruthful marketing, children will result into having less energy because of all the weight that they are prone to be gaining from the unhealthy foods that are marketed. Evidently, if the food industry spends 90% of their time marketing healthy foods to children instead of unhealthy meals, there is a higher chance that children will be flaunting in the amount of energy they have and most importantly, they will end up doing much better in school.

RESEARCH/DISCUSSION

MARKETING IN SCHOOLS WITH VENDING MACHINES

Our society is merely the backbone of every parent. To understand that statement in depth, let’s begin by breaking down some aspects of schools nowadays. From a very young age in elementary school, most children are taught to follow the Healthy Eating Plate plan, which includes veggies, whole grain, protein, and fruits. While that is the ideal healthy meal for every child, there is also the importance of looking at the other side of this issue. Yes, schools advertise a healthy meal plan for kids in their health classes; however, the minute the bell rings, these kids are already lined up in front of the vending machine. A vending machine that is filled with carbohydrates, sugary-fats, and snacks with a high percentage in cholesterol. This mere example shows how marketing and schools go hand in hand. Most of the time, the snacks that are in the vending machine include snacks that are also advertised on TV. The bases of these advertisements are by using sublets such as famous athletes, models and cartoon characters who seem to never be affected by any of the unhealthy foods they “eat” in the advertisements.

Sublets are used to attract memories and certain feelings from children that they get when they watch cartoons on TV. A popular junk food ad that also appears on the shelfs of vending machines at schools is Chester Cheetah, a mascot used for Frito-Lay’s Cheetos snacks.
The use of this mascot attracts the eyes of many children. Because children are used to seeing Chester Cheetah on their TV screens, the likelihood of these children choosing that snack over fruits and veggies is much higher. “Children are strongly influenced by the foods they see advertised on television and elsewhere. Creating a food marketing environment that supports, rather than undermines, the efforts of parents to encourage healthy eating among children will have a significant impact on reducing the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (“Interagency Working Group”). These underlying issues of the way kids are being marketed to have a ripple of effects that follow the general issue.

SCHOOLS/FOOD INDUSTRY GAIN PROFIT FROM KIDS’

Truthfully, it is not only the food industry that considers children as their number one target, but also schools look at kids the same way. The reason the food industry works so hard to advertise their foods without considering the health effects it has on children, is because that is how they make money. Additionally, for schools to be able to keep up with their daily expenses and to maintain their school in a good shape or form, they too, use children as their target. In this specific example, neither industry is looking out for these children. Schools are not considering exactly what is being placed into those vending machines, rather they are thinking about the money that they will make by the end of the day.

In Appetite for Profit, the answer to “How Did We Get into This Mess?” is identified in the following quote: “Often these deals are presented as being very lucrative to districts, with schools offered enticing incentives such as sports marquees or cash bonuses to sign” (Simon, 221). Moreover, in this scenario the well-being of children is not being put first; rather, both the food industry and schools are making money their priority. With schools being the second-hand to helping parents raise their children, the addition of a vending machine filled with unhealthy foods is not helping the process. Most of the times the attempt at “making a change” by adding

“sugar-free” snacks in vending machines is also to be taken into consideration. As clearly identified in the documentary, Hungry for Change, the extra stamps of “sugar-free, diet Coke, or fat-free” include more additives that are even worse for the body. Additionally, how is a child who does not have the thinking capacity of an adult, supposed to “make a wise choice”?

GIVING MARKETERS THE RIGHT TO ADVERTISE “HEALTHY” SNACKS

Furthermore, this issue of childhood obesity has still not been able to find a solution. One of those reasons is because of the way children are being marketed to want junk food. Marketing can be defined as being lied too and if anything is clear, it is that children are easy to be lied too and that is exactly why the food industry uses children as their number one target. However, there are always consequences to follow. In fact, a part of the food industry believes that if children are going to be marketed to, they might as well be marketed the same way that they are already being marketed to with junk food. The food industry uses sublets, as mentioned earlier, to make their food products more intriguing to children. This in turn, succeeds in catching the attention of a lot of children. However, by allowing the food industry to use the same method of sublets to market healthy meals instead, also gives the marketers the right to distinguish between what is considered as healthy and what is considered as unhealthy. The additional catch in this scenario is that even if the marketers were to choose to advertise a “healthy” meal they can also not be telling the truth about what is included in that “healthy” meal. As mentioned in Appetite for Profit, “if we are asking for companies to market healthier foods to children (and use cartoon characters and other child-friendly promotions), in the current self-regulatory environment, this means that the companies themselves get to define what constitutes “healthier products”” (Simon, 140). Evidently, it is wise to either market the truth or don’t market unhealthy meals to children who are not in the right age to be able to distinguish between the two on their own.

SCHOOLING AND PARENTING

Childhood obesity is the number one leading issue that has been an ongoing unsolved puzzle for decades to follow. Neither parents, nor “self-regulation” are to be blamed. The scope of this underlying issue remains in the hands of marketers and junk food in schools. Children do not have the “cognitive-ability” to understand when they are being marketed to, so in turn, how may they self-regulate when it comes to choosing between snacks in a vending machine or advertisements made on their television screens. Schools are created to be the backbone of every parent. Yes, parents have the sole-proprietorship to educate and raise their children; however, the minute they drop their children off at school they are hoping that the school takes responsibility of their children for those couple of hours. Adding vending machines is not a bad-idea. It is understandable that just as the food industry makes money through marketing, so do schools with vending machines. However, adding vending machines without fully examining what is being placed in them is not a good idea.

CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION

If schools are going to teach children to eat their meals following the Healthy Eating Plate plan, then they better start setting an example for those kids. Children follow exactly what they see. If they are advertised to eat tomatoes and bananas instead of snacks like the Chester Cheetah,

they’re more likely to want to make those healthy choices instead. Additionally, the snacks that are advertised contain so many additives in them that are known to cause major health problems later in life. If children are continuously advertised to with these food choices, they will be more likely to want to eat them instead of anything else that is considered healthy. These snacks contain a high percentage of sugar which in turn gives children a lot of energy. While they are already known to have a lot of energy, the energy that they gain from eating these snacks is quite unhealthy because it is only for a short period of time and contains health problems that can remain for the rest of their lives.

As mentioned above, one of the issues to blame is the food industry. The food industry uses different methods of luring children into the pit of their advertisements without thinking one step further. They use colors, cartoon characters, athletes, etc. to make it seem as if the product that they are advertising has no side effects. The key point that is being left out in this process is stated in an article written by the World Health Organization, “the habits children develop early in life may encourage them to adopt unhealthy dietary practices which persist into adulthood” this in turn, results into young adults growing older with much more health problems than our ancestors who survived on vegetables and organically grown protein with no extra added sugar or sodium. Because children are the future of this generation to come, it is vital that their health is put first before anything else. This issue is an ongoing process that may take years to solve; however, the benefits to be gained from solving this problem are infinite happiness, health, and more energy, specifically, healthy energy.

Works Cited

Arya, Geeta, and Sunita Mishra. "Effects of Junk Food and Beverages on Adolescents Health." IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science. IOSR Journals, July-Aug. 2013. Web.

Datar, Ashlesha, and Nancy Nicosia. "Junk Foods in School and Childhood Obesity." RAND Corporation. N.p., 01 Apr. 2009. Web. 04 May 2017.

"Interagency Working Group Seeks Input on Proposed Voluntary Principles for Marketing Food to Children." Interagency Working Group Seeks Input on Proposed Voluntary Principles for Marketing Food to Children | Federal Trade Commission. N.p., 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 04 May 2017.

Neuman, William. "U.S. Seeks New Limits on Food Ads for Children." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Apr. 2011. Web. 04 May 2017.

"Protecting Children from the Harmful Effects of Food and Drink Marketing." WHO. World Health Organization, Sept. 2014. Web. 04 May 2017.