Childhood obesity is an epidemic problem particularly in the developed nations as well as the developing countries. Childhood obesity and overweight are recognized to have significant impacts on both psychological and physical health. Numerous researchers have indicated that obese and overweight children are likely to become obese even in the adulthood. Parenting and the media have played a significant role to the rising prevalence of childhood obesity globally. Obesity is associated with several health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases as well as decreased life expectancy. Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the US and poses severe risks to the children and hence requires immediate attention. Parenting and the media have contributed to the increased prevalence of obesity among the children.
Parenting and Childhood Obesity
The children' environment plays a pivotal role in the choices they make on food and hence parents are responsible for promotion and selection of children eating habits. One of the primary reasons that have led to obesity is the cheap, convenient and high-calorie food that a majority of the parents rely on for the children’s meals. Parents have a tendency of looking for the “best value “even if it means buying cheap and fatty food from fast food hotels or buying huge volumes of foods at the grocery stores. Today most of the food portions are characterized by abundant fats and calories to the children who are learning to balance healthy habits of eating ( Wintrup, 2010) .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Parents do not limit their children in cutting unhealthy foods nor do they teach the children the importance of eating balanced, healthy foods. Therefore the parents serve as examples to the children who have learned to adapt their eating habits. One of the most effective techniques of altering the eating habits of the children is through serving as a good example by eating a wide range of vegetables, whole grains and fruits. The parents are responsible for recognizing natural foods and making them easily accessible to the children. Failure to do so as promoted eating of food that contains high levels of calories and fats ( Milteer et.al, 2012) . Hence the lack of restrictions of the parents in limiting the intake of junk foods and lack of promotion of natural fats has contributed to children obesity.
The lack and limited amount of physical activities among the children shoulders lie as the responsibility of the parents. Young children use most of their time on electronic devices such as computers’, television and IPods and hence fail to participate in any physical activity. Over time, several studies have indicated a positive connection between the time spent on the media and the child obesity rates especially to children between 8-18 years. The parents permit their children to spend most of their time on television which have constant advertisements and promotion of food and pleasure activities they do not assist children to work out as it is very beneficial ( Wintrup, 2010) .
Parents are also involved in the regular purchase of electronic and poor food, and they have simply forced their children to become obese ad overweight knowingly and unknowingly. Most of the kids view their parents as role models, and hence they adopt their practices. Parents have failed to promote healthy physical activities habits to the children, and as a result, children spend their times in media and other electronics such as play stations (Wintrup, 2010). Therefore it is important for the parents to involve children in active games such as volleyball and other games to ensure they lead them on a path that promotes healthy lifestyles.
Children spend most of their times in the company of their parents, and hence the relationship between the health practices of the parents model the children on eating habits as well as the physical activities. Nowadays most of the parents have poor eating habits and patterns that children observe. Children tend to observe and internalize the bad eating habits portrayed by their parents. Thus, the children adopt these eating habits and in the long run end up being obese ( Milteer et.al, 2012) . Therefore parents should ensure that they exhibit good eating habits such as intake of fruits and vegetables to ensure that their children have adopted such behaviors.
Media and Childhood Obesity
There are several ways that the media contributes to childhood obesity such as the increased sedentary activities rather which have displaced the physical activities. The media has also been involved in the promotion of unhealthy eating practices through advertisement and programming of unhealthy food. Another impact of the media is increased snacking behaviors among the children while viewing as well as the interference of the normal patterns of sleep (Strasburger, 2011). For instance, a notable 30 years old study in the UK indicates that a high mean of watching TV on the weekends could lead to a High BMI when a person reaches the age of 30. Additionally, additional hours of watching at the age of 5 during the weekends will lead to the risk (7%) of becoming an obese adult. The presence of Television sets in the children bedrooms has also exacerbated the influence of TV viewing on the weight of the children. A New York study that comprised of 2761 parents who had young children showed that 40% of the children waged 1 to 5 years had a TV set in the bedrooms.
The first proof that Media consumption was connected to the children body weight in an article written by Stephen Gartmaker in 1985 in a journal called “Pediatrics.” Data obtained from the National health Examination Survey (NHES) on analysis of 13000 children found critical links between the time spent by children watching television and the occurrence of obesity (Strasburger, 2011). The authors resolved that among 12 to 17 year old, the occurrence of obesity heightened to 2% for each hour spent watching television even after regulating other variables like race, prior obesity, and socio-economic status. Since then, other studies have established the connection between the use of media and the rates of obesity.
Based on the social learning theory, children learn through observation and imitation especially when they observe activities or behaviors that seem rewarding or realistic. Similarly, the cognitive development theory argues that the cognitive capacities of the children at different stages is dependent on how the comprehend the media content. For instance, children who are less than eight years will not be able to understand the persuasive intention of advertisements and hence they are more vulnerable to promotions and commercials (Strasburger et.al, 2010).
Food advertising in the press has contributed to the increased cases of obesity among the children. Most of these foods are unhealthy and contain high levels of fats and calories. Several studies have indicated that the number of advertisements viewed by the children has increased. In the 70s researcher estimated that annually the children would view an average of 20000 food commercials (Strasburger, 2011). In the 80s the number of the children viewing the ads increased to 30000 and the trend continued growing every year. In the 90s several cable channels exploded, and opportunities of promoting food adverts directly to children increased as well. Children have become the main targets for the majority of the food commercials.
One study recorded that approximately 11 food advertisements per hour are viewed by the children on Saturdays morning while they are watching children’s television programming. In other words, the child viewer is exposed to one food advertisement for every 5 minutes (Harris et.al, 2010). Another study showed that the children students are also exposed to food ad through channel one encouraging them to take fast food, snack chips and candy in 7 out of 10 advertisements.
These commercials have influenced the purchase of unhealthy foods among the children and their families. Fast food outlets spend an average of $3 billion to market ads that are targeted to the children. Most of the children who watch more TV have a tendency of consuming more calories and other foods that have a high fat level. They also drink more soda and consume few fruits and vegetables. Some researchers have also claimed that viewing the TV while someone is eating suppresses the prompts of satiety leading to overeating (Harris et.al, 2010).
Conclusion
The unhealthy food selections, as well as the lack of physical activities induced by the parents, have promoted severe dangers of children obesity. Parents have a huge role in the growth, development, and learning of the children. Therefore they should create a map of healthy eating habits and physical activities that children will follow their footsteps. With the rates of children obesity increasing as each day goes, it is high time for the parents to become responsible for avoiding diseases such as diabetes among the children. Promotion of fatty foods in the houses should be reduced through purchasing of natural foods such as fruits, greens, and whole grains. Media undoubtedly plays a crucial role in the present epidemic of childhood obesity. The sheer number of commercials that they children are exposed to has a high effect on the purchasing of junk and fast foods. As a result, most of the children have shifted away from healthy eating practices because of the media advertisements that portray the benefits of purchasing fast foods. Evidently, media exposure is a huge risk factor for children obesity through the ads they are exposed.
References
Harris, J. L., Schwartz, M. B., Brownell, K. D. (2010). Evaluating fast food nutrition and marketing to youth. New Haven, CT: Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity .
Milteer, R. M., Ginsburg, K. R., Mulligan, D. A., Ameenuddin, N., Brown, A., Christakis, D. A., & Levine, A. E. (2012). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bond: Focus on children in poverty Pediatrics , 129 (1), e204-e213.
Strasburger, V. C. (2011). Children, adolescents, obesity, and the media: Pediatrics , 128 (1), 201-208.
Strasburger, V. C., Jordan, A, B., Donnerstein, E. (2010). Health effects of media on children and adolescents. Pediatrics , 125 (4), 756-767.
Wintrup, H. M. (2010). The Parents’ Role in Childhood Obesity (Doctoral dissertation: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo).
