Eating disorders are prevalent in the contemporary society. Eating disorders are health conditions that are associated with inappropriate nutritional strategies. There are three forms of eating disorder, which include Bulimia Nervosa, anorexia nervosa and binge eating. Among the three types, anorexia nervosa involves the intake of limited amounts of food and rigorous exercise (Abraha, 2008). This eating disorder is mostly caused by the desire of individuals to maintain smaller bodies. Bulimia nervosa, on the other hand, involves eating the appropriate diet followed by induced vomiting. Eventually, the food does not have any significant nutritional impact on the body. Binge eating is also a common condition experienced in eating disorders. Apparently, it involves excessive eating on a regular basis. Research indicates that eating disorders are prevalent in the adolescents and younger adults. These are the individuals with a desire to maintain their body shape and size (Heller, 2003).
Target Audience
Focusing on a condition such as bulimia nervosa, the target audience for this piece of work is the family and friends who are close to the patient. It is imperative for this target group to be aware of the media role in promoting eating disorders, approaching information shared through the media with an open mind.
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Media Influence Example And Influence
A television show such as “To the Bone” feature a young woman, Ellen, who is an outpatient case, suffering from eating disorders and her stepmother sets her up with a doctor who insists that she should join an inpatient program. Ellen who is 20 years of age faces neglect from her family especially her father who does not visit her in hospital. This television show is marred with various discouragements wince it does not depict the serious consequences of eating disorder, it does not show support of the family members, and lastly it does not show how the intervention helps to stop the health issue
All forms of media such as Television, Radio, social media, and magazines provide content that influences people’s eating disorders. Most individuals in the target group aim to emulate the body image of the celebrities and models that are posted in magazines and television programs (Spettigue & Handerson, 2004). Most media platforms make these individuals believe that such body images are ultimate. However, they could also be essential in the education of people about the ultimate effects of these eating disorders (Abideen, Latif, Khan & Farooq, 2010). For instance, television stations can air a program that depicts the advantages of staying healthy over the struggle to maintain body shape and a smaller body. This program could be a movie about a company that is looking for individuals to do a promotional photo shoot in the desert. Due to their perception of small body size to represent beauty, they select two slim women and one average size and healthy woman for the promotional photoshoot. In the course of their journey in the desert, they have an accident in which all people die except one of the slim women and the average size woman. They call for help, but the cell phone battery goes off before they can describe their exact location. The search and rescue team has to search most of the desert only to find the healthy woman as the only survivor. During the six days of search, the slim woman succumbed to harsh environment and starvation.
Creative Proposal
The above media example is a perfect example of a media campaign that could be used to address the issue of eating disorders. The primary purpose of the media example is to indicate the health benefits of maintaining a healthy body. It shows that a healthy body has a higher propensity to withstand harsh environmental conditions for an extended period without nutritional reinforcement. The main factors that determine the sustainability of the body amid such conditions are the nutritional reserves in the body. In case the body has stored many nutrients, they help to improve the immunity of the body and act s supplements to the body in case of little food supply (Robin, Decrock, Herzberg, Mioskowski, Maho, Bach & Groscolas, 2008).
The fact that one average size woman was for the promotional campaign also indicates that a healthy body is a sign of beauty. The company in the media example was looking for individuals who could be used in the promotion of their beauty product. It could have been irrelevant for them to choose individuals they did not deem to be beautiful. It serves to influence the target population and show them that they can still enhance their beauty by considering a healthy diet. The eating disorders occur because most individuals fear that maintaining a healthy diet could increase their body size and affect their body shape (Murphy, Straebler, Cooper & Fairburn, 2010).
Another purpose of the media example is to reach a considerable number of people. Most people use the media for entertainment all the time. Despite their quest for entertainment, there is still a possibility that they can be educated about essential issues. The media example can be portrayed as a movie and be aired on various media platforms. It ensures that many people who watch television for entertainment get access to the information portrayed in the movie (Gray, 2009).
This media example will help to promote the intake of healthy diets. As outlined, many people avoid healthy diets due to prejudices about the concepts of body shape and size. However, the message within this media campaign helps to show them that eating healthy foods can enhance both beauty and the sustainability of the body (Bryant & Vorderer, 2013). This will help to influence the people on a diet to start embarking on nutritious diets.
However, it is also possible that this behavior change will encounter various barriers. Not all media platforms highlight the same content. For instance, magazines are unable to address films as part of their content (Randle, 2001). Even if they do, they merely highlight the basics of the movie. On the contrary, most magazines highlight pictures of small size models as a show of beauty. The impact created by such media platforms on the target population makes it difficult for them to change their behavior. Since the media example is only a single program, they would be convinced that the recurrent content in the magazines and other platforms is satisfactory.
The influence of celebrities and pop stars will also be a major challenge towards the behavior change initiative of the target population. Apparently, most behaviors that lead to eating disorders are influenced by the small and slim body images that exhibited by many celebrities (Lewis, Klauninger & Marcincinova, 2016). Most people in the target audience such teenage girls perceive the celebrities as their role models due to their success in the music and movie industry. This substantial impact of the celebrities on most members of the target population will make it difficult for the media campaign to convince them towards behavior change (Daily Mail Reporter, 2012). However, it is difficult to incorporate the celebrities into the media campaign due to the costs involved.
It is also tricky for media platforms to air the same program every day because most media platforms expect to earn from the content that they air. It would make it difficult to sustain the media campaign. Over time, it would be abandoned and other programs adopted. The media also airs content regarding its impact on the people such as the amount of audience attracted to the content (Fourie, 2001). In case other related are adopted by the media, it is likely that the target population would forget and go back their old behavior due to the lack of motivation.
Adhering to the action of this campaign could have numerous benefits. Individuals could benefit from increased self-esteem. Most individuals develop eating disorders due to the fear that adding weight could embarrass them in front of their friends (Claude – Pierre, 1998). However, this campaign helps to show them that it is okay and even admirable to eat healthy food.
The media campaign could also help individuals to live healthy lifestyles without the development of nutritional deficiency diseases. It is clear that the alternative methods used by the target population to moderate their body image result in the development of fatal eating disorders. However, individuals will improve their immunity in case they adopt healthy diets (Lee, 2015).
The desire for media platforms to raise considerable income from their programs is likely to impede the behavior change campaign. Possibly, the media would dump the campaign for other programs that would attract a broader audience. Moreover, it will make it difficult for the target audience to gain access to the information in the media campaign. The increase in the popularity of other media platforms such as social media and magazines would also offer competition the audience for the media campaign (Vonderen & Kinnally, 2012). These media platforms also struggle to ensure that many people get access to their content.
The people’s love for entertainment is one of the factors that would motivate people to view the media campaign content. The content of the behavior campaign would be aired in the form of a movie. While people would enjoy the plot of the movie, they will also be able to consider its implications. Apparently, this campaign could also be supported by some celebrities to increase the impact (Deller, 2014). Eventually, several celebrities support the campaigns against eating disorders due to either values or personal experiences.
Positioning Statement, Objectives & Goals
The positioning statement of my campaign is: “empower the society towards proper health and sustainability.” This statement addresses the values and insight behind the behavior change media campaign.
The primary purpose of the behavior change campaign is to encourage individuals to adopt proper nutritional methods. After watching the media campaign, individuals will be contented with the fact that a proper diet and a healthy body are appropriate compared to skinny bodies (Brannon & Feist, 2009).
Another objective is to educate people on how proper health can result in sustainability. Most people develop eating disorders because they are always convinced that the skinny body is the perfect impression of beauty (Salafia, Jones, Haugen & Schaefer, 2015). They get this perspective due to the influences of celebrity personalities and the depiction of skinny people in beauty magazines. However, viewing a clip of a healthy person selected for the promotion of beauty products would show them that being healthy could also depict an impression of beauty (Cecon, Franceschini, Peluzio, Hermsdorff & Priore, 2017).
The campaign also intends to enlighten individuals about the need for a high self – esteem regarding body image. The behavior change will show people that it is critical to do the right thing and wait for the results. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a healthy body and wait for the day when it will pay off (Lock & Kaufert, 1998). Even if the compensation is not material, a healthy body will make it easier for an individual to survive through harsh living conditions. Seemingly, another goal of the campaign is to significantly reduce the number of people who develop eating disorders annually. Many individuals will perceive the benefits of eating healthy diet foods rather than avoiding foods (Voelker, Reel & Greenleaf, 2015).
New and Improved Creative Concepts and Theories
The health belief model was used in the development of the campaign. This model reflects on the fact that interventional measures are taken based on the perceived effects. This model also focuses on the possible factors that would affect the implementation of an intervention (Zare, Ghodsbin, Jahanbin, Ariafar, Keshavarzi & Izadi, 2016). In case an intervention has many barriers, the model advocates for the use of an alternative intervention.
The behavior change campaign was developed based on the predicted benefits on the audience (Jones et al. 2015). After evaluation, it was clear that the campaign would help to reduce the number of people who suffer from eating disorders. It was also predictable that the behavior change campaign would help individuals to improve their self – esteem.
The campaign was also developed based on the prediction of the possible barriers to the use of media to encourage viewers regarding the issue of proper health (Romano & Scott, 2014). After evaluation, it was clear that the possible barriers to the behavior change campaign would not be able to impede the achievement of its objectives totally.
The cultivation model was also used in the advancement of the campaign (Zheng, 2012). The model focuses on the effects of watching television. This model reflects on both the viewers and their impacts on the other members of the society.
It was clear that the more the viewers watched different forms of entertainment on the media such as television, the more they believed it to be a reality (Mosharafa, 2015). With many people accessing the behavior change campaign, it was one of the reasons for the assessment of the reliability of the media campaign (Mitchell & Peterson, 2007). Overall, using the behavior change campaign would help to achieve the intended objectives of enabling individuals to adopt healthy diets.
References
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