Advertisements

Children and teens are surrounded by fast food ads and cannot escape them. They are shown on TV, pop up on Instagram, twitter and the internet and not to mention they fill the billboards all over the country. 3 of every 4 food ads fall under the unhealthy category and they take up 50% of all the ad time on kids shows. Food advertisements increase morbidity, mortality and has substantial long term economic and social costs. As our economy progresses, these ads have been increasing persuading children and teens to make unhealthy choices leading our world to an obesity epidemic. After the age of 8, children have a remarkable ability to recall content from the ads to which they have been exposed to since they understand the persuasive intent of advertising. These ads often objectify girls and women which contributes to body dissatisfaction, eating disorders, low self esteem and depression. Many teenagers have body image issues causing them to go to the extremes to manage their weight. These behaviours put stress on people as they are always thinking about the calories they put into their bodies, the food they can’t eat and the four hour gym workout they have planned. As a result, their mental health gets shaken making this journey 10x harder and it all started with the advertisements. 

Below is a chart with how many ads these ages watch per day and per year. This goes to show how unhealthy advertisements have taken over the television programs. These ads are a prominent aspect when the tv turns on and it makes people jump off the couch to go buy the new ‘in’ burger.