Thursday, November 21, 2013
Children Food Choices
So basically, I wanted to research further into the topic of how children fast food advertising is changing or altering the food choices of children. From the group presentation I did in class, I recall having to compare the food advertisements for the particular McDonald's fast food franchise. There was a distinctive difference in the advertisement of how before the advertisement showcased the happy meals toys for the children and promoted the movie while now these days you still see the toys being promoted but there are also the nutritional tips that come along to promote healthy food choices. In terms of the connection to the popular culture, by researching the topic, the nutritional health aspect can be evaluated for the children foods. As of now, I would say that the society is taking better steps to improving the health of everyone because of the extent of how much obesity has grown and the fact that there are even cases of diabetes being exposed in children. I further need to know more about the distinctive role of the advertisement and the food choice.
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Yes! But where does it start? With their first Happy Meal. Kids can't purchase these things on their own! An adult had to turn them on to it. Just recently, my friend Robyn bought her nephew is first Happy Meal. Robyn's sister was furious with her. Robyn couldn't understand the logic of her sister's anger. Robyn's argument was, "A right of passage! Every kid deserves his first Happy Meal!" To me, this is not sound reasoning. When did feeding your children crap become a right of passage??? Robyn considered it a novelty... I considered it a violation of parental rights. If your going to watch my kids, please respect how I raise them and what I feed them. Good topic and good points!
ReplyDeleteThis is a good and valid topic, but I also think it'd be interesting to see how kids themselves play a part in the decision making, because when given a choice between the healthier and the "fun" option, kids tend to pick the latter in my experience, and I think that'd be a huge key factor in this experience.
ReplyDeleteI'd also love for you to take a look at how class disparities play into this, because I'd say the reason we're eating a lot more crap as a society is because of the increasing wage gap, and this is probably the closest thing to a "luxury" some kids have. But so far you're right on the money!
It sounds like a great topic. I think it’d be interesting to look into how companies cater to consumers’ demands. For example, I’m pretty sure that we did know about the health risks of fast foods that are high in fat before the obesity epidemic. Yet there were no great demands about regulations or keeping consumers informed in the past—people assumed that individuals were responsible for educating themselves and making informed decisions about what they’d buy. Now that obesity and unhealthy eating is recognized as a public problem, companies like McDonalds are pressured to make some changes in how they advertise and market their products.
ReplyDeleteYou have a great topic for your research essay. Companies now create advertisements that promote their products and healthy choices—ironic since fast food isn't the healthiest food around. They have responded to the demand for healthy choices and create advertisements off this trend to inform the public that "hey we're healthy too so come buy from us." Since your focus is around fast food I think you should add the people who commonly buy this food (e.g. the working class). After all it's the parents who have the income that buy these products for their children because the children want to eat fast food, want the toys, or because it is simply convenient. Good luck on your essay.
ReplyDeleteThis looks like it is going to be a really fun topic to dive into. I would be really interested to see if any research exists on how company sales changed after the introduction of healthier options in child meals. I know places like McDonald's now offer milk and apple slices in their meals. I wonder how that has influenced public opinion.
ReplyDeleteAt the same time I would suggest making sure that you define "healthy". I remember watching the documentary Super Size Me about McDonald's food and their health issues. I believe it was outlined that a chicken salad at McDonald's has more sugar in it than a Big Mac. Just because it looks healthy, doesn't mean it is.
I like your topic. We all have our own views on it as well. I agree with you that fast food places are trying to be more healthy, while giving you a choice on salad, fruit, and milk, etc. It is however everyone has that choice to eat fast food or not to eat it. Kids are one of the major audiences targeted. With toys as well as food. Some parents find it a cheap fast way to feed them or their family, while others won't allow their children or themselves to consume it. Its a good topic to look into and gain more knowledge on. Advertising is a HUGE part of how they make money and get so many costumers. Toys are a big thing that get kids interested in it, and for older people the fact that its cheap is a huge part of it as well.
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