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Subject: Dangers of Selling Junk Food to Children

It is blatantly clear that companies are marketing and selling their food products towards children by school and/or the media. This is an ongoing issue that is contributing to the obesity epidemic currently happening in America. Children all over the nation are being taken advantage of. As students who will soon become future leaders in their respective fields, we need to start thinking about who is accountable and how we can mitigate this before becoming a bigger issue.

Michele Simon gives us a powerful revelation in regards to the issue in her book, “Appetite for Profit” stating that companies are, “preying on Americans’ inherent sense of individualism, industry is twisting the concept of choice.” Solving this issue will not only improve the health of American children, but it will also give them more opportunities in making a healthier choice as they grow older by giving them the necessary tools to formulate their own opinions.

We need to look at what health effects are in danger from industries targeting kids, what are the results from the industry advertising to children, and how they operate in schools.

The Research on Children Health Effects from Junk Food

There are many experts that agree that junk food, and their availability in schools has a detrimental effect on student’s health. According to Sarah Collins in the article “Negative Effects of Junk Food on Kids” believes that the food available in schools has contributed to obesity. Collins states that many of the junk foods that are available at children in schools such as pizza and sports drink have a detrimental effect on their health. She states that they are “the top sources of calories for kids age 2 to 18” (Collins, 2011). What this means is that kids are constantly being exposed to junk foods their whole grade school life.

Collins also states that childhood obesity rates have increased from 4 percent to 6, and the foods that they are constantly being exposed to as a factor in the case. Children whose diets consist of high intakes of fast food are likely to consume “less milk, less fiber and fewer fruits and nonstarchy vegetables” (Collins, 2011). Collins believes that this will put them at other risk factors where they can potentially have pre-diabetes, have problems with their joints, and a host of other health effects that can carry on into their adult lives.

The Research on Advertising to Children

Simon states in her book that marketing to children has led to many problems, many of which we should be aware of. While citing the American Psychological Association (APA) mentions that, “studies have documented that a high percentage of advertisements targeting children feature candy, fast foods, and snacks and that exposure to such advertising increases consumption of these products” (as cited in Simon, 2006). In the article, “The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity” by the APA believes that the marketing conducted by companies increase childhood obesity. This links advertising to kids with child health effects obtained from consuming junk foods. The APA goes on to state that children are being exposed to vast amounts of media sources including television sets and computer screens. This will lead to many players in the food industry to target and take advantage of the technological advances as it is relatively simple and effective in reaching kids. This will obviously have a negative impact as, “Research has found strong associations between increases in advertising for non-nutritious foods and rates of childhood obesity.

Most children under the age of 6 cannot distinguish between programming and advertising and children under age 8 do not understand the persuasive intent of advertising” (“The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity”, n.d.). The APA also believes that the more time children spend watching T.V. the more likelihood they will succumb to obesity. Simon constantly argues that corporations have decided to self-regulate in regards to the foods they decide to sell, leading to a culture of unhealthy habits reinforced with the idea of individualism. The APA agrees with by stating, “The food and beverage industry has resolved to self-regulate their marketing to children, but this has not resulted in significant improvement in the marketing of healthier food” (“The Impact of Food Advertising on Childhood Obesity”, n.d.).

The scholarly article, “Television Food Advertising to Children: A Global Perspective” by Kelly Bridget et al. reinforces the argument of negative advertising on children by stating:

“The targeted broadcasting of unhealthy food advertisements when the highest numbers of children are watching and the use of child-oriented persuasive marketing techniques define a media environment in which children are frequently and deliberately targeted with commercial messages that run counter to nutritional recommendations.”

Through this quote Bridget et al. believes there is a strong connection with the food being advertised and the food being purchased. Multiple sources will support this claim including the professional organization, the APA.

Research on how the Junk Food Industries Operate in Schools

According to Kelli Grant in the article, “The Loophole in New School Junk Food Ad Bans” explains how companies are working around federal bans on advertising in schools by the use of technologies embedded online. She states, “Ads may pop up in the course of those classroom Web activities, or during the social media checking and Web browsing done between classes and during lunch” (Grant, 2014). Kids are constantly connected to the internet and this could prove a problem as more classrooms are shifting to a computer-based education. Grant mentions that 44 percent of grade school students have accessed their phones in regards to working on school-related assignments.

Companies are adapting their strategy to fit the current times, making their grasp on children as strong as it has ever been. In order to prove this, the article states that the, “overall spending on marketing to people ages 2-17 fell 19 percent from the previous year, to $1.79 billion. But over that same period, they spent 50 percent more on online, mobile and viral marketing promotions targeting that age group.”

Jen Christenson also believes that food available in schools have become a massive problem in her article, “Schools Struggle to Feed Kids Healthy Food”. She states that, “A 2009 study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that 94 percent of school lunches failed to meet the U.S. Agriculture Department's regulatory standards” (Christenson, 2010). This is a staggering number that puts things in perspectives of how food is distributed in grade schools. Can any of you Matadors remember what kind of food was being offered when you were in High school? Christenson goes on to explain that many schools do not have a fully functional kitchen, thus must resort to obtaining foods that are frozen which is much less nutritional value than fresh foods. This could lead to schools resorting to junk foods to substitute their lack of healthy offerings.

Michele Simon offers an extended amount of information on the subject in her book. Simon mentions that many schools are having problems with finances and as a result, may turn to outside sources as a way of generating money. She states, “With public schools so desperate for funding, districts are lured into signing exclusive contracts with major beverage companies” (Simon, 2006). This goes to show how powerful money is when offered to schools, and how they are able to manipulate children into a lifestyle proven to be detrimental to society.

The Discussion on the Problem

After reviewing the various research provided, it is abundantly clear that the food industry is taking advantage of children across the nation through multiple environments including school and at home. Matadors, all it takes is for us to remember our past and see how effective their marketing tactics are. Anyone remember pizza day at school? How about when going to local high school games? Hot dogs and soft drinks are a must to show support for our local schools. We should strive to support healthier options such as salads, water, fruits, and vegetables.

We can see how the research on junk food and its effects, advertising, and school operation all interact with each other, creating a powerful tool that the food industry created to further ensure their bottom line will grow. Junk food is unhealthy; there is no doubt about it, so why are we letting these companies run rampant in schools through advertising and selling? The research has shown that kids are unable to distinguish the things advertised to them, so does that mean we should ignore it?

The more kids who are engaged in corporate marketing, the more likely a chance they will be diagnosed with obesity. Obesity is a disadvantage in life that any research will show as highly preventable. The last thing we need is to have kids be put at a disadvantage because we failed to mobilize and take action. We have taken necessary steps to make sure the world will be sustainable for future generations. Why is food any different? Why does food get treated as a personal choice rather than an issue? These are things we need to answer soon if we want children to grow up knowing the difference between what is good for them, and what isn’t.

In the beginning, I mentioned a very important quote by Michele Simon that embodies this discussion. It provides the main theme for this issue and should be taken into consideration just how effective this tactic is used in regards to children. Americans pride themselves by being an individual. We have always been a nation that is self-reliant and value the freedom of choice, but what happens when that value is attacked? The research I have provided Matadors will essentially help us understand what food companies are willing to do to twist our sense of individualism in their favor. Not only do they do this, but they do it using kids as their prime victim. Junk food and children have basically become synonymous with each other, anyone remember the classic movie, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory by Mel Stuart? Now that you think about it, the APA was right in their studies in regards to media and obesity. Maybe it is time CSUN takes action towards giving kids their individualistic ideals back.

Conclusion

It has become apparent that we need to take action soon in order to reverse this trend of food companies selling junk food to children. The first step is to understand the problem; next, we need to identify the type of marketing that is present in media and in schools to help shed light on what needs to change. The APA has done a great job of explaining the seriousness of marketing to children, and as educated students we too can make a change. We need to let policymakers know we will no longer stand for food companies taking advantage of children’s freedom of choice. Hopefully this memo has given everyone a firm grasps of the situation and is ready to take action.

If there are any further questions on how to take action, please contact me at Tonyngo@csun.com, or call (818) 345-1263

Thank you.

Reference

Christensen, J. (2010, September 29). Schools struggle to feed kids healthy food. CNN, Retrieved May 02, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/09/29/school.food.investigation/

Collins, S. (2011, May 27). Negative Effects of Junk Food on Kids. Livestrong, Retrieved May 02, 2017, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/456624-negative-effects-of-junk-food- on-kids/

Grant, K. B. (2014, February 27). Why new bans on school junk food ads won't fly. CNBC, Retrieved May 02, 2017, from http://www.cnbc.com/2014/02/26/the-loophole-in-new- school-junk-food-ad-bans.html

The impact of food advertising on childhood obesity. (n.d.). American Psychological Association, Retrieved May 02, 2017, from http://www.apa.org/topics/kids- media/food.aspx

Kelly, B., Kelly, . , Halford, J. , Boyland, E. , Chapman, K. , et al. (2010). Television food advertising to children: A global perspective. The American Journal of Public Health, 100(9), 1730. Retrieved May 02, 2017, from Oviatt Library website.