The childhood obesity epidemic could be argued as one of the most serious public health problems of the 21st century, costing the NHS around £4.2 billion every year according to the Royal College of Paediatrics. Alarming figures by the NCMP in 2014/15 found that 19.1% of children aged 10-11 were obese and a further 14.2% were overweight, and children aged 4-5, 9.1% were obese1. These exponentially increasing figures demand to questioned, why are our youths becoming obese? While multiple factors influence eating behaviours and food choices of youth, the main culprits are believed to be changes in lifestyle and the food supply creating an 'obesogenic ' environment. I, however, aim to investigate the often overlooked but potent role of television
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Most children under the age of 6 have little understanding of the persuasive intent of advertising and often cannot distinguish between the programme and the advert. Although children prior to the age of 7 cannot understand the objective of the advert, they do have an ability to recall the content of the advertisements they have been exposed to. Product preference has been shown to occur with a single advert exposure, and over time, the repeated exposure strengthens the preference. This can lead to children 's purchase requests of the parents who have the purchasing decision.The understanding of the adverts usually develops by the age of 7-8 years, so many campaigners believe adverts for foods high in fats, salts and sugars are exploiting and misleading for young children, confusing them to associate their favourite television show with a product. The cognitive ability to process adverts begins from ages 8-10 years, and then from early adolescence children are more likely to evaluate the message. Adolescents are more likely to focus on the content of the message and can be persuaded by the message if it plays into their developmental concerns related to appearance or self-identity. This explains why advertisements often sexualise fast food commercials or use celebrity endorsements such as the 'Carl Jr’s ' burger commercial featuring Kate Upton, as it
Most children under the age of 6 have little understanding of the persuasive intent of advertising and often cannot distinguish between the programme and the advert. Although children prior to the age of 7 cannot understand the objective of the advert, they do have an ability to recall the content of the advertisements they have been exposed to. Product preference has been shown to occur with a single advert exposure, and over time, the repeated exposure strengthens the preference. This can lead to children 's purchase requests of the parents who have the purchasing decision.The understanding of the adverts usually develops by the age of 7-8 years, so many campaigners believe adverts for foods high in fats, salts and sugars are exploiting and misleading for young children, confusing them to associate their favourite television show with a product. The cognitive ability to process adverts begins from ages 8-10 years, and then from early adolescence children are more likely to evaluate the message. Adolescents are more likely to focus on the content of the message and can be persuaded by the message if it plays into their developmental concerns related to appearance or self-identity. This explains why advertisements often sexualise fast food commercials or use celebrity endorsements such as the 'Carl Jr’s ' burger commercial featuring Kate Upton, as it