Some people would want to strictly prevent posts including food from surfacing on social networks in a well-meaning attempt to limit the presence of junk food therein limiting the impact it has on the society as a whole, but the constant presence of social networks can be used to our benefit by shifting the focus of social media posts and product placement toward healthier foods thus providing an opportunity to indulge in the guilty pleasures of foods posts on Instagram or twitter while improving people’s eating habits. The brazen claim that “Instagram makes people fat” is difficult to agree with and is highly susceptible to opposition; however, a larger audience would agree that the reasons behind why this could be true based on the known …show more content…
There are many concurrent factors that can influence the eating habits and social media use of people—especially young adults—including time availability and convenience or psychosocial influences. The psychosocial implications of food consumption are particularly relevant because people as a whole have a tendency to conform with the societal majority and this propensity has been intensified by the social media-driven culture that exists among many ecological groups in this society. In J. Mitchell Vaterlaus’s study to determine the perceived effects of social media on behaviors of young adults, including diet and exercise, he states that the popularity of social media within groups of young adults could be suggestive of the increased sedentary lifestyles within the same age group that could lead to higher risk for obesity (152). This claim is a situation of correlation rather than causality, as there is no definitive proof to show whether social media use dictates dietary health or vice versa or if the two are controlled by the same …show more content…
According to Jura Liaukonyte, “food, beverage, candy, and restaurant advertising was $11.26 billion in 2004, which is more than 100 times the advertising budget for fruits and vegetables” (543) Out of context this sounds ludicrous, but when taking into account what food products cater to the public demand, it goes without saying that from a business standpoint it is best to put money into products that will turn the greatest profit down the line. Although there is no definitive proof to ascertain if the advertising caused demand of unhealthy foods or vice versa, one potential method improving public health would be to revamp the image the fruit, vegetables, and health foods industries have on social media. People have been proved to respond well to most junk food advertisements and processed food companies’ advertisements because they are interesting and appealing to a general public. A wise marketing decision would be to advertise healthy foods in a similarly interesting and aesthetically pleasing way as their over-indulgent and nutrient-deficient competitors so as to draw in a crowd based on the appeal of the products rather than the nutritional
Zinczenko shares his personal story about how fast-food restaurants such as Taco Bell and McDonald’s led to a weight problem during his high-school years. He claims that the ease of accessibility and lack of healthy alternatives make it all too easy to fall into the cycle of unhealthy eating. Zinczenko also contends that the lack of nutrition labels on fast-food products leaves the consumer in the dark about what he or she is actually consuming. At the time Zinczenko wrote his article, fast-food restaurants were not willingly disclosing nutritional values of their products. Today this has changed. Fast-food companies, including McDonald’s, have put the full nutritional information of their products directly on the packaging and wrappers. All other fast-food establishments either post it on the menu board (Panera), offer easy access to pamphlets containing all nutritional information of their menu in store, or have it easily accessible online (Taco Bell, KFC). I am sure that this is a helpful step forward toward educating the public as to what they are consuming, but has this new knowledge to consumers had a dramatic change toward ending obesity? No. People have always known that eating a Big Mac and fries with the giant soft drinks that McDonald’s and other chains offer is not healthy; putting the nutritional labels on these items has done little to nothing to stop people from eating these high-calorie meals. This again leads back to the point that people as consumers need to be more accountable to themselves and stop blaming others for what they willingly choose to put in their
York, Christopher. "Eating Disorders: How Social Media Helps Spread Anorexia And Bulimia In Young People." The Huffington Post United Kingdom. TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc., 13 October. 2012. Web. 10 March 2014.
Since 1960 the amount of cases of eating disorders has risen drastically. Since 1960 technology has increased as well. With this new technology social media has become increasingly popular leading to overstimulation of pictures portraying emaciated young women as “perfection” (Salter). Eating disorders are especially prominent in young females; and young minds are often easily influenced by what is normalized to them (Park). When a young brain is opened up to ideas and words that idolize “skinny”, it will undoubtedly become similarly obsessed with “skinny”. Harvard Medical school recently did a study on media’s effects on eating disorders: “Scientists…studying the social influences contributing to eating disorders focuse...
Social media has become one of the most popular sources of communication for the upcoming generation. For young people growing up in today’s society, social media outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have provided pictures and news that have become the first thing that their eyes see in the morning and the last thing that they see before bed. These pictures have provided unrealistic standards as to what is considered beautiful in today’s society. As young people refer to these images as a form of comparison, it has created harmful circumstances. These influences on the lives of young people have forced them to take extreme measures and in some cases, has been the cause of death. Social media in today’s society has proven to have a negative impact on the way young people, specifically females, view their bodies. Unrealistic beauty standards, dangerous comparisons and disorders have all been a result to the increase in social media and the impact that it has on the lives of young people.
Nowadays in United State, obesity is really a big problem. According to a report from Forbes in 2007, 74.1 percent of people who are over 15 years old in America are considered overweight, which ranked number nine in the world (Streib). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 34 percent of Americans are obese (Salahi and Meaney). Among all the reasons why people get fat, eating unhealthy food constitutes a high proportion. Junk food, such as candies and fries, provides more fats, sugar, salt, and calories, which could easily lead to obesity. Why people eat fast food instead of healthy food? One main reason is that healthy food is 1.5 dollar expensive than fast food (Dwyer). As I am a government officer, I suggest government to increase the tax rate of unhealthy food and decrease the tax rate of healthy food to improve our eating standard and reduce obesity.
Obesity and overweight remain the two major social problems in the United States. Apart from the fact that obesity and overweight are dangerous by themselves, they also cause a variety of negative health consequences. Our lives our overloaded with tasks and obligations, and we often choose to eat something fast. “Fast”, however, does not necessarily imply “useful”, and more and more people face the risks of becoming obese even at young age. Because obesity has already become a national i...
According to recent statistics, every year Americans spend about $50 billion on products and services promoted to help them lose weight. Many of the overweight and obese people that join commercial weight loss programs are looking for a quick fix to lose the weight, such as fad diets and dietary supplements that are marketed to burn fat fast. However, many of these diets offer little success or success for a short time, resulting in many gaining the weight back a short time afterwards. Fad diets are “a trendy practice that has widespread appeal among a population. After a period, however, people lose interest in the practice, and it becomes no longer fashionable. People often lose weight while following fad diets, but usually regain much of
In recent discussions of obesity, one controversial issue has been if the medical condition is a disease that needs treatment or if people themselves are the cause because of poor lifestyle choices. On the one hand, many organizations including the AMA (American Medical Association) argue that obesity is a disease and people diagnosed with it should be treated by doctors and prescribed medicine. On the other hand, many people argue that obesity shouldn’t be considered an illness because they say it is only a risk factor to other life threatening problems and it is preventable. My perspective is that obesity is a preventable risk factor to other diseases, but the condition of being extremely overweight itself is not because it is controllable.
As people grow older, they seek to become empowered with the way they live and how well they take care of themselves. People today have become self empowered to do what is best for themselves whenever they can. Today a main idea is the fact of health. What is the best way to take care of yourself? Although this has many properties in it of itself, a large focus is on what type of food is consumed, and how it affects everything around it. Where the food comes from? How was it made? What does it do? All of these are just some effects that can be determined by choosing what to eat.
America is one of the many countries with high obesity rates. Obesity is something that this country has been dealing with for many decades. Within the past few years, there has been an attempt by the government to regulate and control a few of the factors contributing to this problem, which are junk food and fast food. It is believed that these unhealthy choices are not only affecting Americans, but people all over the world. There is a debate on whether or not the government should place stronger regulatory rules on fast food, junk food, and beverage industries.
They are also very filling. Despite being high in fat and calories, one study showed that almonds increased weight loss by as much as 62% when part of a weight loss diet (22, 23, 24).
In this hectic world, people look for ways to save most of their time. They do not even have time to prepare a good and healthy meal for themselves. That's when the food companies come to their rescue with their low nutritional products. These are readily available packaged snacks with high sugar or salt content with little to no proteins, vitamins and minerals. Billions of dollars are spent each year for marketing these silent killer foods to people who are looking for alternative convenient snacks. "The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food" written by Michael Moss tells us about the reasons behind the popularity and addiction of junk foods. People are being manipulated into buying junk foods and fast foods which boosts their addiction.
Consumers debate about whether or not they should ban junk food advertisements or that people should know the product is a merit or demerit and distinguish right from wrong such as alcohol advertisements,although it is being advertised the amount of people who consume alcohol did not drastically increase and the children should be taught that junk food is unhealthy and the government should intervene and they should force fast food companies to show the meal contents and nutritious value and how much calories are their products containing [aph.gov.au,part
Over the course of the last few decades, the U.S. has seen a drastic rise in the spread of obesity. Through the rise of large-scale fast food corporations, the blame has shifted toward the mass consumerism of these global industries. It is, however, due to poor lifestyle choices that the U.S. population has seen a significant increase in the percentage of people afflicted with obesity. In 1990 the percentage of obese people in the United States was approximated at around 15%. In 2010, however, it is said that “36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher”(Millar). These rates have stayed consistent since 2003. The obesity problem in America is
Yet some readers may challenge my view that the U.S. government should further regulate Junk food. After all, many believe that the government would be infringing on the rights of consumers. Indeed, my argument seems to ignore that you should be able to purchase and consume what you want, and that reducing obesity comes down to personal responsibility. However, I still maintain that further government intervention is required because although we may think we have a choice in what we eat, the addictive properties in fast food prevent us from selecting healthier options. In fact, according to a study conducted by the American Journal of