Article No. 6

Media and marketing causes obesity in addition to energy consumption and expenditure.

Being overweight during childhood and adolescence from eating fast food excessively increases the risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and type 2 diabetes as a youth. One disease of particular concern is Type 2 diabetes, which is linked to overweight and obesity and has increased dramatically in children and adolescents

One research reveals that more than 50 percent of television advertisements directed at children promote food and beverage(including fast food) that are high in calories and fat and low in fiber and nutrient density.

* Fast food outlets spend $3 billion in television ads targeted to specifically children.

There surely is a link between exposure to food advertising and the increasing rates of obesity among youth. In the 1970s and 1980s, some experimental studies showed that young children under age eight were much more likely than older children to believe that television advertisements were telling the truth, and that exposure to television advertisements influenced the food choices among children, enticing them to choose more sugary and tasty food which increased requests to parents for fast food they saw advertised.

A recent literature review by Kaiser Family Foundation highlighted a number of studies about how advertising influenced dietary and other food choices in children, which likely contributed to energy imbalance and weight gain. One study found that among children as young as three, the amount of weekly television viewing was significantly related to their caloric intake as well as requests and parental purchases of specific foods they saw advertised on television. Several other studies found that the amount of time children spent watching TV was correlated with how often they requested fast food products and brand preferences. In order to deepen this correlation between food advertising and childhood obesity even more, many questions need to be answered using sustainable studies supported with sufficient statistics.

http://mylatinovoice.com/food-and-living/17-health/2477-obesity-growing-health-problem-in-latino-youth.html