You are what you see

A recent article by the U.S. News & World Report cited a study done for the American Dietetic Association regarding food advertising. The research looked at what would happen if a person ate a 2,000-calorie diet based on foods advertised on TV.

Because it has long been known that advertising has a major impact on consumers, the study’s findings were alarming.

Not only would you consume 25 times the recommended serving of sugar and 20 times the recommended serving of fat, but your fresh vegetable and fruit intake would be well below what it should be.

From the Burger King Steakhouse XT Burger to Wendy’s Frosty, it’s impossible to watch television without pictures of unhealthy options flashing by.

Even the Federal Communications Commission has a (seemingly old) website devoted to the topic, with resources for parents. The site, aptly titled Media & Childhood
Obesity, created a ‘Task Force’ in 2006 to address media and childhood obesity. The site also states that “by the time the average child is 18 years old, he or she has spent between 10,000 and 15,000 hours watching television and has been exposed to more than 200,000 commercials.” I’m sure this number has grown since the time the study was done.

Is it the advertisers’ fault we eat so poorly? I’m sure the researchers knew before conducting their study that our eating habits are born from more than just what we see on TV.

Our upbringing plays a major role. If your parents are vegetarian, it’s likely you will be, too. If you grew up with bad eating habits, they’ll stick into adulthood.
This is not always be the case, however. When I was young, Saturday trips to McDonald’s were a must. But over time, my parents began cutting out fast food and “bad food” from their diets, and so have I.

So while the ads for Taco Bell look scrumptious late at night, don’t be fooled. Our diets should contain more than just what might seem appetizing at first glance.