Obesity has become a major health concern in the U.S. and other countries as overweight and obesity rates have increased markedly since the early 1980s. The rise in children's obesity is a particular concern, because overweight children are more likely to become overweight adults, and because obese children are likely to suffer from associated medical problems earlier in life. Food marketing is among the postulated contributors to the rise in obesity rates. Food marketing to children has come under particular scrutiny because children may be more susceptible to marketing and because early eating habits may persist. Some researchers report that children's exposure to television advertising has been increasing along with the rise in children's obesity rates. This book presents a comprehensive analysis of the exposure of children to television advertising.

Children's health has made tremendous strides over the past century. In general, life expectancy has increased by more than thirty years since 1900 and much of this improvement is due to the reduction of infant and early childhood mortality. Given this trajectory toward a healthier childhood, we begin the 21st-century with a shocking developmentâ€"an epidemic of obesity in children and youth. The increased number of obese children throughout the U.S. during the past 25 years has led policymakers to rank it as one of the most critical public health threats of the 21st-century. Preventing Childhood Obesity provides a broad-based examination of the nature, extent, and consequences of obesity in U.S. children and youth, including the social, environmental, medical, and dietary factors responsible for its increased prevalence. The book also offers a prevention-oriented action plan that identifies the most promising array of short-term and longer-term interventions, as well as recommendations for the roles and responsibilities of numerous stakeholders in various sectors of society to reduce its future occurrence. Preventing Childhood Obesity explores the underlying causes of this serious health problem and the actions needed to initiate, support, and sustain the societal and lifestyle changes that can reverse the trend among our children and youth.

Bachelor Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing, grade: 1,1, Berlin School of Economics and Law, language: English, abstract: With increasing levels of child obesity, the food industry and its advertising techniques are ever more in the centre of public and academic discussion. While such discussion is complicated by the subjectivity of ethical understanding, the existing body of research also lacks evidence for the actual effects of child-directed advertising. In order to advance a solution in the persisting conflict, this paper critically examines public, governmental and corporate responsibilities. A reflection of theoretical and empirical research is therefore complemented by the collection of primary data – drawn from qualitative interviews with children and their parents. As means of implications for practice, the author drafts an organisational concept for the responsible use and creation of children’s food advertising.

Creating an environment in which children in the United States grow up healthy should be a high priority for the nation. Yet the prevailing pattern of food and beverage marketing to children in America represents, at best, a missed opportunity, and at worst, a direct threat to the health prospects of the next generation. Children's dietary and related health patterns are shaped by the interplay of many factorsâ€"their biologic affinities, their culture and values, their economic status, their physical and social environments, and their commercial media environmentsâ€"all of which, apart from their genetic predispositions, have undergone significant transformations during the past three decades. Among these environments, none have more rapidly assumed central socializing roles among children and youth than the media. With the growth in the variety and the penetration of the media have come a parallel growth with their use for marketing, including the marketing of food and beverage products. What impact has food and beverage marketing had on the dietary patterns and health status of American children? The answer to this question has the potential to shape a generation and is the focus of Food Marketing to Children and Youth. This book will be of interest to parents, federal and state government agencies, educators and schools, health care professionals, industry companies, industry trade groups, media, and those involved in community and consumer advocacy.

Childhood obesity is a serious health problem that has adverse and long-lasting consequences for individuals, families, and communities. The magnitude of the problem has increased dramatically during the last three decades and, despite some indications of a plateau in this growth, the numbers remain stubbornly high. Efforts to prevent childhood obesity to date have focused largely on school-aged children, with relatively little attention to children under age 5. However, there is a growing awareness that efforts to prevent childhood obesity must begin before children ever enter the school system. Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies reviews factors related to overweight and obese children from birth to age 5, with a focus on nutrition, physical activity, and sedentary behavior, and recommends policies that can alter children's environments to promote the maintenance of healthy weight. Because the first years of life are important to health and well-being throughout the life span, preventing obesity in infants and young children can contribute to reversing the epidemic of obesity in children and adults. The book recommends that health care providers make parents aware of their child's excess weight early. It also suggests that parents and child care providers keep children active throughout the day, provide them with healthy diets, limit screen time, and ensure children get adequate sleep. In addition to providing comprehensive solutions to tackle the problem of obesity in infants and young children, Early Childhood Obesity Prevention Policies identifies potential actions that could be taken to implement those recommendations. The recommendations can inform the decisions of state and local child care regulators, child care providers, health care providers, directors of federal and local child care and nutrition programs, and government officials at all levels.

The mystery of happiness has occupied human beings from ancient times until the present day. In this regard, the group of researchers from six countries present their fourth joint work in this new book titled »Happiness Management: A Lighthouse for Social Wellbeing, Creativity and Sustainability«.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters.Child obesity is a serious condition that affects children around the world in growing numbers. With obesity comes an increased risk of other chronic diseases as well, making it even more important to understand and treat this condition from a variety of angles. This current volume seeks to under

Most parents start out wanting to raise healthy eaters. Then the world intervenes. In Kid Food, nationally recognized writer and food advocate Bettina Elias Siegel explores one of the fundamental challenges of modern parenting: trying to raise healthy eaters in a society intent on pushing children in the opposite direction. Siegel dives deep into the many influences that make feeding children healthfully so difficult-from the prevailing belief that kids will only eat highly processed "kid food" to the near-constant barrage of "special treats." Written in the same engaging, relatable voice that has made Siegel's web site The Lunch Tray a trusted resource for almost a decade, Kid Food combines original reporting with the hard-won experiences of a mom to give parents a deeper understanding of the most common obstacles to feeding children well: - How the notion of "picky eating" undermines kids' diets from an early age-and how parents' anxieties about pickiness are stoked and exploited by industry marketing - Why school meals can still look like fast food, even after well-publicized federal reforms - Fact-twisting nutrition claims on grocery products, including how statements like "made with real fruit" can actually mean a product is less healthy - The aggressive marketing of junk food to even the youngest children, often through sophisticated digital techniques meant to bypass parents' oversight - Children's menus that teach kids all the wrong lessons about what "their" food looks like - The troubling ways adults exploit kids' love of junk food-including to cover shortfalls in school budgets, control classroom behavior, and secure children's love With expert advice, time-tested advocacy tips, and a trove of useful resources, Kid Food gives parents both the knowledge and the tools to navigate their children's unhealthy food landscape-and change it for the better.

Despite adults’ best preventive efforts, childhood obesity is on the rise in most areas of the world, and with it the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and other formerly adult-onset conditions. Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents takes the global ecological approach that is needed to understand the scope of the problem and its multiple causes and mechanisms, and to aid in developing more effective prevention and intervention programs. In the book’s first half, experts present a descriptive summary of youth obesity trends in ten world regions, broken down by age group, gender, socioeconomic status, and risk factors. Complementing these findings, part two reviews the evidence base regarding the variables, separately and in combination, having the most significant impact on young people’s development of obesity, including: • Genetic and nutrigenomic factors. • Environmental and psychosocial factors, such as family shopping and eating habits and access to healthful foods. • Neuroendocrine regulation. • Prenatal and neonatal factors (e.g., gestational diabetes of the mother). • Dietary factors, from nutrient content to young people’s food preferences. • Physical activity versus sedentary behavior. Epidemiology of Obesity in Children and Adolescents is necessary reading for the range of professionals involved in curtailing this epidemic, including public health specialists, epidemiologists, pediatricians, nurses, nutritionists, psychologists, health educators, and policymakers.