Obesity and the Role of Advertising in It

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Nowadays, advertising is a constant companion of people’s life. It dictates strict standards of beauty and behavior, affecting almost everyone on both conscious and subconscious levels. One of the most important problems that arouse the interest of researchers is the influence of advertising on the formation of models of food behavior and, above all, its involvement in the construction of food addiction. Thus, While biological factors determine body type, there is an external influence to take into account when speaking about weight-related health issues, which include such as advertising and the social environment, because obesity is a health issues, social problem, and propogated through advertising.

Many studies attribute obesity to complex, multifactorial, and multigene disorders, which are closely associated with the characteristics of the psycho-socio-cultural environment (Clemmensen et al. 469). For example, it is stated that “a widening societal inequality propelled by the political interventions against COVID-19 might translate into an increase in obesity occurrence in groups with a lower socioeconomic status” (Clemmensen et al. 469). Researchers state that, among other important aspects of the problem, food advertising remains the leading factor in causing food addiction and, ultimately, increasing the rates of obesity all around the world.

Obesity is a result of a combination of factors, including a decrease in physical activity, constant intake of high-calorie foods, as well as the presence of genes that influence the possibility of gaining weight. According to Katzmarzyk et al., “the nutrition transition is characterized by a shift towards a diet comprised of more animal-based food products and processed food high in saturated fats and sugar” (853). Thus, the main cause of obesity in both adults and children is overeating.

Obesity poses a serious health risk and is accompanied by the development of such serious diseases as type 2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, coronary heart disease, and myocardial infarction. Moreover, obesity can even influence the growth of malignant tumors of different origins. The risk of death from any causes, including cardiovascular disease and malignant neoplasms, is increased in men and women of all age groups who suffer from obesity of varying severity: from moderate to significant. Therefore, obesity is a heavy economic burden for the state. Rosenthal et al. state that “there is still a lack of understanding about the reasons and best treatment modalities for the disease” (1644). In first-world countries, the treatment of obesity and its complications accounts for almost a tenth of the annual health care costs in general. Additionally, obesity leads to an increase in the cost of treatment of nearly all diseases – especially type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Obesity has remained a huge social problem since the end of the Twentieth century. Wang et al. projected that “by 2030, over half of the men (55.6%) and 80.0% of women would have central obesity” (821). People with obesity do not just have problems with their health and mobility, they also often suffer from depression or other mental disorders due to low self-esteem and quality of life. The prejudice of other people, even when completely irrational, is one of the reasons behind the obese people’s disruption in the fulfillment of dietary restrictions. Discomfort, frustration, generalized anxiety, and poor social well-being – all these belong to the manifestations of the results of the influence of stress caused by obesity that affect people at different levels: personal, social, and psychological. These emotional issues cause the need to compensate for “suffering” with available encouragement – such as food. This creates a vicious circle of overeating which produces even more stress.

In the Twenty-first century, people start rapidly gaining weight due to abrupt changes in all spheres of life: a drop in life quality, a rapid rise of unemployment and poverty, and additional stress from uncertainty. The typical leisure activity has changed, too, and not in a good way. The focus of leisure activity – the content side of spending free time – is an important factor that determines the specifics and quality of free time that influences an individual heavily. Now, this issue is widely addressed all over the world, as the importance of physical activity is brought back into the light.

Several studies have convincingly proved a significant increase in the amount of food taken under exposure to food advertisements. This fact led scientists to suggest that this type of advertising can contribute to the epidemic of obesity, as well as other eating disorders such as bulimia and anorexia (Rosenthal 1648). Today’s enhanced marketing practices make the consumer unconsciously and without hesitation buy junk food, which leads directly to the problem of obesity. The influence of advertising is also confirmed by the fact that obesity is more common among children under the age of seven when the child is not yet able to critically evaluate the incoming information.

Young people find it difficult to comprehend that advertising is a tool used to sell products. It is not until the age of 12 that many children begin to fully understand what advertising is all about. The companies’ failure to create a responsible marketing approach can lead to unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles. Social and economic development, agricultural policies, food distribution, and marketing have an impact on the habits and preferences of people in the field of nutrition. Talukdar et al. report that “based on current trends, global obesity prevalence will continue to increase during 2019–2024, with the rate of growth higher in low- and middle-income countries” (2). This exposure is increasingly contributing to unhealthy weight gain, leading to a sustained rise in obesity prevalence.

Preventing and combating obesity is the shared responsibility of consumers, government, non-governmental organizations, and food manufacturers and suppliers. However, food companies might have a bigger part in this shared responsibility, as they are selling unhealthy food using misleading information. They often hide important caloric information so that people will not hesitate to buy it while simultaneously adding that these products are not only cheap but also healthy. Hence, this situation causes people to overeat and, as a result, contributes to the issue of obesity. When it comes to food addiction, food companies are very firmly aware of people’s vulnerability, use it as an advantage to make the masses believe their statements and advertisements.

Some critics have mistakenly concluded that the subsidies paid to farmers to grow crops are something that is wrong with the food system. However, subsidies are an only sign of a broken system, but not the cause. The main problem with the current food system is that it adheres to the concept of a free market, which allows commodities such as corn to be priced according to the demands of the said market. Hall adds that “the increased food availability was driven by economic and policy influences to maximize the agricultural production of cheap inputs to an increasingly industrialized food system that intensively marketed ‘added value’ foods” (12). Food companies contribute to that situation due to the fact that it is profitable for them, as it allows them to produce more at fewer expenses.

Food companies tend to strengthen and support food choices that are detrimental to human health, which is why they are actively contributing to obesity in the United States. Moreover, they are misleading the public about healthier diets by repeatedly promoting fast food at low prices. Moreover, their bright and manipulative marketing ensures that these children will become future customers who will subconsciously consume food without thinking about whether it is healthy or not. Thus, it is important to say that food companies should be held legally accountable for providing truthful information. They should communicate the results of excessive food consumption to the public and stop misleading consumers by promoting unhealthy products through false advertising.

In conclusion, while biological factors determine body type, there is an external influence to take into account when speaking about weight-related health issues, which include such as advertising and the social environment. Obesity and food addiction have become a widespread and significant problem of modern society, both health-related and social. Acceleration of the movement of community along more and more complicated trajectories of social and cultural development affects the functioning of life values, including the nature of human nutrition. Industrialization, rationalization, and globalization of the food industry have ambivalent implications for modern human. The state is able to create certain conditions that will, if not hinder, but at least would not provoke an increase in the prevalence of obesity and food addiction among the US population. However, for this, it would have to develop effective programs and mechanisms for providing the population with healthy food, as well as for rationalization of food distribution among the people. The growing prevalence of obesity requires taking all possible social measures to contain it. Obesity in the absolute majority of cases has an exogenous constitutional nature – that is, due to the influence of environmental factors with a hereditary predisposition to weight gain. Understanding its effect on the quality of life of the population in general and an individual is explicitly essential.

Works Cited

Clemmensen, Christoffer, et al. “Will The COVID-19 Pandemic Worsen The Obesity Epidemic?” Nature Reviews Endocrinology, vol. 16, no. 9, 2020, pp. 469–470. Web.

Hall, Kevin D. “Did The Food Environment Cause The Obesity Epidemic?” Obesity, vol. 26, no. 1, 2017, pp. 11–13. Web.

Katzmarzyk, Peter T., et al. “International study of childhood obesity, lifestyle and the environment (ISCOLE): Contributions To Understanding The Global Obesity Epidemic.” Nutrients, vol. 11, no. 4, 2019, p. 848. Web.

Rosenthal, Raul J., et al. “Obesity in America.” Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, vol. 13, no. 10, 2017, pp. 1643–1650. Web.

Talukdar, Debabrata, et al. “The Association between National Income and Adult Obesity Prevalence: Empirical Insights into Temporal Patterns and Moderators of the Association Using 40 Years of Data across 147 Countries.” PLOS ONE, vol. 15, no. 5, 2020, pp. 1-17. Web.

Wang, Youfa, et al. “Has The Prevalence Of Overweight, Obesity And Central Obesity Levelled Off In The United States? Trends, Patterns, Disparities, And Future Projections For The Obesity Epidemic.” International Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 49, no. 3, 2020, pp. 810–823. Web.

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Obesity and the Role of Advertising in It

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