Food Choices

Food advertisements are everywhere. The main forms of media used to promote food includes TV
commercials, magazines, billboards and celebrity endorsements. Over the last few generations, the
media has increased its influence on us with the help of many advanced technologies. Evidently,
media has and is currently influencing people’s choices and decisions they make when purchasing
food. However, the effects can be either negative or positive. Today, teens spend an average of 53
hours per week in front of a screen and encounter 1000’s of ads promoting unhealthy foods. Big
companies use a number of different techniques to catch younger viewers’ attention such as
cartoons, bright appealing colours, toys, happy and up beat music, and the use of strong, persuasive
words etc.

Certain food products (especially cereal) have advertisements on during cartoons and children’s TV
programs, in the hope tahat children will ask their parents to purchase the food for them. In addition
to this, it is proven that children between the ages of 10-13 watch the most TV. This means that they
are exposed to the most adverts out of any age group. This can also affect children’s diet and health
levels, as children who watch more TV are more likely to become obese. In the early 2000’s,
scientists conducted an experiment where 100 children would watch a TV programme with a healthy
advert in the middle, and another 100 would watch a TV programme with an unhealthy advert in the
middle. Results showed that 87% of the kids who watched the unhealthy advert, would choose the
unhealthy food over the healthy option, and 68% of the children who watched the healthy advert,
would choose the healthy option over the unhealthy option. This suggests that the media has a huge
effect on our food choices.

Five Factors That Influence Food Choices:

Emotional Needs:

Half of the time, people are unaware that they are emotionally eating. Emotional eating is caused by
feelings such as stress. People respond to these feelings by eating unhealthy foods such as high-
calorie foods, which can end up having a negative effect on their diet. Emotional eating is thought to
be caused by a number of factors rather than a single reason. When untreated, emotional eating can
result in causes such as obesity and problems with weight loss.

Cost:

The cost of food can influence the individual’s ability to eat out at a restaurant or fast food
companies. People on low incomes may not have this choice and instead will just cook at home, as a
lot cheaper to do so. In addition, if they are on a low income they might not purchase as expensive
items such as steak. Instead, they may buy more pasta and rice which is a lot cheaper. Studies have
shown that eating healthier diets do cost more. Yet, eating healthily may not be as expensive as long
as people know what items to buy, and if they are willing to make healthier food choices.

Cultural and Religious beliefs:

Cultural and religious beliefs plays a very influential role in our food choices and the types of food we
consume. For example, in religions like Islam and Hindu, the consumption of pork is extremely
frowned upon, as it is not considered ‘clean meat’. For Hindus, cows are off limits, as they are
believed to be sacred. Hindus believe that all living things are equal therefore; neither humans nor
animals should be considered as food.

Age:

Overtime, what our bodies need from food changes, as we grow older. For example, elderly people
need more foods that consist of higher calcium so that their bones stay strong and healthy. Elderly
people may also have issues with their teeth and so cannot eat chewy or hard foods and may have
to eat softer foods. By aiming to eat well throughout our different stages of life, we can keep happy
and maintain a healthy diet more easily.

Time:

Time constraints can influence what foods people choose to eat. People who do not have a lot of
time may eat take away meals from fast food outlets such as McDonalds or Hungry Jacks. Another
option for time-poor people is buying readily prepared meals. Ready-made meals are pre-packaged
meals prepared by a large company such as Light’n Easy or smaller businesses such as Fit Foods 4
You owned by North Adelaide chef and his wife. Ready-made meals are a billion dollar industry and
are becoming more and more popular. They allow people to enjoy a meal cooked by a qualified or
experienced meal at a low cost.

References:

 http://www.jenniebayliss.com/advertising-influences-food-choices/
 https://prezi.com/8o6bbel_ksps/does-media-influence-our-food-choices/
 http://ispub.com/IJTWM/1/2/11779
 http://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/the-determinants-of-food-choice
 http://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/healt
hy+living/healthy+eating/healthy+eating+at+different+ages+and+stages+of+your+life
 https://www.medicinenet.com/emotional_eating/article.htm#what_is_emotional_eating
 https://www.unh.edu/healthyunh/blog/2013/06/religion%E2%80%99s-impact-peoples
%E2%80%99-diets
 http://www.nutritionremarks.com/2012/12/26/food-costs-may-influence-your-diet-and-
health/
 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21443166
 https://www.ff4u.com.au/
 https://jacobandreae.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-pre-made-meals/