As my research on pediatric obesity comes to an end, my explorative purpose must also. I have read, watched, and listened to many men and women’s ideas, opinions, and research on the before-mentioned topic and I would like to share my final thoughts. Through this final blog post, I will be raising a concern that should be on everyone’s, especially parent’s, minds. A concern for our youth being raised in a prosperous environment. Media has the ability to affect a child’s life in every aspect, and it is imperative they learn and understand a healthy lifestyle from us, the adults. Obesity around the world can be boiled down to one simple phrase: you are what you eat. The nutrition that is put into your body shapes every aspect of your life: cognitive, emotional, and physical. If excessive or harmful nutrients, sugars, fats, salts, are constantly being relied on to fuel your body, or your children’s body, there will be consequences, and possibly even death.
I am going to end my research posts with a new source that offered some enlightening information to me. Jamie Oliver has been revolutionizing the healthy food industry for over a decade now, starting with children. Oliver’s “Food Revolution” begins with after school programs called “Learn Your Fruits and Vegetables” which are help funded by partnerships with companies such as Whole Foods, Food Day, and The California Endowment. The purpose of The Jamie Oliver Food Foundation (JOFF) is, “To be a leading force in the fight against diet-related diseases, using the power of cooking skills and food education through hands-on programs designed for adults and kids, awareness raising campaigns, and inspiring a global community to take on their own local Food Revolution to empower the next generation.”
I specifically watched a Ted Talk from 2010 by Oliver entitled, Teach Every Child About Food, which highlighted the nasty truths about diet related diseases and shorter lifespans. During the video Oliver shows a picture of a sixteen year old obese girl, who is diagnosed with only six years to live due to her poor eating habits. This segment reminds me of the various journals I read that researched and examined various diseases in young children that will, in some cases, become life threatening when they are older. Check out my previous blog post The French Fry Heard 'Round the World. It is horrifying to think of the families that could potentially lose mothers, fathers, children, and friends due to obesity, which is why it is imperative to take steps before this becomes an even larger problem. In his Ted Talk, Oliver also relays that in the cartons of milk you can find in schools today, there is as much sugar as a can of soda. Although handing out skim milk in schools is not going to resolve the issue of obesity, it is a one small drop in the bucket of the world. This is not an issue of ignorance in the children, but of advertising techniques. Although the milk is loaded with additives and nutrient deficient, it is appealing and tasty and makes sales. I have talked about the idea of marketing and sales being entrapping towards children after watching the documentary Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood.
Oliver continues his Ted Talk by also mentioning his “landscape of food”, which is a simple diagram of the areas of life that food negatively penetrate. Oliver relays that there are food related problems in “Main St”, or out in public, in school, and at home. This trifecta has the power and ability to affect us from when we are children until we die. I explained this phenomenon and the ethicalness of advertising to children in my blog post Cradle to Grave. Oliver also explains how huge fast food companies, supermarkets, and distribution chains powerfully run the country in terms of consumption. It is astounding the areas of life that advertisements, fast food, and obesity have perforated in our world, and even more disheartening to learn of the lack of progress being made in pediatric and adult obesity.
Oliver continues his Ted Talk by also mentioning his “landscape of food”, which is a simple diagram of the areas of life that food negatively penetrate. Oliver relays that there are food related problems in “Main St”, or out in public, in school, and at home. This trifecta has the power and ability to affect us from when we are children until we die. I explained this phenomenon and the ethicalness of advertising to children in my blog post Cradle to Grave. Oliver also explains how huge fast food companies, supermarkets, and distribution chains powerfully run the country in terms of consumption. It is astounding the areas of life that advertisements, fast food, and obesity have perforated in our world, and even more disheartening to learn of the lack of progress being made in pediatric and adult obesity.
I have researched and commented on a plethora of information concerning childhood obesity in correlation with media, so we now know that it is a large problem that has the ability to affect every aspect of your life. According to a Ted Speaker from Ted Talk, “Campaigns such as Jamie's School Dinner, Ministry of Food and Food Revolution USA combine Oliver’s culinary tools, cookbooks and television, with serious activism and community organizing -- to create change on both the individual and governmental level.” Oliver has already begun a foundation point to start off of to help educate schools, businesses, and restaurants about healthy living and the risks of obesity. I encourage you all to visit his website to read more thoroughly about his research, recordings, and how to get involved with his movement for a healthier lifestyle.
Also, another way to help promote healthier eating is to look locally! Businesses in your hometown that buy, sell, or cook organic, fresh foods are always a good place to start talking about, going to, and cooking from to start a trend where you live. Throughout high school, my friends and I would visit Pure and Simple Cafe in my hometown (Forget where I live? Checkout my Welcome Blog Post for a reminder!) for a bevy of occasions. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, pre-workout, post-workout, and smoothie runs. Pure and Simple Cafe prepares amazing, organic, fresh, and wholesome smoothies, juices, omelettes, salads, wraps, and pizzas (JUST TO NAME A FEW) for my small suburban town that has taken on to a healthy trend. So check out some small healthy businesses in your hometown and see what they have to offer!
Also, another way to help promote healthier eating is to look locally! Businesses in your hometown that buy, sell, or cook organic, fresh foods are always a good place to start talking about, going to, and cooking from to start a trend where you live. Throughout high school, my friends and I would visit Pure and Simple Cafe in my hometown (Forget where I live? Checkout my Welcome Blog Post for a reminder!) for a bevy of occasions. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, pre-workout, post-workout, and smoothie runs. Pure and Simple Cafe prepares amazing, organic, fresh, and wholesome smoothies, juices, omelettes, salads, wraps, and pizzas (JUST TO NAME A FEW) for my small suburban town that has taken on to a healthy trend. So check out some small healthy businesses in your hometown and see what they have to offer!
As my research blogs officially come to a close, I would like to reflect on the positive experience I have encountered. Researching my line of inquiry as well as learning new ways in which to investigate a subject have provided me with new skills as I embark farther into my education. I hope this has been as educational for me as it has been for you, my reader. I hope you may come out of my blog with a new perspective to consider as well as a healthy path to begin to follow. Most importantly, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read my inquisitive thoughts on an important worldwide issue.
Oliver, Jamie. "Food Revolution - Jamie Oliver | Prize-winning Wishes | TED Prize | Participate | TED." Food Revolution - Jamie Oliver | Prize-winning Wishes | TED Prize | Participate | TED. TedTalk, Feb. 2010. Web. 07 Dec. 2015.