Is advertising the main cause of unhealthy eating habits?
Nowadays critics have never stopped complaining about the side effects from the explosion of
advertisements in modern society. Among these endless accusations, there is one controversial issue
regarding the impact of advertising on people's unhealthy eating habits. In reality, compared with
other sources of negative influences, advertising only plays a small role. The eating habits are
formed on the basis of many complicated factors. Therefore, it is rash to consider it a major cause
of those unhealthy eating habits.
To illustrate, one of the biggest contributors to unhealthy eating habits is the desire to lose
weight. For fear of putting on weight, an increasing number of people have joined a shared mission
to become slimmer. Such a prevailing trend nowadays has almost gone out of control. With the
enrollment of more new comers, the troop is expanding all the time. Few people, especially young
women, are willing to fall behind. A recent survey indicates that in China's major cities, 6 out of
10 adults are on a diet. The majority of them are taking in very little food every day. They
intentionally stay away from any staple food and meat. Only fruit and vegetables make up their
meals.Some of them are even eating nothing during supper time, but drinking water instead. Lack of
nutrients regarding these eating habits is a biggest threat to human health.
Besides, eating habits are also associated with one's working style. A high pressured work schedule
has deprived many white-collar workers of the time to enjoy a comfortable meal each week day. Early
in the morning, they struggle out of bed, just in time to catch the bus to the office, not having
enough time to eat a healthy breakfast. A short noon break only allows them to have a simple meal,
which might include the unhealthy fast food like KFC, instant noodles or a box lunch. After a
tiring day, few of them have enough energy to prepare a healthy supper at home. Thus, with the
passing of time, such eating habits would definitely make people suffer from health problems. Some
may be gaining too much weight, while others are becoming malnourished.
Admittedly, advertising is a possible channel that misleads people into bad eating habits. The
masses may have access to numerous food advertisements while watching TV or browsing through
newspapers and magazines. In order to establish a good image before the public and make the biggest
profits, food producers or restaurants are exaggerating the quality of their products and services.
Thus, a number of people, especially children, are attracted to buying more snacks or eating more
junk food like McDonald's. These are all harmful to a person's healthy diet.
As a consequence, eating in a healthy way is of vital importance to a human body. It deserves
focused attention from both the public and each individual. In spite of the difficulty in persuading
people to give up bad habits, all the advertising companies should be encouraged to avoid sending
misleading information that influences people negatively. Immediate efforts ought to be made to take
precautions against any potential causes of unhealthy eating habits.