MEDIA CONTROL ON CHANGING FOOD HABIT AMONG CHILDREN IN TRIPLICANE

MEDIA CONTROL ON CHANGING FOOD HABIT AMONG CHILDREN IN TRIPLICANE

MASTERS THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF

MASTERS IN JOURNALISM

ONLINE MEDIA

BY

STEPHEN.V

(REGISTER NO: 31911107)UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION

CHENNAI – 600 005

APRIL 2013­

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

DEPARTMENT OF JOURNALISM AND COMMUNICATION

     UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS

Prof. Dr.GopalanRavindran                                                             Chepauk Campus

Supervisor & guide                                                                           CHENNAI-600 005

                                                                      CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the project report entitled, “Media control on changing food habit among children in Triplicane”is an original work done by Mr.Stephen.V, a full time student of M.J Online Media, Register No: 31911107, in the Department of Journalism and Communication, University of Madras, during her period of study in the academic year 2011-2013. This project report represents entirely an independent work on the part of the candidate under my supervision and guidance.

                                                                                         

Prof. Dr.GopalanRavindran, Professor& Head

Department of Journalism and Communication

University of Madras

Chepauk Campus, Chennai-600 005

April 2013

                                                                       DECLARATION

I hereby declare that project report titled, “Media control on changing food habit among children in Triplicane” submitted for the award of Masters in Journalism Online Media to the University of Madras is a record of the original project work done by me.

Name :Stephen.V                                                                                          Date : 15.4.2013

Place:  Chennai

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

I am thankful to Professor, Dr. G. Ravindran, Head of the department, Journalism and communication studies, for his advice and support.

Also grateful to my guide Prof. Dr.GopalanRavindran, whose knowledge and guidance has been a source of constant encouragement and inspiration. I am deeply indebted to Professor for his constant support and insightful approach throughout the period of study.

 I would also like to owe my special word of thanks to all the lecturers of the Department of Journalism and Communication Studies. I would like to recognize the Department of Journalism and Communication studies for all its support through the years.

Finally, I am very thankful to my family and my friends for their full support and true inspiration.   

“Medium is anything that extends the function of something”, Says Mclukhan.

ABSTRACT

The world of today is ever changing, with major changes in everyday life &so many twists & turns that cannot be counted.

 It is imperative hence, for people to be the best in the field in order to survive since only the fittest in industry will do so. By researching on this topic, I hope to find & impart to the best to my efforts, knowledge of the consumer’s life styles, their trends & the changing habits of everyday so that any person in the field can refer &update him/herself in the present trend. Changing food habit among children are highly stimulated by the media advertisements, television programmes and through films, they view. Indian fast food industry has found a place to target young children in most of their advertisements ranging in the entire media forum including the latest internet facilities. In most of the studies show that children are adapted following Social learning theory of Bandura, where children learn to imitate what they see on media. The following study focused on how children are controlled in their eating through media ads and programmes. The study also observed that the importance of brand identity among young children and how they are being exposed to traditional mode of food. The research was conducted in three schools in Triplicane and in each of the school seven children were selected randomly for discussion, using a qualitative method referring to the focused group discussion.

Hypothesis in all the subjects have proved that the importance of eating healthy food has been has been less in all the subjects rather the need of eating has been emerged to take food fast through the entry of fast food. Parents in most of the houses are less bothered to teach young children the need of eating healthy, as a fact they go with their children decision.

However the following research is positive towards the media mode of design in influencing children eating habit through media advertisements and programmes.

                                       

INTRODUCTION.  

In recent years, the food and beverage industry in India has viewed children and adolescents as a major market force. As a result, children and adolescents are now the target of intense and specialized food marketing and advertising efforts. Food marketers are interested in youth as consumers because of their spending power, their purchasing influence, and as future adult consumers. Multiple techniques and channels are used to reach youth, beginning when they are toddlers, to foster brand-building and influence food product purchase behaviour. These food marketing channels include Television, Radio advertising, in-school marketing, product placements, kids clubs, the Internet, toys and products with brand logos, and youth-targeted promotions, such as cross-selling and tie-ins. Foods marketed to children are predominantly high in sugar and fat, and as such are inconsistent with national dietary recommendations. The purpose of this article is to examine the concept of Media influence on changing food habit among children through food advertising and marketing channels used to target children and adolescents in Triplicane, Chennai India.

The globe innovates and adopts new tactics to establish its own business and make believe its taste. The idea of business in the matter of food is always successful, in fact tremendous from poor to rich. The impact of media keep playing the vital role in the minds of consumers through varies forms of advertising. The ideas of promoting the products are to reach famous brand identity among the focused group. So that it does a good business. People in common usually buy food products by seeing the add in the television channels, radio or in newspapers and the city has broken both of them, where the new media technologies "INTERNET" provides a wide range of brand products to see the best quality in food materials. The agenda of media has drawn a boundary line stating, what people must taste as food rather giving chance to choose. To quote," brand identity tastes better than the food they choose to eat". One can experience all these in the famous shopping malls in the city like express avenue, Sky Walk, Spencer plaza, City center etc... Why do people eat? Rather cooking themselves.

The matter of comfort ability can be one criterion but why do people choose particular restaurant like Kfc, McDonald’s, pizza hut, etc...

Modern cinema has fallen into a well of business and movies are made to portray heroism in all the possible angles of screen. The celebrity image in modern cinema has a much more stimulating role to play in advertisements and the types of programs were produced to control the children mindset and stimulating them to buy. There are movies in Tamil cinema, which portrays the important of food identity especially focusing on cool drinks beverages.

HISTORY AND FOOD IN INDIA

The Republic of India, Asia's second-largest country after China, occupies the largest part of the South Asian subcontinent, which it shares with Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh. India's total area is 3.3 million square kilometres (1.3 million square miles). Among India's most serious environmental problems are land damage, water shortages, and air and water pollution (about 70 percent of India's water is polluted). Even in rural areas, the burning of wood, charcoal, and dung for fuel, coupled with dust from wind erosion during the dry season, creates an air pollution problem. Rice, the largest crop, is grown wherever the conditions are suitable. Some of India's foods date back five thousand years. The Indus Valley peoples (who settled in what is now northern Pakistan) hunted turtles and alligator, as well as wild grains, herbs and plants. Many foods from the Indus period (c. 3000–1500 B.C.) remain common today. Some include wheat, barley, rice, tamarind, eggplant and cucumber. The Indus Valley peoples cooked with oils, ginger, salt, green peppers, and turmeric root, which would be dried and ground into an orange powder.

The Aryan-speaking peoples who entered India between 1500 and 1000 B.C used leafy vegetables, lentils, and milk products such as yogurt and ghee (clarified butter). The Aryans also used spices such as cumin and coriander. Black pepper was widely used by 400 A.D. The Greeks brought saffron, while the Chinese introduced tea. The Portuguese and British made red chilli, potato and cauliflower popular after 1700 A.D.Perhaps the biggest contributors to India's culinary heritage are the Muslim peoples from Persia and present-day Turkey, who began arriving in India after 1200.

These peoples, known later as the Mughals, ruled much of India between 1500 and early 1800. They saw food as an art, and many Mughal dishes are cooked with as many as twenty-five spices, as well as rose water, cashews, raisins and almonds. What Indians eat varies by region and religion. Northern Indians eat more flat breads, while those from southern India prefer rice. In coastal states, such as Kerala and Bengal, fish dishes are popular. Chicken and mutton (sheep) are eaten more often in mountain and plains regions. While many Hindus avoid eating beef, Muslims avoid pork. In addition, many Indians particularly Hindus,Buddhists and Jains are vegetarian. Spices are used in many Indian dishes. When it is hot, spices such as chilli peppers and garlic help the body sweat and cool it down. In colder weather, spices such as cloves, cinnamon, ginger, black pepper, cardamom, and nutmeg help warm the body. Indian cuisine is varied, but many dishes are cooked in a similar way. The preparation starts with frying onion, ginger, garlic or spices such as cumin seeds in oil at a high temperature. Meats, vegetables, flavourings such as yogurt, and spices such as turmeric then are added. The dish then simmers at a low heat until the ingredients are cooked. At the end of the preparation, leafy herbs such as cilantro and flavourings such as lemon juice are added. This style of preparation may be linked to the traditional use of cow dung. For centuries, families would cook by placing a pan on top of patties made from cow dung. Like the charcoal used in modern-day barbecues, dung initially produces a high heat, but then burns slowly. Although middle-class and urban Indians have electric or gas stoves, many rural households still use cow dung.

POLITICS, ECONOMICS, AND NUTRITION

About 22 percent of the population of India is classified as undernourished by the World Bank. This means they do not receive adequate nutrition in their diet. Of children under the age of five, about 53 percent are underweight, and more than 52 percent are stunted (short for their age). The government put into place a national system to distribute Vitamin A to children, which contributes to malnutrition and blindness. India is one of the few countries where men, on the average, live longer than women. To explain this, it has been suggested that daughters are more likely to be malnourished and be provided with fewer health care choices. In a society where sons are favoured over daughters, female infanticide is a mounting problem. In addition, hundreds of thousands of children are living and working on the streets. Child prostitution is widespread. Special measures are being taken by the government to rehabilitate juvenile prostitutes and convicts to help remedy the growing problem.

India's government has established an extensive social welfare system. Programs for children include supplementary nutrition for expectant mothers and for children under the age of seven, immunization and health programs, and prevocational training for adolescents. The government is also paying increasing attention to health, maternity, and childcare in rural India by sending out growing numbers of community health workers and doctors to areas in need.

THE INDIAN YOUTH AND THE LOVE FOR JUNK!

Gone are the days when students like us used to carry colourful plastic Tiffin boxes which contained hot parant has wrapped in aluminium foil, the days when mommy dearest used to get up early to pack our favourite snack, satisfied that her child is eating healthy. Those were the days when our everyday intake of food effectively included all the nutrients. The situation now is contrasting to that of the above, Tiffin’s are a big no-no as young college-going adults find it not hip enough. They live on the junk provided in the canteen which varies from cholesterol enriched samosas and bread pakoras to aerated drinks which have formidable powers to rot our lungs. The fried chips and locally made hamburgers are the most popular. The cheap prices make it affordable and hence comfortably available to all. They become “easy food” to curb that ever present hunger that all the young people seem to experience nowadays. For the ones having a sweet tooth there is a perennial flow of ice-cream, gulabjamuns and Cadbury chocolates, day in and day out. Besides the canteen, the roadside momos-wale-bhaiya have become the new sensation, twenty five rupees per plate for vegetarian and thirty five for non-vegetarian is merely a small issue, when you get 8-10 pieces in one plate which are absolutely delightful and soul-soothing. The colleges are currently coming up with the Nescafe parlours in campus. These self-recruited Nescafe chains provide chilled cold coffees and steaming hot pastas. These sophisticated and relatively ‘hygienic’ outlets are a treat for the young people. But the question remains, are these readily available mouth-watering foodstuffs healthy? The probable answer is No, which is true. These are not the healthiest items. An option is to change our eating habit, which is irksome. Switching to a nutritious diet requires hard work, production of which is a painful task for the young working professionals who have rigid schedules. They find it easier to grab a bite and move on.

Some children think they should look like movie stars. Overweight girls as young as five don’t like themselves. Parents dieting makes kids think they should, too. Kids develop bad eating habits watching television. These are among the findings of four studies in the journal Paediatrics looking at children and their relationship to food. The reports were released amidst growing concern about the girth of America’s kids. Experts estimate that nearly one Quarters of children in this nation are overweight, with those figures swelling each year. Anorexia is also a growing problem among girls and more research is pointing to boys worrying about body image too. The study also found that boys and girls who made a lot of effort to look like media figures were more likely to worry about their weight and be prone to chronic dieting. The responses also suggested that parents who were dieters or valued leanness strongly influenced their children.

The mass media continues to promote excessively thin body images and plays a negative role in the development of bad eating habits among girls, while further research is needed, it appears that the unrealistic male image so often predicted by the media is taking its toll on boys.

CHANGING FOOD TRENDS IN CHENNAI

The new food trends are numerous in Chennai, & are a very fascinating topic for research with an association with media influence. The Chennai people are slowly adapting themselves to the international food standards. These new food standards have resulted in the development of a whole new variety of restaurants all over Chennai, each specializing in its own styles. Each of these restaurants has their own styles& hence, set new trends. A very detailed study into these restaurants would hence be very elaborate & time consuming. Hence, I have summarized all the food trends into specific categories & highlighted elaborated on the fastest growing trends. Each of the food trends I have depicted will have an introduction about itself, why the trend is so popular, how it is growing & some of the restaurants& food outlets that have adopted the trend. I have gathered information from different kinds of outlets through questionnaires & hence, I hope to be accurate in my project conclusion & discussions. Also, the information’s on Chennai outlets & trends have been gathered from internet& physical research. Hence, the project will provide an insight in Chennai’s food outlets, their specialties & educate the reader on the trends & in-demand products & services. The world is moving at a fast pace & Chennai, being a hi-tech south Indian city, is always busy & bustling. Hence, people do not find time to dine in luxury. Everything is fast & that is the reason fast foods &food courts, which I have chosen as my primary trends which are gaining more importance. Also, people these days do not find time to shop, buy fresh ingredients, prepare & serve themselves. This is the reason ready-made ingredients have gained more importance over fresh foods. Consumers also have started thinking about their health. Hence, they carefully scrutinize the food composition before ordering the food. This is the reason why the organic food trend has gained importance in the recent times. Also, hotels & restaurants conduct food festivals & theme lunches, which attract a lot of people since the Chennai people get a glimpse of other cultures & satisfy their taste buds with the delicacies of other places. That is the reason why food festivals & theme lunches have gained more importance.

FOOD HABITS AMONG CHILDREN

A lot of parents don't want to struggle with the eating habit of their children, in fact letting kids make their choices. This type of negotiations and lethargic attitude of any parents would often tentatively allow children to look for the brand advertises that comes in television. This is where the impact of globalization gets in any of the typical house of the Indian society as well in to the Indian food industry, where the health is being vanished by western and European culture and the Indian ideology behind cooking has been taking high speed progress to erase from the  history. Many people buy food to eat in hurry and often less bother about the healthy food matters to keep body safe from any medication. Most of the time children tend to be stubborn and ask for what they like, for example During their early childhood  till the adulthood, they have been influenced by friends, relatives, parents and television advertisements in choosing the best to eat, which makes him happy rather to be tasty. The best way to prevent children from eating junk food is to start training about food as soon as they can talk since they influenced by their families during the preschool years parents should carefully read food labels to check nutrients and suggests children involving the food preparation process For example teach children how to set the table during their preschool years. Take them grocery shopping. Let them choose some fruits and vegetables as well as the occasional treat, which can help them, change and adopt their eating habits towards the healthier side. The formula of teaching the process of food preparation can be advisable in any forum of the social status differing from poor to rich.

 FOOD ADVERTISING THE BIGGEST

Food advertising during the hours that children watch the most is dominates by the fast food, chocolate, sweets and soft drinks industry. In a country like India has been well addicted for the global products with an attractive slogan and towards adapting the western culture in all the forms of clothes, food and technology accessories of their use.  Advertising agencies have thoroughly well studied the mind-set audience to comfort and understand their urgency to fit manually designed products. The term food habits refers to Why and How people eat, Which food often they eat and with Whom they eat, as well as  the ways people obtain, store, use and discard food. Individual, social, cultural, religious, economic, environmental and political factors all influence people eating habits.   When the question arises why and how people eat? The answer follows as all humans eat to survive; they also eat to express appreciation for a sense of belonging as part of family customs and for self-realization. For example, someone who is hungry may eat a piece of cake that has been baked in his or her honour. People eat according to learned behaviours regarding etiquette, meal and snack patterns, acceptable food s food combinations and portion sizes, etiquette refers to acceptable behaviours. For example, for some groups it is acceptable to lick one's fingers while eating, while for other groups this would be a rude behaviour. Etiquette and eating rituals also vary depending on whether the meal is formal, informal or special.

PREVENTING CHILDREN FROM MEDIA INFLUENCE

It is best to start training children about foods as soon as they can talk since they are most influenced by their families during the preschool years Parents should carefully read food labels to check nutrients and Rees suggests involving young children in the food preparation process. For example, teach children how to set the table during their preschool years. Take them grocery shopping. Let them choose some fruits and vegetables as well as the occasional treats, advises Rees. "You will see their capabilities grow astronomically," she says. "However, if parents don't follow the natural signs that kids are ready to help, they will lose the window of opportunity."

Developing children's attitude toward food should be similar to teaching them how to handle money by giving them growing responsibility along with sensible access. If children are properly prepared, they are more likely to make healthy food choices once they enter school. They will probably experiment some, but they will have a preference for fresh foods like fruits and vegetables along with foods like French fries. Once children reach age 10 or 12, it is very difficult to change their habits or coerce them into eating healthier foods. Rees suggests calling a family meeting to rationally discuss ways to eliminate most junk foods and substitute more nutritious ones. If they learn to eat a well-balanced diet, they won't need vitamin supplements.

"Nutritional guidance won't work unless you have built up good sense (of nutrition) over time. However, even children who have developed a taste for nutritious food may change when they reach teenage years. Teenagers like to experiment with everything, including risky food behaviour. They might gravitate toward highly processed foods, but once they become older and more independent they are likely to return to the healthy habits they had growing up."Other common problems among teenagers include girls who may view food as a threat to slimness, or boys who take muscle-building supplements. About 25 to 40% of teenagers are overweight, mostly from lack of exercise in circle eating, or starving, to cope with unhappiness.

Helpful support of family, friends and healthcare professionals is the best method for addressing eating disorders through a combination with eating too much fat and sugar. This problem can turn into an emotional one and become a vicious. There is change in the food habits of children because at school in the canteens there is only fast food present & also they like it. It is easy to cook also. Generally children used to eat out when they got enough money & faces much obesity like diabetes etc.

THE TREND OF ORGANIC FOODS

Over the past years, the concept of going green and eating healthy food has germinated into a small industry that can be seen in the form of eco-stores that are sprouting up all over the city. People are now slowly waking up to staying healthy and part of this awareness about eating right means going on for organic foods. There is an increase in demand for organically grown food which is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Organic muesli, kokan (a tamarind supplement), and drumstick powder for making foods has become a recent trend in the Chennai markets. Organic food has countless health benefits. Safe food products, free from chemicals, ensure healthy life and children who grow up eating organic food are proven to be stronger. The concept of organic food is evolving and demand is growing nowadays. Many acres of land have been used to grow these organic foods and more lands with the help of local farmers are being setup to produce organic foods. Use of chemical fertilizers in the agricultural field has reached a peak nowadays and if it has to be stopped, it is only through organic foods. Customers need not insist in certified organic products because most of the stores have started networking around Chennai with the local farmers so that only organically produced food products are made available to the consumers.

MEDIA ADVERTISING

Advertising can have positive effects on children’s behaviour. The developmental stage of a child plays a role in the effect of commercials. Young children do not understand the concept of a sales pitch. They tend to believe what they are told and may even assume that they are deprived if they do not have advertised products. Most preschool children do not understand the difference between a program designed to entertain and a commercial designed to sell. A number of studies have documented that children under the age of eight years are developmentally unable to understand the difference between advertising and regular programming, For example, some alcohol manufacturers spend 10% of their budget on advertisements warning about the dangers of drinking and driving. In addition, although some health care professionals disagree about the health benefits of appropriate milk use, milk consumption has increased as a result of print and broadcast advertisements. Many of the studies say that the average child sees more than 20,000 commercials each year, and the study has been proved that more than 60% of commercials promote sugared cereals, candy, fatty foods and toys. Cartoon programs based on toy products are especially attractive. Advertisements targeting adolescents are profoundly influential, particularly on cigarette use.

Television has the potential to generate both positive and negative effects, and many studies have looked at the impact of television on society, particularly on children. An individual child’s developmental level is a critical factor in determining whether the medium will have positive or negative effects. Not all television programs are bad, but data showing the negative effects of exposure to violence, inappropriate sexuality and offensive language are convincing. Television can be a powerful teacher, in some disadvantaged settings, healthy television habits may actually be a beneficial teaching tool. The above example also can tell the impact of advertising any particular media, where children learn tentatively, especially on their food habits.

THE EFFECT OF MEDIA ON EATING HABITS OF KIDS

You must have noticed the influence of food advertisement playing in TV on your kids. Interestingly the food advertisement budgets for children have grown staggeringly. In the year 1983, the food and beverage industries in USA spent $1 million targeting kids. In 2006, more than $10 billion was spent on the marketing of food and beverage for kids in America alone. Today, most of the food advertisements focus on kids. Why? These companies know exactly what your kids want to eat and drink. They are skilled in persuading the kids to eat their food. Food companies are going to gain a lot if they can influence the eating habit of the kids or control the decision regarding what they want to eat. According to the estimates, 83% of the commercials played during the most popular shows for elementary kids were for fast food, snack, sweets or drinks.

A study carried out at Stanford University measured the effect of real-world marketing and brand exposure on young kids 3-5 years of age. The kids were presented with five pair’s identical foods, one item of each pair in simple McDonald’s packaging and the identical items in the similar packaging without McDonald’s logo. The kids were asked to taste the food and were asked which one tasted better or if the food items tasted same. Despite absolutely no difference in the food items, children preferred the food coming with the McDonald’s logo. This was true for the fast food, milk and even for the baby carrots, which are not sold by McDonald’s! It is believed that even the exposure to a half a minute advertisements of fast food on the television can change the kids’ choice and preference for the food. The kids keep on requesting for the food shown on the TV. However, if kids reduce watching TV, this can be changed a bit.

There are many more common avenues of influence, as Susan Linn and Courtney Novostat, write in Calories for Sale: Food Marketing to Children in the Twenty First Century:

The products of various brands with favourite characters. For example, Shrek is associated with Kellog’s top selling marshmallows froot loop cereals and so on.

Product placement during the TV shows is also very effective. Which drink is being consumed by the host of the popular TV shows is well known to all children. Things like prizes and contests and promotions to “collect them all”.

·         In school marketing, like vending machines, free stuff like free pizza slice, ice-cream or doughnuts.

·          The promotions like free pizza if you get a “C” in all of your classes by Papa Johns. Kids’ stuff like stickers is printed with fast food brand names.

·         Video games are also launched by a few fast food companies creating a bigger room for sale of the products.

·         The social networking sites are also encouraging kids to make unhealthier choices for food.

Your role as a parent and as an educator is to discourage your kids’ unhealthy food choice as far as possible. Leave no attempt to discourage them. Manipulate things, especially when they are at a younger age. Once they grow older, they will get a lot of exposure and will resist what you say. So, if they get a habit of eating good food right from the beginning, they might choose a vegetable salad over a piece of pizza.

 The ideologies behind the food industry in influencing children are the same in all around the world. This is where the food industry has been playing a key role in India too, largely in southern part of India especially Tamil and English media in Tamilnadu.

CHILDREN EATING HABITS

The lifestyle of people has undergone a drastic change, in the present scenario. With the changing norms of the society, people are becoming increasingly liberal and busy. The cut throat competition, which occurs in all spheres of the world, has solely changed the equations of family life. In a modern urban family, both the parents are usually working, which gives them little time to pay the required amount of attention to their children. This is one of the biggest reasons for the shift in the eating habits of kids. Fast food has become the fastest ways for parents as well as children to satisfy their bon-appetite. However, what remains unnoticed, are the ill consequences of the same.

Programmes that are well designed to make children believe on their eating habits remain a business role I television channels, rather advising them to a healthy eating habit with good nutrition.  For example one of the famous cricket player, who advises to take boost as an energy drink may not be true, the question arises behind are why should that particular player or celebrity be a brand ambassador in promoting specific product? The answer is simple that it is a business. But children in a young age may not know, the taste of the product, though must be influenced by the peers group, family and friends about the name of that particular personality or celebrity. It is true that we learn from others and our environment where we live in.

Movies like Sachin in a Tamil cinema, where the protagonist Vijay advises a sun feast as an energy cookie, where Sun feast launched its production previous year. The trends of modernization focussing on children eating habit periodically are influenced by cinema, Television advertisements, and Radio ads. For example Television companies know the each target audience and timings to telecast regarding children involved programmes, where they have been shown mostly about the cool drinks, cookies, and special chocolates promoted by their famous or trendy celebrities.

Food industry in India use media as a medium of communication in influencing children as a target audience, to enrich their business firm grow in rich. The following advertisements have much more impact on children’s life.

Boost, Sun feast, Nestle, Glucon-D, Thums up, Maggi, Bournvita, Coca-Cola, Mirinda, Mango Frooti , Pepsi, Britannia, Horlicks.Complan, Cadbury, Limca, Fanta, Rasna, 7 Up, Maggi, bingo, Lays,  and kurkure etc,

JUNK FOOD

Eat healthy and live healthy’ is one of the essential requirements for long life. Unfortunately, today’s world has been adapted to a system of consumption of foods which has several adverse effects on health. Lifestyle changes has compelled us so much that one has so little time to really think what we are eating is right! Globalisation and urbanisation have greatly affected ones eating habits and forced many people to consume fancy and high calorie fast foods, popularly known as ‘Junk foods’. Research into the possible health hazards on consumption of such high calorie foods has given an insight to avoid them, but unfortunately measures taken are not as effective as they need to be. Diseases like coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus have seen a profound rise in developing countries and such unhealthy junk food consumption is one of the notable factors to its contribution. This global problem of consuming junk food on a large scale and its impact on health needs emphasis and health education which can greatly contribute to its limited consumption and switching over to healthy eating habits for the better living. Knowledge highlighting about the eating habits, nutritional aspects, and quality of unhealthy foods, their health impact and preventive measures should be given to create awareness and render health education for a change towards good eating practices. Junk food and its impact on health have been reviewed from various resources and have been systematically presented, so as to emphasize its ill effects and measures to be adapted towards healthy living.

The rising accommodation of fast food, so called the ‘junk food,’ in daily meal is heavily contributing in making the human body a junkyard, as they carry infinitesimal nutritional value. This has become a cause of worry, as children in their formative years should be given highly nutritious food to make the foundation of their life stronger. On the contrary, the growing consumption of fast foods has resulted in making the children fall prey to hazardous diseases and conditions like Diabetes, Obesity, high cholesterol level, various deficiencies etc. In many countries today, the eating habits and lifestyle of children are different from those of previous generations. Some people say this has had a negative effect on their health.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion? It is been suggested recently that eating habits of children have changed and that has led to unhealthy lifestyle. I personally agree with this statement.

In my opinion, to be healthy you must eat healthy which means you have you consume natural and varied food. My grandparents who lived in the countryside when they were little, eat vegetable and fruit without GMOs, right from their gardens and their families produced themselves milk, cheese etc. Nowadays, with the boom of fast food a restaurant McDonald's for example has become children’s' favourite food. Products made in such restaurants are often too greasy and salty and constitute all these emulsifiers and chemicals. Children in many countries like America, where fast food is extremely popular, complain about their children’s' obesity and health problems.

On the other side, living in the 21st Century offers us a variety of food and restaurants. It is up to us what our child is going to eat. There are restaurants and shops which offer bio products and make the meal right in front of you with fresh-looking and natural products. Unfortunately, to eat healthy nowadays you have to be ready to pay a great amount of money because all these bio products without animal fat are quite expensive. Maybe this is one of the reasons why parents decide to feed their children with junk food. To sum up, I reckon that children today gobble up with unhealthy food but it depends on us what we give our children to eat. At least we have the choice to select what we eat and have greater variety of food in comparison to previous generations.

Junk food is actually a slang word for fast food. Any food that contains very less nutritional value is called a 'junk food', which ultimately makes it an unhealthy food. Basically, any food item containing higher levels of sugar salt and/or fats; is considered as junk food. It contain very little amounts of enzymes, vitamins and minerals, which are essential for a healthy body. Rather, the food is loathed with calories, which lead to many healthy related issues. All these things make this food an unhealthy food option, which can also lead to several lifelong diseases like obesity, diabetes and heart diseases.

Fast food or junk food is mostly popular amongst the kids and teenagers, who don't realize their inevitable side effects. People find it really hard to stop their kids from consuming fast foods. Also there are some who are not aware about the junk foods and their potential side effects.

 Kids are the main target of the junk food industry. The food is made attractive by using various unhealthy food additives, artificial colourings and artificial flavourings. These additives enhance the colour, flavour, taste and texture of the food. Before eating such foods, make sure that you are well aware about the nutritional facts of any fast food that you consume. It is easy to know these facts from the food label. Any food item containing more than 35% calories from fat as well as sugar, more than 10% calories from saturated fats, more than 200mg salt per serving and more than 200 calories per serving; is a JUNK FOOD! These numbers play a vital role in making people obese and one should stay away from the junk foods.

Fast foods containing higher amounts of sugar, salt and fats must strictly be examined before eating. Foods which are made using sugar (in any of its forms), flour and white breads are ranked higher in the junk food list. Most of the fast food items are made using fats from the hydrogenated oils and excessive amounts of salt. As a result, these foods play a major role to increase the levels of bad cholesterol and empty calories in the body. This doesn't mean that 'all' fats are bad. There are several healthy fats which are important for a healthy human body, for instance, omega-3 essential fatty acids! Hence, it is very important for you to distinguish between unhealthy and healthy junk food.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

KoivistoHursti a UK based communication scholar has dealt with a concept on factors influencing children food habits through the control of media.

Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Sweden. ulla-kaisa.koivisto@ccs.uu.se

Although food habits are not stable and unchanging during a person's lifetime, a base for healthy food habits can be created in early childhood. Children's food habits can be assumed to be influenced by their parents' food habits and choices. The aim of this article is to review factors influencing food choice in children as well as in adults. The results demonstrate that the development of children's food habits is influenced by a multitude of factors. Parents and media play an important role in the formation of food habits and preferences of young children. They can influence their children's food choice by making specific foods available, by acting as models for their children and by their behaviour in specific situations in relevant to the control of media. Children tend to be afraid of new foods and do not readily accept them, but they can be influenced by media for example food advertisements on TV where the motive of that particular protagonist influence children in distributing the particular brand for bliss, though they may not be healthy cookies. However, experience is known to enhance preference, and earlier experiences of a particular food are the major determinants of the development of children's food acceptance patterns. Thus, parents should be encouraged to make healthy foods easily available to the child and serve these foods in positive mealtime situations in order to help their child to develop healthy food habits as well understanding the role of media in preferring healthy choices of food that we need to take in. the researcher has found that business corporate and researchers in the specific industry decide what children should consume as food in India, especially children from 3 to 18 are more targeted towards such bias.

 The food options available to individuals are connected towards the social and cultural navigations of one’s surroundings. Even though television viewing often is a physically passive activity, advertising can encourage physical activity by featuring human characters

engaging in a physically active lifestyle. For example, an ad for a popular fast food outlet shows children snowboarding, playing basketball and soccer, and cycling, with the words “Gotta get up, gotta move.”It is clear that food and beverages continue to dominate the television advertising landscape, particularly for children. Food is the most widely advertised product on the networks in the study, and among children’s shows, fully half (50%) of all ad time is for food. Therefore, policies that impact food advertising are likely to impact the children’s television world as well. Most of the food ads that children and teens see on TV are for foods that nutritionists, watchdog groups, and government agencies argue should be consumed either in moderation, occasionally, or in small portions. As the food industry moves ahead with the commitment to shift the balance of products advertised to children, it will be important to have independent research to track changes.

YOUTH THEORY AND FOOD CULTURE

There exists extensive international research on youth culture. Much of it springs from the so-called Birmingham school’s empirical studies of subcultures. In later years, however, several cultural theorists have criticized this school’s sharp distinction between subcultures and mainstream culture (ordinary youth). Furthermore, the school has been criticized for not giving sufficient voice to the young people themselves (Cohen 1997; Miles 2000; Widdicombie and Wooffitt 1990;Widdicombie 1995).

In this analysis he had been inspired by Miles’ (2000) sociological study of lifestyles among British youths. What he found was particularly valuable in his perspective is precisely his focus on young people’s own experiences, expressions and values. Furthermore, his perspective contributes towards moderating the view of youth as rebellious and egocentric. Miles believes that Bourdieu (1984) and Giddens (1991) provide particularly useful tools for understanding young people’s lives. He argues that just as the theories of these two sociologists are concerned with the relationship Annechen Bahr Bugge !Lovin’ it? between the individual and structures, they also show how people actively express themselves through different lifestyles. According to Miles, the concept of lifestyle is particularly fruitful for an understanding of young people’s everyday life because it considers the interplay between structure and agency. Lifestyles are active expressions not only of the relationship between the individual and society and structure and agency, but also people’s relationship to social change (Miles 2000: 16). Influenced by Miles’ perspectives and analytical concepts, I will discuss how young people’s food styles can be regarded as a reflection of, a reaction against, and an interaction with structural influences from the hegemonic adult food culture. The discussion will incorporate a number of questions. How are the hegemonic food-cultural values and codes reflected in the young people’s food style? How is rebellion expressed in their food style? How young people have’s eating habits changed in later years? What characterizes typical trend-setting youth groups’ food preferences and practices? As the terminology shows, there are power structures and relationships, but in Miles’ view it is more interesting to analyse how young people negotiate and interpret these structures and relationships. The purpose here is precisely a better understanding of the agency of youths in their daily dealing with food. At the same time, U.S. food and media industries are exploring,

and in some cases already adopting policy changes of their own. According to Miles (2000), the highly-flexible nature of consumption and the diversity of ways in which meanings can be endowed in consumer goods make it an ideal arena for the construction of identities through lifestyles. A number of studies show how young people use different consumer goods to express themselves and their community with friends. As mentioned, there are surprisingly few studies on food and eating habits as symbols of social and cultural belonging among the young. How, then, this is often expressed in their fast food consumption of pattern.

METHODOLOGY

The present study is a focused group in nature. Careful literature review has been carried out referring to relevant books, journals and some of the government documents based on the secondary sources, information about each aspect of the research, in this dissertation. I have studied the importance of media in Tamilnadu focussing on their business advertisements and their control on food beverages, cookies among children in Triplicane. The following discussion was conducted in focused group method referring to the qualitative research method.

Aim

To find out the impact and control of media advertisements focusing on changing food habit among children.

Hypothesis

Media influence on children through its designed ideology, which stimulates and makes them act in the world of screen. How effectively media controls young children eating habit and makes them adapt the trendy one?

Plan

Using qualitative method through focused group discussion, with a group of 20 male and female children in Triplicane. The focused group discussions were set to make a record of children answering to the questions that are being asked regarding the media influence on changing food habit among children by the effort of control group.

Method                                                                                       

The empirical material consists of both qualitative and quantitative materials. In-depth interviews with twenty young girls and boys aged 5–14 years were conducted. These teenagers were recruited from secondary schools in four different settings: Focus groups are a form of group interviewing but it is important to distinguish between the two. Focus groups

However rely on interaction within the group based on topics that are supplied by the researcher. Children and adolescents age between from 5 to 14 were provided a space to discuss on television ads, cinema, television programmes, and radio advertisements in focused group method. There were 15 students taken for the group discussion, initially the topic was introduced to carry out the panel of discussion for nearly more than 3 hours of time.

Limitation

The research analyses the eating habit among children in Triplicane, focussing how the local media influences through its advertisements, programmes, and cinema.

Materials

Materials used in this experiment are table, paper, pen, voice recorder, set of questions for probing in the discussion, and camera

Significance of the study

This dissertation is a study on the media influence on changing food habit among children in Triplicane Chennai, India.

Chapterization

This dissertation has been divided into four chapters. The first chapter serves as the introduction chapter with literature review, methodology, significance of the study, research questions and chapterization.

The second chapter is "changing food trends in Chennai" where the emerging trends of fast food, junk food are discussed in the context of media influence through advertising and cinema.

The third chapter deals with preventing children from media influence, trends of organic foods and media advertising among children.

The fourth chapter is “Arguments and conclusion”. This summarises the chapters discussed and concludes with their achievements.

DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The purpose of this discussion is to find out the control of media among young children eating habit. As a result most of them complained that sedentary television culture is causing the childhood obesity crisis, new studies suggest that the real culprit may be the constant ads for junk food that children are viewing during commercial break not the television programmes themselves.

The study was conducted among Children aging from 5 to 14 in three schools shuffled with both the genders. Children were provided a space to make themselves comfort. The topic was introduced stating, how effectively media controls young children eating habit and makes them adapt the trendy one?.

Initially introduction was given to all the seven subjects in each of the three schools namely Kellet higher secondary school, N.K.T. National girl’s higher secondary school, Sri.J.N.S.J. Vidyalaya nathmal singvee toddlers’ wing  These are the schools were taken for the study the impact of media influence on changing food habit in Triplicane regarding traditional mode of south Indian food such as idli, vada, dosa, upma, pongal, vegetables and bonda and asked them about their regular eateries and factors influencing changing food habit by the control of media.

Later the discussion was encouraged by following question on each of the subject such as what is their daily breakfast and dinner? What do they eat while watching television or listening to radio? What is their favourite advertisements on Television and Why?

 List of eateries and beverages often they eat and drink? Did their parents teach about them about healthy food habit?

Where they ever introduced to traditional mode of food habit, instead of fast food or junk food?

How many days a week, they eat out? If they go, whom do they go with like mom, dad or relatives? What type of programmes do they watch? How does brand identity vary from their perception and difference?

These were the questions put forward and subject’s responses were recorded.

Discussion 1

Kellet higher secondary school student’s responses namely,

1, A. Abdual Malik

2, P. Shalini

3, S.SivamaniKandan

4, A. Phanodnizar

5, C.Karthickeyan

6, K. Suretha

7, C. Nalini

Following responses from students showed that, among seven, five of them agreed that they buy junk food items by watching television advertisements.

Other two were responded mostly they are influenced by their parents, who buy them the eateries and they are not much worried about fast food trend or influence of any other brand identity.

Traditional foods are not commonly introduced to students of this group often, but they knew a list of traditional foods like vada, Idly, Dosai, pepper chicken, poriyal curry, and kuzambu, These are the items they are used to eat occasionally in their dinning.

Most of them agreed, during the discussion that anything shown on the television advertisement or any other mode media ads hypes the brand identity to make them feel proud more than the taste of that particular product.  For example latest television ads of kissan jam, which clearly focus children to get, used this product for fancy among their friends in schooling.

Hypothesis has been proved by the subjects in the first panel of discussion at Kellet higher secondary school at Triplicane, proved that media as a whole of majority controls children eating habit.

Discussion-2

N.K.T. National girl’s higher secondary school student’s responses namely,

1, R. Nijendran

2, M. Revathi

3, P. Karthick

4, P. Manjula

5, N. Nadha

6, K. Saaminathan

7, R. Sarojini

Following responses from students showed that, among seven, six of them agreed that they buy junk food items by watching television advertisements.

One of the respondents was biased to the concept of media and his parents taught him healthy eating culture and said would never buy a junk food from shop to eat.

Cadbury dairy milk slogan with, “a glass and half full of joy” keeps your competition a moment of joy is the one , which they like so much from the television and internet ads. Most of them agreed that, Parents prefer to buy them, whenever they go out for shopping.

Traditional foods are not commonly introduced to students of this group often, but they knew a list of traditional foods like vada, Idly, Dosai, pepper chicken, poriyal curry, and kuzambu, These are the items they are used to eat occasionally in their dinning.

Hypothesis has been proved by the subjects in the second panel of discussion at N.K.T. National girl’s higher secondary school at Triplicane proved that media as a whole of majority controls children eating habit.

Discussion-3

Sri.J.N.S.J. Vidyalaya nathmal singvee toddlers’ wing student’s responses namely,

1, S. Kirthika

2, A. ParuveenBanu

3, F.RoselinRoja

4, P.MohanaPriya

5, N. Hemavathi

6, B. Sheeba

7, C. Sarmila

Following responses from students showed that, among seven, all the seven of them agreed that they buy junk food items by watching television advertisements.

All the seven girls in the schools reported that they would buy eateries by the influence of television advertisements.

Most of the girls prefer going out with their dad’s and would like to eat hamburgers and pizza rather than the traditional food in any of the south Indian restaurants.

Traditional foods are not commonly introduced to students of this group often, but they knew a list of traditional foods like vada, Idly, Dosa, pepper chicken, poriyal curry, and kuzambu, these are the items they are used to eat occasionally in their dinning.

Mc, Donald’s and Cococola recent ads with a slogan, “Believe in a happier tomorrow”, I’m lovin’ it are two recent ads, which they most like from the television advertisements stimulates them mainly to eat hamburgers and coke during their outings.

Hypothesis has been proved by the subjects in the third panel of discussion, at Sri.J.N.S.J. Vidyalaya nathmal singvee toddlers’ wing at Triplicane proved that media as a whole of majority controls children eating habit.

CONCLUSION

Children are more vulnerable to advertising. Different laws in different countries to limit the number of ads used to be, kind, Content and timing of the broadcast ad covers For example, advertisements for toys for children to play in Greece is limited to late night hours Australia and Belgium, and in advertisements broadcast during children's broadcasts A few minutes before it is banned. Some researchers believe that it is better to limit excessive advertising Products to raise awareness of parents of children and to discuss with them about products and promotions the researchers say understanding the power to limit excessive growth of advertising and the guys decide to delay. Ways to protect children against advertising is to review and update. The substitution of digital television in the near future I can easily while watching the TV screen by pressing a key to enter the Internet world in the world of digital TV, which will replace the TV for the kids there will be no other limit and children will have free access to any kind of advertising. New technology also allows advertisers to extensive information watching habits of children in the media to obtain and thus make them more targeted. So parents and teachers should increase the will power and self-esteem in children, so bring the kids once I see ads that are part of the economy, society correctly imagined to be the means of advertising. Techniques and methods of advertising to children should be taught and developed the power to judge and criticize them. The ad cannot promote, or sell their goods to attract customers. It can only draw attention to the customer, to persuade him to buy, if the buyer has enough information to evaluate the ads and advertisers.

Traditional food items are not shown in television advertisements, whereas most of the Indian junk food items and other fast foods restaurants are owned by foreign investors and they do keep their brand identity showcasing the fake designing and colourful ads with the reference to the famous celebrity, which makes them talk in everyone’s house. This is where children are influenced to buy thing what is shown repentantly in television channels. However discussion in the study clearly stated that the urgency to make food ready and eat soon can be easy through fast food items such as maggi, noodles, Pasta, Oats, Fried chicken, pizza, Burger, Sausages and beans, Snacks, Crisps, Chocolates, Sweets, Biscuits, Ice Cream, Hot dogs, Donuts which can be ready within a minutes of time. Several international fast food -

Chains like McDonald’s, Barista, Coffee and Kfc have their outlets in major cities. Café Coffee day again a brain child of Bangalore based businessman is the only Indian chain which boasts of hundreds of outlets and is present across India.

The types of soft drinks, they consume are mostly Coke, Fanta and Slice, influenced through television ads. Media as a whole depends on television ads and internet ads, which brings them awareness over the influence of brand identity. Media encourages food advertisements during the hours of children programme as well in some of their favourite actors film such as a film “Sachin” acted by actor Vijay endorsed Sun feast as a favourite biscuit. The brand culture in cinema theatres often called as Cinema popcorn. This popcorn are healthy but the one sold in cinema are nutritional horror. Children and their food culture often be an influence of fancy slogans, which clicks them to realize their position and an impressive group identity. For example if taste is being a factor of purchase then surly impressive slogans matters to be one of the other category, which influences young children in their eating habit. Horlicks and Britania have proved their success over their advertising technique and have drawn an agenda towards young children and their parents.

Horlicks

Horlicks is the leading Health Food Drink in India and enjoys more than 50% of the market. Horlicks is owned by GlaxoSmithKline (current as of 2007.) The largest markets for Horlicks are, in order, the UK, India and Malaysia

Britannia

In 1975, the Britannia Biscuit Company took over the distribution of biscuits from Parry's who till now distributed Britannia biscuits in India.

Some of the famous brand food slogans

·         McDonalds – “I’m Lovin’ It”

·         KFC – “Finger Lickin’ Good”

·         Subway – “Eat Fresh”

·         Kit Kat – “Have a Break, Have a Kit Kat”

·         Skittles – “Taste the Rainbow”

·         Rice Krispies – “Snap! Crackle! Pop!

·         Dr Pepper – “What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

·         Red Bull – “It Gives You Wiiiings!”

·         Nescafe -Coffee at its Best

·         Kit Kat-Give me a break

·         Sprite- Obey your thirst.

·         Coca-Cola- Always Coca-Cola.

·         M&M's- Melts in your mouth, not in your hands

·         Papa John's - Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.

·         Pizza Hut-Now You're Eating! Gather 'Round the Good Stuff

·         Dominos Pizza - You got 30 minutes Get the door. It's Domino's.Domino's. The Pizza Delivery Experts

·         Checkers -little place. BIG TASTE

·         Quiznos- M’m, m’m, m’m, m’m,…toasty.

·         Burger King -It takes two hands to hold a Whopper

·         KFC- Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel of fun

These are some of the slogans for the branded junk and fast food items, which impressively stimulate to eat at ease. The television media has been highly making money over the beverage advertisements at any given programme. They are as follows...

Mirinda

Mirinda is a brand of soft drink available in fruit varieties including orange, grapefruit, apple, strawberry, pineapple, banana, passion fruit and grape flavours

Coca-Cola

A global leader in the beverage industry, the Coca-Cola Company offers hundreds of brands, including soft drinks, fruit juices, sports drinks and other beverages in more than 200 countries. Coca-Cola is meeting the tastes of people around the globe.

Maaza

Maaza which means fun in hindi is a Coca-Cola fruit drink brand marketed in India and Bangladesh, the most popular drink being the mango variety, so much that over the years, the Maaza brand has become synonymous with Mango.

Indian premier league(IPL) a fancy league has been broadcasted by “Sony Max”,  the number of advertisements in during their each break often relatively targeted towards the children eating habits, The famous celebrities such as Sharukhan, who brands Frootie advertisement ironically stimulates children to favour Frooti for its taste. Likewise there are number of ads consistently focuses on young children. This is one part of the story, but this continuous, where ever the children presence remains especially starting from movie theatre till

REFERENCE

1. Bergler, R (1999) the Effects of Commercial Advertising on Children. Commercial Communications, January: 41-48.

2, Pour March, Manijeh (Winter 1377). Content analysis of television advertisements, especially children, research and evaluation.15 and 16.

3, Story, M. & French, S., (2004) «Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US» International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 1, 1-17.

4, Kunkel, D. (2001).Children and television advertising.In D.Singer& J. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of children and the media (pp. 375-393). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

5, Belluck, Pam. "American Obesity Rates Have Hit Plateau, C.D.C Data Suggest." Editorial.The New York Times 14 Jan. 2010, New York Edition ed., A20 sec. Www.nytimes.com. 13 Jan. 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2010.

6, "UK: Food Commission calls for tougher advert rules in cinemas." just-drinks.com (2009). Culinary Arts Collection.Web. 5 Oct. 2010.

7,Solomons NW, Gross R. Urban nutrition in developing countries. Nutr Rev 1995; 53: 90-5.      

8, Fister K. Junk food advertising contributes to young Americans’ obesity. BMJ 2005; 331: 1426.

9, Junk Food’s So Tasty, But Where Is ItLeading Me? [Internet] Available from:http://www.dietpolicy.com/diets-articles/junk-food-facts.html

10, Powell, L.M., Szczypka, G., F.J., Chaloupka.(2007) «Adolescent Exposure to Food Advertising on Television» American Journal of Prevent ve Medicine, 33, s251-s256. 20. Saatatmand, Zohreh. (Fall 1376).The effects of television on children and adolescents.Education. 5.

11, Story, M. & French, S., (2004) «Food Advertising and Marketing Directed at Children and Adolescents in the US» International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 1, 1-17.

12, Zwier, S. (2009) «Medicalisation of food advertising. Nutrition and health claims in magazine food advertisements 1990–2008» Appetite, 53, 109–113.