Across the United States, Americans continue to believe that bigger is better. They are buying the biggest televisions, the biggest cars, and the biggest houses. Meanwhile, Americans themselves are turning into the biggest people. Obesity is a nationwide problem that is growing rapidly. While other parts of the world are also experiencing an obesity epidemic, this is not the case in all other countries. This problem, in the United States, may start at an early age for children and can even affect their weight as they grow into adults. Becoming obese can create a number of health issues for humans: Heart disease, cancer, and even death. Throughout the country, schools and households are buying more "junk food ". People are exercising less also causing obesity to occur. We looked into the causing factors of the obesity epidemic on a national level. We narrowed our focus by gaining some insight from a few college students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Although eating unhealthy foods is a leading cause for obesity, the main reason as to why obesity is a major problem in the United States is because of poor nutritional advertisements targeting young children, and people being uneducated on nutritional facts and exercise. People lacking the resources to inform themselves on issue, such as money to buy nutritional food, are at a greater risk to the epidemic. .
At a young age, children are targeted by television advertisements for numerous products: toys, movies, and, of course, food. At such a vulnerable age, children are very easy to manipulate. Companies use child friendly characters, to target children, in order to sell their product. By getting the excitement of the child, companies are able to get the attention of the child. "The problem is not so much that advertisements are deceptive, but that the products advertised are most often for food of poor nutritional quality.