" (Darwin, p.321) Cereal companies are very dependent on having friendly characters on their commercials. For example, "Tony The Tiger " for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes attracts to children. Children remember which characters go with each cereal. There aren't too many kid friendly characters though that associates with a healthy cereal. In the year 2004, FTC reported that children saw an average of 5,538 food advertisements during the year. (Darwin) This means that a child sees around 15 food commercials every day. This exposure to such unhealthy food is a factor for childhood obesity. With too much attention to sugary and fatty products, children are influenced to choose unhealthy nutritional options. This influence can affect the future diet choices of children later on in their adult lives. .
However, childhood obesity is not a problem in other countries. In Australia for example, rates of childhood obesity, in preschool aged children, are changing. In a study done between the years of 1997 and 2007 by MS Nichols, rates seemed to level off. The experiment looked at two groups of children, one group of two-year olds, the other three and half year olds. Overtime, changing certain factors, the rate of obesity in children in their respective age groups declines. While the study shows that overweight rates haven't changed as dramatically, obesity rates have almost halved in this time period (Nichols, 920). The differences in society between Australian children and American children are responsible. Children in America are exposed to the bigger is better theory: bigger toys, bigger fountain drinks, and bigger portions. Their exposure to the bigger is better phenomenon leads to a not so healthy lifestyle.
Many myths are created about trends in obesity. These trends include factors, which may or may not be associated with the increasing rate of obesity. However some of these trends are the truth. These trends depict why obesity is present and what may be helping cause obesity.