Affects of Food Advertising

According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention),“Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.” With advances in technology, children are exposed to an entirely new environment that previous generations did not have the luxury of having. But is it a luxury or is it a severe tragedy that has trapped children and their parents to live a lifestyle the way companies want them to live?  It is evident that childhood obesity is a national epidemic that appears to not have an end in sight. With that said, what is being done to prevent and put a halt to the problem? Jhih-Syuan Lin and Vincent Cicchirillo, authors of “Stop Playing With Your Food,” point out that one of the ways marketers advertise a product is through interactive video games. They refer to this branding technique as “advergaming.”  In their article, Lin and Cicchirillo effectively use rhetoric in order to increase the audience's awareness of the affects that food advertising has on childhood obesity.

Cicchirillo, Lin, Vincent, Jhih-Syuan. "Stop Playing With Your Food." Journal of Advertising Research. (2011): 484-497. Print.