Peer pressure often times is looked at concerning drugs and alcohol, but food habits are also greatly influenced by peers. Social norms help shape individuals eating and exercise habits. According to one source “social norms - the standards against which the appropriateness of a certain behavior is assessed – have been described as comprising amongst the least visible, yet most powerful, forms of social control over human behavior”(Ball et al). For adolescents fast food places are a place of social gathering. It has become routine for students to go out and eat afterschool on a day-to-day basis (Fortuna). One source claimed “that snack and soft drink consumption are behaviors shared by adolescent friendship groups, with the strongest similarities in schools with high availability of snacks in the canteen and soft drinks in the vending machines”(Wouters et al). Generally, research after research has suggested that social norms and peers play a large role in eating and exercising habits. With schools beginning to sell pizza, French fries, and other fast food, it is becoming harder for students to eat healthy on a daily basis. Health habits oftentimes are established during the schooling years and continue on through adulthood. Many food and snacks “sold throughout schools in vending machines, school stores, snack bars, and at fundraisers, competitive foods and beverages are of lower nutritional quality and are typically high in added sugars, salt, and fat”(Woodward – Lopez et al). Not only are there unhealthy food being sold inside of schools but also studies have shown that there is a disproportionate number of fast food restaurants within 500 yards of a school (Fortuna). The widespread availability of unhealthy choices doesn’t compare to the amount of healthy choices. The availability of unhealthy choices will lead to children learning bad habits and continuing them outside of school (Wouters et al). Schools are making advances in nutrition and diet so they can teach students to eat healthy early, but more is needed in order to combat this growing problem of obesity. Due to high cost of healthy foods, and limited exercise opportunities, obesity is becoming a bigger problems in areas of poverty and low socioeconomic status. This is a growing problem as both parents have to work in poor families and home cooked meals are rare. One source stated, “obesity and the associated chronic diseases are most pronounced in economically disadvantaged groups” (Withall, Jago, and Cross). One study I found stated “Cross-sectional data have shown an inverse relationship between family income and obesity prevalence among children and adolescents,”(Babey et al). This can be attributed to many things such as the neighborhoods, lack of parent’s involvement in diet, and the amount of fast food places in the area. There is also a lack of health care resources in these neighbor hoods, almost half the amount you would find in a rich neighborhood (Macintyre). These factors all contribute to one growing problem, and it is hard to fix because you cannot really change the wealth status of families. What could be changed are the neighborhoods and the opportunities to exercise within them. Prolonged use of Internet is a major factor in childhood obesity; as children start using the Internet more they stop going outside and exercising.
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Video games and Internet have always been looked at in a negative light from a health standpoint. Logically you could see how hours sitting in front of a screen could lead to obesity. One study found that those who used the computer or played video game for more than four hours were more likely to be obese (Bener). According to another source the typical American youth from ages 8 to 18 will spend almost 7 hours in front of electronic media (Wack and Dunn). This amount of time is significant and can lead to forming sedentary behavior associated with obesity. The relationship between weight and electronic media use is staggering. Some studies have shown that electronic use, such as television and video games, has almost a linear relationship with weight (Atherton and Metcalf). Internet use, television, and video games are a part of the average teenager’ s life, it doesn’t mean you have to give up all three but moderation is key in order to lead
Video games and Internet have always been looked at in a negative light from a health standpoint. Logically you could see how hours sitting in front of a screen could lead to obesity. One study found that those who used the computer or played video game for more than four hours were more likely to be obese (Bener). According to another source the typical American youth from ages 8 to 18 will spend almost 7 hours in front of electronic media (Wack and Dunn). This amount of time is significant and can lead to forming sedentary behavior associated with obesity. The relationship between weight and electronic media use is staggering. Some studies have shown that electronic use, such as television and video games, has almost a linear relationship with weight (Atherton and Metcalf). Internet use, television, and video games are a part of the average teenager’ s life, it doesn’t mean you have to give up all three but moderation is key in order to lead