Abstract
This chapter addresses the many different ways children consume both food and media, and the diverse effects these consumption habits have. This chapter also addresses how the consumption of these two variables are related and have reciprocal effects, which can be damaging, to one another. The negative effects of certain consumption habits can be detrimental for the child and family as a whole. Furthermore, the author discusses the most beneficial practices for children to cultivate in order to develop an overall healthy food and media diet.
TopIntroduction
The way a child consumes both food and media is crucial for the child’s further development and overall health. These two variables can affect the child in different ways; however, food and media often have intertwining effects. For example, being exposed to media that consistently promotes a thin body ideal may lead a child to want to eat less to achieve that ideal. Conversely, having a high-fat and high calorie diet may contribute to a child living a fairly sedentary lifestyle, typically leading to a higher consumption of media.
No matter what, children will be exposed to both food and media, so it is important to instill healthy habits regarding the two as early as possible in today’s youth. This chapter will discuss the positive and negative effects of the different ways in which food and media are commonly consumed by children. This chapter will also address how parents can establish the healthiest food and media diet for their children.
A Child’s Food Diet
What defines a healthy food diet? There is no perfect answer, since it is different for each individual. However, there are some simple behavioral changes that can be made to help improve a child’s diet. A healthy diet, along with sufficient physical activity and limited sedentary behavior, have been shown to help prevent being overweight and obese, cardiovascular diseases, depression, fear, stress, poor self-image, and contribute to improving the overall quality of life (De Lepeleere, DeSmet, Verloigne, Cardon, & De Bourdeaudhuij, 2013). A healthy diet during childhood and adolescence promotes optimal health, growth, and cognitive development of the child and adolescent, and may contribute to the prevention of chronic disease in later life (Van Cauwenberghe, Maes, Spittaels, Van Lenthe, Brug, Oppert, & De Bourdeaudhuij, 2010).
Evidence suggests that eating habits adopted early in life will most likely extend into adulthood; however, the transition from childhood into adolescence can often usher in unhealthy dietary choices (Van Cauwenberghe et al., 2010). Therefore, it is important to establish healthy eating behaviors early in life, and focus particularly on the transition from childhood to adolescence to ensure the most stable diet over time. Parents play an important role in a child’s eating patterns, and it is encouraged that interventions aimed at improving a child’s nutrition involve parents and/or the entire family in some way.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Depression: A common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Psychosocial: Relating to the interrelation of social factors and individual thought and behavior.
Bulimia Nervosa: An eating disorder characterized by a cycle of bingeing and compensatory behaviors such as self-induced vomiting designed to undo or compensate for the effects of binge eating.
Anorexia Nervosa: An eating disorder characterized by weight loss (or lack of appropriate weight gain in growing children); difficulties maintaining an appropriate body weight for height, age, and stature; and, in many individuals, distorted body image.
Genetic Predisposition: An increased likelihood of developing a particular disease based on a person's genetic makeup; results from specific genetic variations that are often inherited from a parent.
Metacognition: Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.
Desensitization: A process that diminishes emotional responsiveness to a negative, aversive or positive stimulus after repeated exposure to it.
Cardiovascular: Relating to the heart and blood vessels.
Self-Efficacy: One's belief in one's ability to succeed in specific situations or to accomplish a task.
Binge Eating Disorder: An eating disorder characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food (often very quickly and to the point of discomfort); a feeling of a loss of control during the binge; experiencing shame, distress or guilt afterwards; and regularly using unhealthy compensatory measures (e.g., purging) to counter the binge eating.
Selective Attention: The capacity for or process of reacting to certain stimuli selectively when several occur simultaneously.