Hackel 1

Matthew Hackel
Professor Fielding
WRTC 103 sec 41
February 21, 2016
Why The Advertising Business Isnt to Blame for Childhood Obesity
For years people have blamed large companies, such as McDonalds,
Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and many others for making children overweight.
Parents blame these companies for marketing all their unhealthy foods to
children. The article, Marketing Food to Children Cannot Be Blamed for NonNutritious Food Choices, by Paul Kurnit proves that these companies have
not done anything wrong, and are trying to find solutions for Americas
obesity problem. The answers to most of these problems are not in the big
companies, but in the parents raising the kids.
This article is about how big businesses are not to blame for kids being
overweight. The article begins with an introduction of the author and his
credentials. He then states that advertising dollars towards kids are down,
not up. He then turns the blame on the parents and the education system.
He gives a statistic that 80 percent of parents blame themselves for their
kids weight. He gives food companies more backup by saying most have
made changes to be healthier, and that they dont think they are doing
anything wrong by advertising to kids in the first place. Finally he states the

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claim again, that food companies are not to blame, and talks about solutions
to the problem.
The article uses ethos to show its credibility and ensure the reader that
this is a reliable source. The first sign of ethos is in the opening paragraph
Paul Kurnit, a professor of marketing at Pace University's Lubin School of
Business (p1). This gives the reader the security in knowing the reading was
written by a professor of marketing at a reputable school. Another use of
ethos in the article was The Institute of Medicine 2006 report Food
Marketing to Children and Youth: Threat or Opportunity?(Kurnit 2) This
citation is another reliable source because it is from the institute of medicine.
However, the year of the report is a bit outdated which takes back some of
the credibility. Finally the last source is "The Advertising Diet: Why Ads Aren't
to Blame for America's Obesity Problems"(Kurnit 4). This wasnt in the actual
article itself but in the sources section, which shows how much research the
author put into the argument.
The author uses facts and statistics as well to prove his point to the
readers. This is to again convince the reader that their argument is legit. The
author states More than 80 percent of parents believe that if their kids are
overweight, they are to blame (Kurnit 1). This fact shows, that most parents
can blame themselves and not the people who market food to children. Its
up to the parents to tell their kids no or if they do let them eat junk, at least
have them go play outside. Another statistic mentioned in the article was
PepsiCo created a Smart Spot program and issued a corporate edict that a

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minimum of 50 percent of the company's new products had to fulfill betterfor-you food criteria (Kurnit 2) This is another fact that shows that
companies are trying to make healthy changes and are not the issue to this
problem. The author also states that, The foods and related advertising
promoting them have been part of the American diet for well over 50 years
(Kurnit 1) This isnt necessarily an argument for the food industry, but just
showing that this is what has been done for years, and its only till just now
that it has become an issue.
The author gives examples of why parents are not letting their kids get
proper exercise and eat healthy. For some there is the issue of money, but for
most parents they have a problem of saying no to their child. Kurnit
explains that parents are afraid to let their kids play outside now. He also
said advocacy groups and politicians sounded the alarm that America was
fat and getting fatter. Childhood obesity carries with it staggering risks of
disease and huge additional costs for medical care (Kurnit p1). These two
sentences were put in to scare the parents about the dangers of childhood
obesity. Not only will their kid be at risk of more diseases, but it will also cost
them more money for the treatments. Finally Kurnit saidThe pervasive
adoption of seat-belt usage in this country happened not because of laws,
but because kids urged parents to buckle up (p3). This shows that
advertising on kids can have a very positive effect and save lives, so why are
the parents blaming them for something they didnt do.

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Childhood Obesity PSA

The PSA created by Matthew Hackel is trying to convince parents that

big companies are not to blame for kids being overweight. However, he is
saying that the ones to blame for obese children are the parents themselves.
The author is just blaming the parents, but also trying to convince them to
make healthier choices for them and their kids. He does this by using the
three rhetorical appeals; logos, pathos, and ethos.
The PSA is a picture of two overweight women giving soda to their
small children sitting on a bench. Its a powerful picture and proves the point
that the big companies are not to blame for children being overweight. There

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are some facts and statistics next to the picture that further prove the claim.
Then there is a url that links the reader to a non-profit to help overweight
children. There is the main claim on the top, and another smaller one on the
bottom of the page. Overall the PSA creates a powerful vibe and would
hopefully be effective.
The PSA gives a url to a credible nonprofit orginazation that allows the
audience to learn more about the problem at hand. The PSA also has quote
from a professor who has done research on the topic at Pace University. The
author of the PSA however, has no credibility and cannot be taken as a
credible source. The ethos is the least important appeal in this PSA because
it is the least necessary.
Logos is used in the PSA with the quotes and statistics from Professor
Paul Kurnit, a professor at Pace University. He give the reader some
information on why kids are overweight and how the big businesses are not
to blame, but actually making healthier choices. Overnight, McDonalds
became the number one consumer of apples, so that they could try and
make healthier options. Lays has also taken steps towards healthiness and
removed all trans-fat from their product. These are all for the benefit of the
consumer and a big step towards making America, and all other countries
healthier.
Finally, the most important appeal in the PSA is the pathos. The
author uses a picture that might really make the audience of the PSA think.

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There are two overweight women giving soda to their children in the park.
This might seem normal to some people, but its really having parents make
their kids have the same unhealthy diet they do. Its not unknown that
obesity is one of the leading causes of death in America, but people still
dont listen and continue to fill their bodies with garbage and not exercise.
This picture is put into the PSA so the parents can look at it and think, I
dont want my kid to be overweight or unhealthy. The picture along with the
title of the PSA bring emotion into the argument and is very effective
especially for parents of children.
In conclusion, the PSA along with the verbal argument create a clear
and strong need for change in America. Shift the blame of kids being
overweight to the parents not the companies who are trying to make healthy
changes. It is up to parents to keep their kid healthy, let them play outside,
and cook them a well-balanced meal. Having a child is a responsibility and
forcing them to be unhealthy at a young age will only induce bad habits at
later stages of their life. The big companies have made healthy changes and
lowered advertising costs, but people still blame them. The hypocrisy in all
this is that its mainly parents blaming these companies for THEIR kids being
overweight. In the end the companies dont make the decision of what or
where these kids eat; it is up to the kids and the parents to make that
decision. Hopefully they make the right choice.

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Works cited:
Kurnit, Paul.
"Http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/ovic/ViewpointsDetailsPage/ViewpointsDetailsWindow?
failOverType=&query=&prodId=OVIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&dis
playquery=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Viewpoints&limiter=&u=viva_jmu&currP
age=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within
_results=&p=OVIC&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE
%7CEJ3010785221." IC Gale Group. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2016.