In the past people learned about food from their mothers. Is this still the case today? What or who is the most significant influence on the way you eat?

Media and Food

Several studies have indicated that media has greatest influence on the life of people other than any other variable such as family or friends because children spend much of their time on media, which includes television, video games, and cartoon shows. Media has greatly impacted the growth and development of people, mostly negatively. In many countries, the marketing of unhealthy products to children is openly discussed in the search for effective strategies to combat childhood obesity. In Sweden, Norway and Quebec bans have been imposed on advertising of potentially hazardous food in the sector of children under the age of twelve. However, even such legal restrictions are often not respected in the broadcast on local television overseas, where laws are respected broadcaster of the country, and not one in which the transfer there.

Current statistics of eating disorder prevalence in developed countries with high media saturation are now at an all time high. Eating disorders are estimated to be grossly misdiagnosed and are reported to affect up to 10 to 20% of all girls and women. Eating disorders are also affecting men at a significantly increased rate. Such messages are increasingly prevalent in today's media. Images celebrating an extremely thin body, referred to as the thin ideal, have been linked to increased rates of body dissatisfaction and the eventual pathological state of eating disorders (Owens, 2006). Researchers currently fear that the celebration of extremely thin bodies in media has created a situation where most individuals are unhappy with their bodies (Hellmich, 2006). Poor body image, or a negative perception of one's body size or shape, has now become so prevalent among individuals that it has been classified as normal or common (National Eating Disorders, 2008). Because of this, widespread research has been performed over the last decadeto better understand the relationship between body image and media. However, most of this research has been focused on women under the age of 25. An extensive amount of research has been performed concerning the effects of media on female adolescents, yet there is only sparse research that considers how such images affect men and women past the age of 25.

Health Reforms as a Health Minister

The healthy eating problems are becoming rampant with the passage of time, out of the serious health eating problems; childhood obesity is one of the crucial ones. Health care provisions guarantee the well being of any society. They are the provisions that, if not availed, can lead to dire consequences of health related issues on the individual as well as on the society on macroeconomic levels. Thus, health care reforms must be introduced to reduce the exposure of unhealthy eating. Health care reforms are important in regulating the healthcare system in the country. Health care reforms represent a subset of health care policy (Buckroyd, J 2009 ...