Fast food advertising has been vilified in the media as a major cause of obesity in adults and children.
But do the ads deserve such a negative reputation? Here’s what we think:1. Fast food ads make you crave things you wouldn’t normally eat.
Notice we said, “It makes you crave things.” We didn’t say, “it makes you crave food,” since most advertising pushes substances that can hardly be labeled as such.
For example, in 2006: $492 million went toward advertising soft drinks, which are empty-calorie products. In contrast, the “Got Milk?’ campaign spent only about $67 million (1).
Through the use of enticing, larger-than-life images splashed across screens, billboards, and even the sides of 18-wheelers, advertisers taunt you to try their sketchy fare. And it’s working: In 2012 the fast food industry raked in revenue of over $184 billion dollars.
The next time you see that hot, juicy burger oozing with juices over a freshly baked bun, remember that it’s really just a pressed patty of pink sludge mass-produced and served at room temperature by someone who probably spit on it. Then go eat some real food.
2. The ads tempt you to eat larger portions
Ads push supersized meals, promising better value for bigger portions. “These commercials remind you that you can get an inordinate amount of unhealthy food for a very low price,” says Cara Natterson, MD, a pediatrician in Santa Monica, CA (3).
Rather than take your cues on portion size from the ginormous images in advertising, learn to listen to your body. It may take some getting used to, but heeding when your body says “eat” and “stop” will give you much more reliable clues as to how much to eat, and how often. You may even notice your body doesn’t want fast food anyway. When given the chance to heal from harmful food, most of us will naturally crave fresh, whole, nutritious choices.
3. They make you eat more frequently
Have you ever been sitting in front of the television, perfectly content to sit quietly and watch your favorite program, when a commercial came on for some tasty-looking fast food? Suddenly your mouth waters, your stomach rumbles, and you think, “Hey, some pizza—and an ice-cold soda—would be really great right now.
A search for fast food logos turns up a lot of red & yellow.
This is no coincidence. Fast food ads are carefully crafted to create the ultimate perfect storm of delicious temptation.
Color is just one way advertisers manipulate your perception in their favor. Red, yellow, and orange are some of the most common colors used in this advertising.
- Red can affect people physically, raising the heart rate. It can also make people feel hungry, which is why it is used so often when advertising food.
- Yellow is cheerful and is common in food ads because of its association with butter.
- Orange has many of the connotations and energy of red without the negative aggression it can invoke.
You can’t avoid fast food advertising—fast food advertising is a multi-billion-dollar business—but educating yourself on what they do and how they do it can empower to you make better choices. If you want to eat food that nourishes your body, in reasonable portions, only when you’re truly hungry, you need to pay attention to these ads and their effects on your behavior.
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