Healthy eating habits are vital
for good health. But we often see that junk food and alcohol are shown in
various scenes of several hit movies of the USA. A review study was done of the
food content in some 250 popular movies of the USA. And the study authors
concluded that the food choices displayed in the movies were so bad that they
are far away from the healthy food recommendations.
US HIT MOVIES AND JUNK FOOD AND
BOOZE
A new study reviewed the food
choices shown in 250 top-grossing movies of the United States. And the study
revealed that the majority of the movies show a lot of unhealthy eating. This is
not good for society and should be avoided. The scenes portray unhealthy eating
choices and these are far away from the dietary recommendations of the health
organizations.  |
Junk food, booze excel in the movies of the USA [Source: Hale Plus Hearty]
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The lead author of the study was Bradley Turnwald and he said:
"The
overall diet depicted in movies would fail federal guidelines for a healthy
diet—not enough fiber, too much-saturated fat and sodium, and … more
sugar and three times more alcohol than the average American consumes."
Bradley feels that the negative implications of these
displays are big. He added:
"They
solidify a norm that unhealthy
foods are common and valued in our culture, consumed by famous
actresses, role models and even superheroes,"
MORE DETAILS OF THE
STUDY
The study was carried out at the University of
Stanford at Stanford in California. Bradley said that previous studies have
shown that watching actors and actresses have alcohol on screen leads to
earlier binge-drinking among the adolescents. Also, unhealthy snacks also make
children choose that snack immediately and continue having it despite its
unhealthy nature.
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Sugary food choices in USA movies [Source: WebMD]
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Bradley also noted that the advertising and
commercial entertainment guidelines as regards food and alcohol content are
very lax in the USA. This is due to the First Amendment protections that are
offered to these ads and entertainment portals for it. He said:
"Producers
can essentially show whatever foods they want, regardless of the
audience,"
The detailed analysis of the top 250 hit movies from
1994 to 2018 showed that:
1.
40% of beverages shown in the movies were alcoholic.
Snacks and sweets were 25% of the foods shown.
2.
94% of the films showed medium to high levels of sugary
foods. 93% of these movies depicted medium to high levels of fats and 85%
showed medium to high levels of saturated fat. Half of the movies showed medium
to high levels of salt.
THE CONCLUSION AND
WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?
The movie drinks were categorized as alcohol, water,
dairy, coffee/tea, sweetened drinks, 100% juice, diet drinks, infant formula
and human milk. And the foods in the films were put into 11 categories namely,
dairy, grains, protein, fruits, vegetables, snack/sweets, mixed dishes,
fats/oils, condiments/sauces, sugars, or protein and nutritional powders.
Also, read Gabrielle Union and her talk about her mental health
 |
Junk food and movies in the USA [Source: Medical Express]
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The foods and beverages shown in the movies fell
short of the national nutritional guidelines and this was in terms of saturated
fat, sugars, salt, and fiber. Besides, too much booze consumption was shown
in the films that are not healthy for society.
Bradley said:
“These findings
present an opportunity for movie producers to become more mindful of the types
of foods and beverages that they depict in movies.”
“It is about
knowing that what is on-screen has the potential to influence tens of millions
of viewers, particularly children, and making more of an effort to depict
healthier options as the status quo.”
People subconsciously tend to follow and put into
practice whatever is shown in the movies and whatever their celebrities are
doing on-screen. They do not realize that celebrities are not health
professionals. It is known that food choices depend on the character and
storyline and culture, era, and location. But still, they could try to make
these celebrities role models for healthy behavior. People should also stop
imitating these wrong behaviors and think first about their health rather than
blindly copying the unhealthy behavior.
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