1. What, in your opinion, are the current important health issues that are directly related to food.
   1. Specifically, what are they, and why are they so important in today’s society?
      1. Highly processed foods are the most readily available and easy to get. The availability of highly processed foods has led to many health problems including obesity and diabetes. Diabetes has become prevalent because of all the added sugars in the foods we consume daily. A lot of food ads focus on all the healthy components but ignore the bad aspects of the food. People are blinded and feel good about what they are eating. There is a lack of education around foods and what nutrients they should and shouldn’t consume. High cholesterol and heart disease is also very prevalent in the united states due to our high salt diet.

 

1. How, in your opinion, does food impact these problems?
   1. People need to consume food in order to survive. People aren’t educated on what foods they should and shouldn’t consume. Often times, people go for the quickest and easiest solution. Prices of food impact what certain people can buy and consume. Most nutritious foods are more expensive.
2. What, in your opinion, are the key components to a healthy diet?
   1. The key components of a healthy diet are having a nutrient dense diet. In order to do that, you must have background knowledge on what is good for you. Protein, carbohydrates, and fat are crucial components of a healthy diet. The key is to have the proper proportions. Micronutrients are also very valuable and most people don’t consume enough vitamins.

 

1. From a health perspective, what is “good” food? What is “bad” food? Use some examples.
   1. Good Food
      1. Fruits
      2. Vegetables
      3. Whole grains
      4. Legumes
   2. Bad Food
      1. Added sugar
      2. Processed
      3. Preservatives
      4. Corn syrup

 

1. Considering the advertisements that you selected for today’s class…
   1. Are your selected advertisements effective in addressing the key health issues you mentioned above? Why or why not?
      1. Diet Coke isn’t very good at showing health issues because it is just a lot of dancing around and repeating the same thing. These types of ads create people to be excited by the product and not think of health effects.
      2. Honey Nut Cheerios is very effective in their advertisements because they focus on the diseases that are most prevalent in the United States. They focus on cholesterol and heart disease and the boxes and advertisements catch anyone with those diseases eyes.
      3. V8 talks about the eight essential vegetables in it. It makes it seem like it is an easy way to consume everything you need which makes it effective.

Citations:

Honey Nut Cheerios Advertisement, Retrieved from http://www.wisdom-square.com/health-food-advertisements.html

V8 Bottle, Retrieved from http://www.sbhlg.org/

Chiquita-snacks, retrieved from http://sparkcreativesolutions.com/